Dame Wendy Margaret Hiller DBE (August 15, 1912 – May 14, 2003) was a distinguished English film and stage actress. The Academy Award-winning actress enjoyed a varied acting career that spanned nearly sixty years. Despite many notable film performances, she chose to remain primarily a stage actress. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Pygmalion is a Greek name, probably going back to Phoenician roots. ... is the 227th day of the year (228th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Bramhall (a disrict of Stockport in Greater Manchester, North West England) Bramhall is a large village in Stockport, England. ... Stockport is a large town in the north west of England. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... May 14 is the 134th day of the year (135th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Beaconsfield is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England lying almost 25 miles NW of London. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Ronald Gow (November 1, 1897 – April 27, 1993) was an English dramatist, best known for Love on the Dole (1934). ... Academy Award The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent and most watched film awards ceremony in the world. ... The Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the awards given to actresses working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; nominations are made by Academy members who are actors and actresses. ... Separate Tables is a 1958 film, based on the play by Terence Rattigan and directed by Delbert Mann. ... The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... is the 227th day of the year (228th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... May 14 is the 134th day of the year (135th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the English as a nation. ... “Moving picture” redirects here. ... Serge Sudeikins poster for the Bat Theatre (1922). ... For other uses, see Actor (disambiguation). ... Academy Award The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent and most watched film awards ceremony in the world. ...

Born in Bramhall, Stockport, in Cheshire, the daughter of Frank Watkin Hiller, a Manchester cotton manufacturer, and Marie Stone, she began her professional career as an actress in repertory at Manchester in the early 1930s. She first found success as Sally Hardcastle in the stage version of Love on the Dole in 1934. This play also saw her West End debut in 1935, and she married the play's author Ronald Gow in 1937. In the early 1940s they moved to Beaconsfield, where they had two children and lived together in the house called "Spindles" until Gow's death in 1993. Bramhall (a disrict of Stockport in Greater Manchester, North West England) Bramhall is a large village in Stockport, England. ... Stockport is a large town in the north west of England. ... Cheshire (or, archaically, the County of Chester)[1] is a county in North West England. ... Repertory or rep, called stock in the U.S., is a term from Western theatre. ... This article is about the City of Manchester in England. ... Love on the Dole is a novel by Walter Greenwood, about working class poverty in 1930s Northern England. ... West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre in London, England, or sometimes more specifically for shows staged in the large theatres of Londons Theatreland. Along with New Yorks Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre... Ronald Gow (November 1, 1897 – April 27, 1993) was an English dramatist, best known for Love on the Dole (1934). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Beaconsfield is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England lying almost 25 miles NW of London. ...

Despite a busy professional career, throughout her life she continually took an active interest in aspiring young actors by supporting local amateur drama societies. [1]. Dame Wendy Hiller eventually retired from acting in 1992, spending the last decade of her life in quiet retirement at her home in Beaconsfield. She died of natural causes at home, aged 90. [2].

Regarded as one of Britain's great dramatic talents, she was created an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) in 1971 and raised to Dame Commander (DBE) in 1975. Her style was disciplined and unpretentious, and she disliked personal publicity. The writer Sheridan Morley described Hiller as being remarkable in her "extreme untheatricality until the house lights went down, whereupon she would deliver a performance of breathtaking reality and expertise". The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... This page meets Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ...

Stage career

The huge popularity of Love on the Dole took the production to New York in 1936, where her performance attracted the attention of George Bernard Shaw. Shaw recognized a spirited radiance in the young actress, which was ideally suited for playing his heroines. Shaw cast her in several of his plays, including Saint Joan, Pygmalion and Major Barbara and his influence on her early career is clearly apparent. She was reputed to be Shaw's favorite actress of the time. Unlike other stage actresses of her generation, she did relatively little Shakespeare, preferring the more modern dramatists such as Henrik Ibsen and new plays adapted from the novels of Henry James and Thomas Hardy among others. George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856–2 November 1950) was an Irish dramatist, literary critic, and socialist. ... Saint Joan is a 1923 play by G. Bernard Shaw that he wrote shortly after the Roman Catholic Church canonized Joan of Arc. ... Play cover, depicting Mrs Campbell as Eliza Pygmalion (1913) is a play by George Bernard Shaw based on Ovids tale of Pygmalion. ... Major Barbara is a 1905 three act play by George Bernard Shaw that was first produced at the Royal Court Theatre in London. ... Ibsen redirects here. ... For other uses of this name, see Henry James (disambiguation). ... “Thomas Hardy” redirects here. ...

