Daphne Anderson (née Scrutton; 27 April 1922 – 15 January 2013) was an English stage, film, and television actress, as well as a dancer and singer. She made her London theatre debut in 1938 at the

Windmill Theatre The Windmill Theatre in Great Windmill Street, London, was a variety and revue theatre best known for its nude '' tableaux vivants'', which began in 1932 and lasted until its reversion to a cinema in 1964. Many prominent British comedians o ...

. Anderson appeared in such films as ''

The Beggar's Opera ''The Beggar's Opera'' is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of satiri ...

'', '' Hobson's Choice'' and ''

The Scarlet Pimpernel ''The Scarlet Pimpernel'' is the first novel in a series of historical fiction by Baroness Orczy, published in 1905. It was written after her stage play of the same title (co-authored with Montague Barstow) enjoyed a long run in London, having ...

''.

Biography

Anderson was born on 27 April 1922, in London, to parents Alan Edward Scrutton and Gladys Amy Scrutton (''née'' Juler). Her surname was originally "Scrutton", but she later changed it to "Anderson". Anderson attended Kensington High School. She married Lionel William Carter. Her aunt was the composer Mary Anderson Lucas.

Theatrical career

Daphne Anderson studied dancing under Zelia Raye. She made her first stage performance in 1937 at the

Richmond Theatre The present Richmond Theatre, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is a British Victorian theatre located on Little Green, adjacent to Richmond Green. It opened on 18 September 1899 with a performance of ''As You Like It''. One of ...

as a chorus member in a production of ''

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

''. The following year, Anderson made her London theatre debut in the chorus of the ''Revudeville'' at the

. She played several roles in various theatrical productions of

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are '' Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequ ...

's ''

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creature ...

''. In 1943, she played Father William in a production of ''Alice in Wonderland'' and the Walrus in ''Alice Through the Looking-Glass'', both at the Scala Theatre in London. She was a prominent member of Leonard Sachs' Players Theatre Company in London, appearing regularly at the Charing Cross Villiers Street venue and featured on recordings made there. In 1951 she appeared at the Princes Theatre in '' The Seventh Veil''. In 1972, she assumed the role of the Red Queen in ''Alice Through the Looking-Glass'' at the

Ashcroft Theatre The Ashcroft Theatre is a theatre located within the Fairfield Halls, Croydon, South London. The theatre was named after Croydon-born Dame Peggy Ashcroft and is a proscenium theatre with a stepped auditorium. The mural on its fire curtain is by t ...

Film and television

Anderson appeared in the following films: *''

Trottie True ''Trottie True'' is a 1949 British musical comedy film directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring Jean Kent, James Donald and Hugh Sinclair. It was known as ''The Gay Lady'' in the US, and is an infrequent British Technicolor film of the per ...

'' (1949) *''

'' (1952) *'' Laughing Anne'' (1953) *'' Hobson's Choice'' (1954) *'' A Kid for Two Farthings'' (1955) *''

The Prince and the Showgirl ''The Prince and the Showgirl'' (originally titled '' The Sleeping Prince'') is a 1957 British romantic comedy film starring Marilyn Monroe and Laurence Olivier, who also served as director and producer. The screenplay written by Terence Ratti ...

'' (1957) *'' No Time for Tears'' (1957) *'' Snowball'' (1960) *'' Persuasion'' (1960) *'' Captain Clegg'' (1962) *'' Bitter Harvest'' (1963) *''

Gideon's Way ''Gideon's Way'' is a British television crime series made by ITC Entertainment and broadcast by ITV in 1964–1966, based on novels by John Creasey (writing as 'J. J. Marric'). The series was made at Elstree Studios in twin production with ' ...

'' as Kate Gideon (1964/66) * ''

The Whitehall Worrier ''The Whitehall Worrier'' is a British comedy television series which first aired on BBC One in 1967. Revolving around the career of one of the minister's in Harold Wilson's Labour government, the series was gentle in style and closer to a tradit ...

'' (1967, TV series) *''

Minder A minder is the person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something, i.e. a person who " minds". Government-appointed persons to accompany foreign visitors are of ...

'' as Katie in ''

Come in T-64, Your Time Is Ticking Away This episode list gives brief descriptions and some other details of the episodes of the ITV television series ''Minder'', set in contemporary London. The earliest episodes focus on Terry McCann (Dennis Waterman), a former professional boxer ...

'' (1979) *''

'' (1982) Anderson also appeared on television programmes including '' Thomas and Sarah'' and a television adaptation of ''

The Old Curiosity Shop ''The Old Curiosity Shop'' is one of two novels (the other being ''Barnaby Rudge'') which Charles Dickens published along with short stories in his weekly serial ''Master Humphrey's Clock'', from 1840 to 1841. It was so popular that New York r ...

''. In 1985, Anderson appeared in an episode of British sitcom ''

In Sickness and in Health ''In Sickness and in Health'' is a BBC television sitcom that ran between 1 September 1985 and 3 April 1992. It is a sequel to the successful '' Till Death Us Do Part'', which ran between 1966 and 1975, and '' Till Death...'', which ran for on ...

''. She may be best remembered as Kate Gideon in the 1965 ITC series ''

''.

Death

Daphne Anderson died on 15 January 2013, at the age of 90.

References

External links

*
Obituary
thestage.co.uk * {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Daphne 1922 births 2013 deaths Actresses from London English film actresses English stage actresses English television actresses 20th-century British businesspeople