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{{short description|British actress (1926–2013)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2013}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2013}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| image = Rona Anderson (cropped).jpeg
| image = Rona Anderson (cropped).jpeg
| imagesize = 240px
| caption = Anderson in 1949
| caption = Anderson in 1949
| name = Rona Anderson
| name = Rona Anderson
| birth_name =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1926|8|3|df=yes}}
| birth_date = {{birth date|1926|8|3|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Edinburgh]], [[Midlothian]], [[Scotland]]
| birth_place = [[Edinburgh]], [[Scotland]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|2013|7|23|1926|8|3|df=yes}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|2013|7|23|1926|8|3|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Hampstead]], [[London]], England
| death_place = [[London]], [[England]]
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Gordon Jackson (actor)|Gordon Jackson]]<br>|1951|1990|end=d.}}
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Gordon Jackson (actor)|Gordon Jackson]]|1951|1990|end=d.}}
| children = 2
| children = 2
| yearsactive = 1948–2012
| yearsactive = 1948–2013
}}
}}
'''Rona Anderson''' (3 August 1926 – 23 July 2013) was a [[Scotland|Scottish]] stage, film, and television [[actress]]. She appeared in TV series and on the stage and films throughout the 1950s. She appeared in the films Scrooge and [[The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (film)|The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie]] and on TV in [[Dr Finlay's Casebook]] and [[Dixon of Dock Green]].
'''Rona Anderson''' (3 August 1926 – 23 July 2013) was a Scottish stage, film, and television actress. She appeared in TV series and on the stage and films throughout the 1950s. She appeared in the films ''[[Scrooge (1951 film)|Scrooge]]'' and ''[[The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (film)|The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie]]'' and on TV in ''[[Dr Finlay's Casebook]]'' and ''[[Dixon of Dock Green]]''.


==Biography==
==Biography==
Rona Anderson was born in [[Edinburgh]] to James and Evelyn (née Thomson) Anderson. She was educated in her home town and in briefly in [[Ottawa]] during the war. She trained for the stage at the Glover Turner-Robertson School in Edinburgh.<ref name="who">{{cite encyclopedia|title=ANDERSON, Rona|encyclopedia=Who's Who in the Theatre|volume=1|page=17|publisher=Gale Research Company|year=1981|issn=0083-9833|editor=Ian Herbert}}</ref>
Rona Anderson was born in Edinburgh to James and Evelyn (née Thomson) Anderson. She was educated in her home town and briefly in [[Ottawa]] during the war. She trained for the stage at the Glover Turner-Robertson School in Edinburgh.<ref name="who">{{cite encyclopedia|title=ANDERSON, Rona|encyclopedia=Who's Who in the Theatre|volume=1|page=17|publisher=Gale Research Company|year=1981|issn=0083-9833|editor=Ian Herbert}}</ref>


In 1951, she married fellow actor [[Gordon Jackson (actor)|Gordon Jackson (OBE)]], with whom she had appeared in ''[[Floodtide]]'' (1949)<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/aug/09/rona-anderson|title=Rona Anderson obituary|last=Bergan|first=Ronald|date=2013-08-09|work=The Guardian|access-date=2019-08-03|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> and remained with him until his death from bone cancer on 15 January 1990.
In 1951, she married fellow actor [[Gordon Jackson (actor)|Gordon Jackson]], with whom she had appeared in ''[[Floodtide]]'' (1949)<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/aug/09/rona-anderson|title=Rona Anderson obituary|last=Bergan|first=Ronald|date=2013-08-09|work=The Guardian|access-date=2019-08-03|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> and remained with him until his death from bone cancer on 15 January 1990.
The couple had two sons, Graham and Roderick.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6304848|title=Gordon Cameron Jackson profile|publisher=Find A Grave|date=31 March 2002|accessdate=14 July 2015}}</ref>