In the course of her stage career, Wendy Hiller won popular and critical acclaim in both London and New York. She excelled at rather plain but strong willed characters. After touring England as Viola in Twelfth Night (1943) she returned to the West End to be directed by John Gielgud in Cradle Song (Apollo, 1944). The string of notable successes continued with The First Gentleman (Savoy, 1945) with Robert Morley, Playboy of the Western World (Bristol Old Vic, 1946) and Tess of the d'Urbervilles (Bristol Old Vic, 1946, transferring to the West End also in 1946), which was adapted for the stage by her husband Ronald Gow. Twelfth Night has at least three meanings: Twelfth Night (holiday), celebrated by some Christians Twelfth Night, or What You Will, a comedic play by William Shakespeare Twelfth Night (band), a progressive rock band This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share... West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre in London, England, or sometimes more specifically for shows staged in the large theatres of Londons Theatreland. Along with New Yorks Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre... Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH (14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000), known as Sir John Gielgud, was an Emmy, Grammy, Tony and Academy Award-winning British theatre and film actor. ... Cradle Song (1981) is a dramatic short film written, produced, and directed by Sharron Miller. ... Robert Morley CBE (May 26, 1908 – June 3, 1992) was an Oscar-nominated English actor who, often in supporting roles, was usually cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment. ... The Playboy of the Western World is a three-act play written by Irish playwright J. M. Synge and first performed at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, on January 26, 1907. ... Tess of the dUrbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented is a novel by Thomas Hardy, first published in 1891. ... Ronald Gow (November 1, 1897 – April 27, 1993) was an English dramatist, best known for Love on the Dole (1934). ...

In 1947, Wendy Hiller originated the role of Catherine Sloper, the painfully shy, vulnerable spinster in The Heiress on Broadway. The play, based on the Henry James novel Washington Square , also featured Basil Rathbone as her emotionally abusive father. The production enjoyed a year-long run at the Biltmore Theater in New York and would prove to be her greatest triumph on Broadway. Olivia de Havilland would later win the Oscar for the role in the film version in 1949. Upon returning to London, Hiller again played the role in the West End production in 1950. The Heiress is a 1949 film which tells the story of two young people who want to marry despite the girls fathers objections. ... For other uses of this name, see Henry James (disambiguation). ... Washington Square is the name of some urban parks in the United States. ... Basil Rathbone (13 June 1892 – 21 July 1967), Military Cross, was a British actor most famous for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes and of suave villains in such swashbuckler films as The Mark of Zorro, Captain Blood, and The Adventures of Robin Hood. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ...

Her stage work remained a priority and continued with Ann Veronica (Piccadilly, 1949), which was another collaboration with Gow, who wrote the play with his wife as leading lady. She did a two year run in N.C. Hunter's Waters of the Moon (Haymarket, 1951-52), alongside Sybil Thorndike and Edith Evans. A season at the Old Vic in 1955-56 produced a notable performance as Portia in Julius Caesar among others. Other stage work at this time included The Night of the Ball (New Theatre, 1955), the new Robert Bolt play Flowering Cherry (Haymarket, 1958, 1959 Broadway), The Wings of the Dove (Lyric, 1963), A Measure of Cruelty (Birmingham Repetory, 1965), The Sacred Flame (Duke of York's Theatre, 1967) with Gladys Cooper and The Battle of Shrivings (Lyric, 1970) with John Gielgud. Dame Sybil Thorndike (October 24, 1882–June 9, 1976) was a British actress. ... Blue plaque at 109 Ebury Street, London Dame Edith Mary Evans DBE (8 February 1888–14 October 1976) was an Academy Award nominated and Golden Globe award winning actress. ... For other uses, see Julius Caesar (disambiguation). ... Robert Oxton Bolt (August 15, 1924 – February 12, 1995) was an English playwright and screenwriter. ... The Wings of the Dove is a 1902 novel by Henry James. ... The Sacred Flame (1928) was William Somerset Maughams 21st play, written at the age of 54. ... Dame Gladys Constance Cooper DBE (18 December 1888–17 November 1971) was an Oscar-nominated English actress. ... Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH (14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000), known as Sir John Gielgud, was an Emmy, Grammy, Tony and Academy Award-winning British theatre and film actor. ...

In 1957, Wendy Hiller went to New York to star as Josie Hogan in Eugene O'Neill's A Moon for the Misbegotten, a performance which garnered her a nomination for Broadway's Tony Award as Best Dramatic Actress. Her last appearance on Broadway was in the 1962 production of Michael Redgrave's new play The Aspern Papers, adapted from the Henry James novella. Eugene Gladstone ONeill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was a Nobel- and four-time Pulitzer Prize-winning American playwright. ... Poster for the 2000 Broadway revival A Moon for the Misbegotten is a play by Eugene ONeill. ... What is popularly called the Tony Award (formally, the Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre) is an annual award celebrating achievements in live American theater, including musical theater, primarily honoring productions on Broadway in New York. ... The Aspern Papers is a novella written by Henry James, originally published in The Atlantic Monthly in 1888, with its first book publication later in the same year. ... For other uses of this name, see Henry James (disambiguation). ...