==Stage work==
==Stage work==
Anderson had an English accent despite being brought up in Scotland.<ref name=":0" /> She made her first appearance on the stage at the [[Garrison Theatre]] in April 1945 in a production of ''[[Peg o' My Heart]]''. From 1945 through 1949, she played various parts with the [[Glasgow Citizens Theatre]]. At the 1950 [[Edinburgh Festival]], Anderson played the role of Venus in a production of ''The Queen's Comedy''. She made her [[London]] debut in October 1951 at the [[Piccadilly Theatre]] in ''[[The White Sheep of the Family (play)|The White Sheep of the Family]]''. Anderson went on two tours in 1955. In March of that year, she toured as Sabrina in ''[[Sabrina Fair]]''. In September 1955, she toured as Mary in ''[[All for Mary]]''.
Anderson had an English accent despite being brought up in Scotland.<ref name=":0" /> She made her first appearance on the stage at the [[Garrison Theatre]] in April 1945 in a production of ''[[Peg o' My Heart (play)|Peg o' My Heart]]''. From 1945 through 1949, she played various parts with the [[Glasgow Citizens Theatre]]. At the 1950 [[Edinburgh Festival]], Anderson played the role of Venus in a production of ''The Queen's Comedy''. She made her London debut in October 1951 at the [[Piccadilly Theatre]] in ''[[The White Sheep of the Family (play)|The White Sheep of the Family]]''. Anderson went on two tours in 1955. In March of that year, she toured as Sabrina in ''[[Sabrina Fair]]''. In September 1955, she toured as Mary in ''[[All for Mary]]''.


In October 1958, she played Mary Tufnell in ''[[Once a Rake]]'' at the [[Theatre Royal, Windsor]]. Anderson appeared in the premier of ''[[Savages (play)|Savages]]'' in 1973. She appeared at the [[Mermaid Theatre]] in their 1978 production of ''[[Whose Life Is It Anyway? (play)|Whose Life Is It Anyway?]]'', which transferred to the [[Savoy Theatre]]. In 1981, she played [[Frances Shand Kydd]] in the [[Ray Cooney]] comedy, ''[[Her Royal Highness..? (play)|Her Royal Highness]]'' at the [[Palace Theatre, London]] starring [[Marc Sinden]].<ref name="who"/>
In October 1958, she played Mary Tufnell in ''[[Once a Rake]]'' at the [[Theatre Royal, Windsor]]. Anderson appeared in the premier of ''[[Savages (play)|Savages]]'' in 1973. She appeared at the [[Mermaid Theatre]] in their 1978 production of ''[[Whose Life Is It Anyway? (play)|Whose Life Is It Anyway?]]'', which transferred to the [[Savoy Theatre]]. In 1981, she played [[Frances Shand Kydd]] in the [[Ray Cooney]] comedy, ''[[Her Royal Highness..? (play)|Her Royal Highness]]'' at the [[Palace Theatre, London]] starring [[Marc Sinden]].<ref name="who"/>


==Film career==
==Film career==
[[file:Rona Anderson.jpeg|thumb|Rona Anderson posing with leading members of the NZ cricket team]]
[[file:Rona Anderson.jpeg|thumb|Rona Anderson posing with leading members of the [[New Zealand national cricket team|New Zealand cricket team]]]]
Rona Anderson's first major film was the drama ''[[Sleeping Car to Trieste]]'' (1948) directed by [[John Paddy Carstairs]].<ref name="who"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040799|title=Sleeping Car to Trieste|publisher=IMDb|year=2009|accessdate=1 June 2009}}</ref> Anderson played the role of Alice (originally named "Belle" by Dickens) in ''[[Scrooge (1951 film)|Scrooge]]'' (1951), a film adaptation of Charles Dickens's ''[[A Christmas Carol]]''. She appeared alongside [[Lee Patterson]] in ''[[Man with a Gun (1958 film)|Man with a Gun]]'' (1958), directed by [[Montgomery Tully]], while her last major film appearance was in ''[[The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (film)|The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie]]'' (1969). Following this film she continued her work on the stage and in television series.<ref name="who"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0027386|title=Rona Anderson profile|publisher=IMDb|year=2009|accessdate=3 June 2009}}</ref>
Rona Anderson's first major film was the drama ''[[Sleeping Car to Trieste]]'' (1948) directed by [[John Paddy Carstairs]].<ref name="who"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040799|title=Sleeping Car to Trieste|publisher=IMDb|year=2009|access-date=1 June 2009}}</ref> Anderson played the role of Alice (originally named "Belle" by Dickens) in ''[[Scrooge (1951 film)|Scrooge]]'' (1951), a film adaptation of Charles Dickens's ''[[A Christmas Carol]]''. She appeared alongside [[Lee Patterson]] in ''[[Man with a Gun (1958 film)|Man with a Gun]]'' (1958), directed by [[Montgomery Tully]], while her last major film appearance was in ''[[The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (film)|The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie]]'' (1969). Following this film she continued her work on the stage and in television series.<ref name="who"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0027386|title=Rona Anderson profile|publisher=IMDb|year=2009|access-date=3 June 2009}}</ref>


From 1953 through 1983, Anderson appeared in several British television programmes. She appeared in three episodes of ''[[The Human Jungle (TV series)|The Human Jungle]]'' (1964–65) during its second season. Anderson played the role of Mary on the British sitcom ''[[Bachelor Father (UK TV series)|Bachelor Father]]'' (1970–71). Anderson later appeared in an episode of the long-running crime series ''[[The Professionals (TV series)|The Professionals]]'' entitled ''Cry Wolf'', in which her husband, Gordon Jackson, played George Cowley.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0027386/filmoseries#tt0162786|title=Rona Anderson's television filmography|publisher=IMDb.com|year=2009|accessdate=3 June 2009}}</ref>
From 1953 until 1983, Anderson appeared in several British television programmes. She appeared in three episodes of ''[[The Human Jungle (TV series)|The Human Jungle]]'' (1964–1965) during its second season. Anderson played the role of Mary on the British sitcom ''[[Bachelor Father (British TV series)|Bachelor Father]]'' (1970–1971). Anderson later appeared in an episode of the long-running crime series ''[[The Professionals (TV series)|The Professionals]]'' entitled ''Cry Wolf'', in which her husband, Gordon Jackson, played George Cowley.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0027386/filmoseries#tt0162786|title=Rona Anderson's television filmography|publisher=IMDb|year=2009|access-date=3 June 2009}}</ref>


==Critical assessment==
==Critical assessment==
Of her numerous roles in [[B movies|British B films]] in the 1950s, the film historians Steve Chibnall and Brian McFarlane say: "She was essentially crisp and wholesome, in her open Scots prettiness and brought a proper spirited resourcefulness to these assorted plucky heroines, making them a good deal more endearing and credible than the screenplays deserved."<ref>Steve Chibnall & Brian McFarlane, ''The British 'B' Film'', Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2009, p. 186.</ref>
Of her numerous roles in [[B movies|British B films]] in the 1950s, the film historians Steve Chibnall and [[Brian McFarlane (writer)|Brian McFarlane]] wrote: "She was essentially crisp and wholesome, in her open Scots prettiness and brought a proper spirited resourcefulness to these assorted plucky heroines, making them a good deal more endearing and credible than the screenplays deserved."<ref>Steve Chibnall & Brian McFarlane, ''The British 'B' Film'', Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2009, p. 186.</ref>


==Death==
==Death==
Anderson died on 23 July 2013, two weeks before her 87th birthday.<ref>[http://announcements.telegraph.co.uk/deaths/166367/jackson Death of Rona Anderson], ''Daily Telegraph'', 26 July 2013</ref>
Anderson died on 23 July 2013, at age 86.<ref>[http://announcements.telegraph.co.uk/deaths/166367/jackson Death of Rona Anderson], ''Daily Telegraph'', 26 July 2013</ref>


==Selected filmography==
==Selected filmography==
{{Div col}}
{{Div col}}
* ''[[Sleeping Car to Trieste]]'' (1948) - Joan Maxted
* ''[[Sleeping Car to Trieste]]'' (1948) – Joan Maxted
* ''[[Floodtide]]'' (1949) - Mary Anstruther
* ''[[Floodtide]]'' (1949) – Mary Anstruther
* ''[[Poet's Pub]]'' (1949) - Joanna Benbow
* ''[[Poet's Pub]]'' (1949) – Joanna Benbow
* ''[[The Twenty Questions Murder Mystery]]'' (1950) - Mary Game
* ''[[The Twenty Questions Murder Mystery]]'' (1950) – Mary Game
* ''[[Torment (1950 British film)|Torment]]'' (1950) - Joan
* ''[[Torment (1950 British film)|Torment]]'' (1950) – Joan
* ''[[Her Favourite Husband]]'' (1950) - Stellina
* ''[[Her Favourite Husband]]'' (1950) – Stellina
* ''[[Home to Danger]]'' (1951) - Barbara Cummings
* ''[[Home to Danger]]'' (1951) – Barbara Cummings
* ''[[Scrooge (1951 film)|Scrooge]]'' (1951) - Alice
* ''[[Scrooge (1951 film)|Scrooge]]'' (1951) – Alice
* ''[[Whispering Smith Hits London]]'' (1952) - Anne
* ''[[Whispering Smith Hits London]]'' (1952) – Anne
* ''[[Circumstantial Evidence (1952 film)|Circumstantial Evidence]]'' (1952) - Linda Harrison
* ''[[Circumstantial Evidence (1952 film)|Circumstantial Evidence]]'' (1952) – Linda Harrison
* ''[[Noose for a Lady]]'' (1953) - Jill Hallam
* ''[[Noose for a Lady]]'' (1953) – Jill Hallam
* ''[[Black 13]]'' (1953) - Claire
* ''[[Black 13]]'' (1953) – Claire
* ''[[Double Exposure (1954 film)|Double Exposure]]'' (1954)
* ''[[Double Exposure (1954 film)|Double Exposure]]'' (1954)
* ''[[The Black Rider (film)|The Black Rider]]'' (1954) - Mary Plack
* ''[[The Black Rider (film)|The Black Rider]]'' (1954) – Mary Plack
* ''[[Stock Car (film)|Stock Car]]'' (1955) - Katie Glebe
* ''[[Stock Car (film)|Stock Car]]'' (1955) – Katie Glebe
* ''[[Little Red Monkey]]'' (1955) - Julia Jackson
* ''[[Little Red Monkey]]'' (1955) – Julia Jackson
* ''[[The Flaw (1955 film)|The Flaw]]'' (1955) - Monica Oliveri
* ''[[The Flaw (1955 film)|The Flaw]]'' (1955) – Monica Oliveri
* ''[[A Time to Kill (1955 film)|A Time to Kill]]'' (1955) - Sallie Harbord
* ''[[A Time to Kill (1955 film)|A Time to Kill]]'' (1955) – Sallie Harbord
* ''[[Shadow of a Man]]'' (1956) - Linda Bryant
* ''[[Shadow of a Man]]'' (1956) – Linda Bryant
* ''[[Soho Incident]]'' (aka ''Spin a Dark Web'') (1956) - Betty Walker
* ''[[Soho Incident]]'' (aka ''Spin a Dark Web'') (1956) – Betty Walker
* ''[[Man with a Gun (1958 film)|Man with a Gun]]'' (1958) - Stella
* ''[[Man with a Gun (1958 film)|Man with a Gun]]'' (1958) – Stella
* ''[[Devils of Darkness]]'' (1965) - Anne
* ''[[Devils of Darkness]]'' (1965) – Anne
* ''[[The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (film)|The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie]]'' (1969) - Miss Lockhart
* ''[[The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (film)|The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie]]'' (1969) – Miss Lockhart
{{Div col end}}
{{Div col end}}


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
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[[Category:2013 deaths]]
[[Category:2013 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Scottish actresses]]
[[Category:20th-century Scottish actresses]]
[[Category:Disease-related deaths in England]]
[[Category:Actresses from Edinburgh]]
[[Category:Actresses from Edinburgh]]
[[Category:Scottish film actresses]]
[[Category:Scottish film actresses]]

Latest revision as of 10:45, 18 December 2024

Rona Anderson
Anderson in 1949
Born(1926-08-03)3 August 1926
Edinburgh, Scotland
Died23 July 2013(2013-07-23) (aged 86)
London, England
Years active1948–2013
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1951; died 1990)​
Children2

Rona Anderson (3 August 1926 – 23 July 2013) was a Scottish stage, film, and television actress. She appeared in TV series and on the stage and films throughout the 1950s. She appeared in the films Scrooge and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and on TV in Dr Finlay's Casebook and Dixon of Dock Green.

Biography

[edit]

Rona Anderson was born in Edinburgh to James and Evelyn (née Thomson) Anderson. She was educated in her home town and briefly in Ottawa during the war. She trained for the stage at the Glover Turner-Robertson School in Edinburgh.[1]

In 1951, she married fellow actor Gordon Jackson, with whom she had appeared in Floodtide (1949)[2] and remained with him until his death from bone cancer on 15 January 1990.

Stage work

[edit]

Anderson had an English accent despite being brought up in Scotland.[2] She made her first appearance on the stage at the Garrison Theatre in April 1945 in a production of Peg o' My Heart. From 1945 through 1949, she played various parts with the Glasgow Citizens Theatre. At the 1950 Edinburgh Festival, Anderson played the role of Venus in a production of The Queen's Comedy. She made her London debut in October 1951 at the Piccadilly Theatre in The White Sheep of the Family. Anderson went on two tours in 1955. In March of that year, she toured as Sabrina in Sabrina Fair. In September 1955, she toured as Mary in All for Mary.

In October 1958, she played Mary Tufnell in Once a Rake at the Theatre Royal, Windsor. Anderson appeared in the premier of Savages in 1973. She appeared at the Mermaid Theatre in their 1978 production of Whose Life Is It Anyway?, which transferred to the Savoy Theatre. In 1981, she played Frances Shand Kydd in the Ray Cooney comedy, Her Royal Highness at the Palace Theatre, London starring Marc Sinden.[1]

Film career

[edit]
Rona Anderson posing with leading members of the New Zealand cricket team

Rona Anderson's first major film was the drama Sleeping Car to Trieste (1948) directed by John Paddy Carstairs.[1][3] Anderson played the role of Alice (originally named "Belle" by Dickens) in Scrooge (1951), a film adaptation of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. She appeared alongside Lee Patterson in Man with a Gun (1958), directed by Montgomery Tully, while her last major film appearance was in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969). Following this film she continued her work on the stage and in television series.[1][4]

From 1953 until 1983, Anderson appeared in several British television programmes. She appeared in three episodes of The Human Jungle (1964–1965) during its second season. Anderson played the role of Mary on the British sitcom Bachelor Father (1970–1971). Anderson later appeared in an episode of the long-running crime series The Professionals entitled Cry Wolf, in which her husband, Gordon Jackson, played George Cowley.[5]

Critical assessment

[edit]

Of her numerous roles in British B films in the 1950s, the film historians Steve Chibnall and Brian McFarlane wrote: "She was essentially crisp and wholesome, in her open Scots prettiness and brought a proper spirited resourcefulness to these assorted plucky heroines, making them a good deal more endearing and credible than the screenplays deserved."[6]

Death

[edit]

Anderson died on 23 July 2013, at age 86.[7]

Selected filmography

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d Ian Herbert, ed. (1981). "ANDERSON, Rona". Who's Who in the Theatre. Vol. 1. Gale Research Company. p. 17. ISSN 0083-9833.
  2. ^ a b Bergan, Ronald (9 August 2013). "Rona Anderson obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  3. ^ "Sleeping Car to Trieste". IMDb. 2009. Retrieved 1 June 2009.
  4. ^ "Rona Anderson profile". IMDb. 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
  5. ^ "Rona Anderson's television filmography". IMDb. 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
  6. ^ Steve Chibnall & Brian McFarlane, The British 'B' Film, Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2009, p. 186.
  7. ^ Death of Rona Anderson, Daily Telegraph, 26 July 2013
[edit]
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