Dame Wendy Hiller

As she matured, she demonstrated a strong affinity for the plays of Henrik Ibsen, as Irene in When We Dead Awaken (Cambridge, 1968), as Mrs. Alving in Ghosts (Edinburgh, 1972), Aase in Peer Gynt (BBC, 1972) and as Gunhild in John Gabriel Borkman (Old Vic, 1975), in which she appeared with Ralph Richardson and Peggy Ashcroft. Later West End triumphs such as Queen Mary in Crown Matrimonial (Haymarket, 1972) proved she was not limited to playing dejected, emotionally deprived women. She later revisited some earlier plays playing older characters, as in West End revivals of Waters of the Moon (1977 Chichester Festival, Haymarket, 1978) with Ingrid Bergman and The Aspern Papers (Haymarket, 1984) with Vanessa Redgrave. Her final West End performance was the title role in Driving Miss Daisy (Apollo, 1988). Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... When We Dead Awaken (Norwegian: NÃ¥r vi døde vÃ¥gner) is a play by Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen. ... Ghosts (original Norwegian title: Gengangere) is a play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. ... Peer Gynt is a play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. ... John Gabriel Borkman is the penultimate composition of the great Norwegian playwright, Henrik Ibsen, written in 1896. ... Sir Ralph David Richardson (19 December 1902 – 10 October 1983) was an English actor, one of a group of theatrical knights of the mid-20th century who, though more closely associated with the stage, did their best to make the transition to film. ... Dame Peggy Ashcroft DBE (22 December 1907 – 14 June 1991) was an acclaimed Academy Award-winning English actress. ... Mary of Teck (Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes; 26 May 1867 – 24 March 1953) was the Queen Consort of George V. Queen Mary was also the Empress of India. ...   (pronounced in Swedish, but usually in English, IPA notation) (August 29, 1915 – August 29, 1982) was a three-time Academy Award-winning and two-time Emmy Award-winning Swedish actress. ... The Aspern Papers is a novella written by Henry James, originally published in The Atlantic Monthly in 1888, with its first book publication later in the same year. ... Vanessa Redgrave, CBE (born 30 January 1937) is an Academy Award winning English actress and member of the Redgrave family, one of the enduring theatrical dynasties. ... Driving Miss Daisy is a 1987 play by Alfred Uhry adapted into a 1989 Warner Bros. ...

Film career

At Shaw's insistence, she starred as Eliza Doolittle in the film Pygmalion (1938) with Leslie Howard as Professor Higgins. This performance earned her her first Oscar nomination and became one of her most famous film roles. She was the first actress to curse in a British film, when Eliza utters the line "Not bloody likely, I'm going in a taxi!". She followed up this success with another Shaw adaptation, Major Barbara with Rex Harrison and Robert Morley, in 1941. The ground-breaking film team of Powell & Pressburger signed her for their 1943 film The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, but she was forced to back out due to pregnancy. The role eventually went to Deborah Kerr. Determined to work with Hiller, it would not happen until 1945, when she starred in I Know Where I'm Going!, which became a classic of British cinema. Eliza Doolittle is a fictional character who appears in the play Pygmalion (George Bernard Shaw, 1912) and, by extension, the musical version of that play My Fair Lady. ... Pygmalion (1938) is a British film based on George Bernard Shaws play of the same name, and adapted by him for the screen. ... Leslie Howard (April 3, 1893 - June 1, 1943) was a British stage and Academy Award nominated film actor. ... Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ... Major Barbara is a 1941 British film starring Wendy Hiller as Barbara Undershaft, Rex Harrison as Adolphus Cusins, Robert Morley as Andrew Undershaft, Robert Newton as Bill Walker, and Sybil Thorndike as The General, with Marie Lohr as Lady Britomart, and Deborah Kerr as Jenny Hill. ... Sir Reginald Carey Rex Harrison (b. ... Powell and Pressburger were a British-based film-making partnership of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, also known as The Archers. ... The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) is a film by the British writer-director-producer team of Powell & Pressburger under the banner of The Archers. It stars Roger Livesey, Deborah Kerr and Anton Walbrook. ... Deborah Kerr, CBE (born 30 September 1921) is a Golden Globe award winning Scottish actress who is a recipient of an Academy Honorary Award for a motion picture career that has always represented Perfection, Discipline and Elegance. ... Joan Webster (Wendy Hiller) and Torquil MacNeil (Roger Livesey) look on at a Ceilidh. ...

Despite her early film success and offers from Hollywood, she returned to the stage full-time after 1945 and only occasionally accepted film roles. With her return to film in the 1950's, she portrayed an abused colonial wife in Carol Reed's Outcast of the Islands (1952), but had already transitioned into mature, supporting roles with Sailor of the King (1953) and a memorable victim of the Mau Mau uprising in Something of Value (1957). She won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 1959 for the film Separate Tables (1958), as a lonely hotel manageress, a role she had played on stage. She remained uncompromising in her indifference to film stardom, as evidenced by her surprising reaction to her Oscar win "never mind the honour, cold hard cash is what it means to me". [3] She received a third Oscar nomination for her performance as the simple, unrefined but dignified Lady Alice More, opposite Paul Scofield as Thomas More, in A Man for All Seasons (1966). The southern gothic Toys in the Attic (1963) earned her a Golden Globe nomination as a doting spinster sister. Her portrayals of a possessive mother in Sons and Lovers (1960), a class-conscious Russian princess in Murder on the Orient Express (1974), a Jewish refugee in Voyage of the Damned (1976) and a formidable hospital matron in The Elephant Man (1980) were also considered memorable. Outcast of the Islands is a 1952 film directed by Carol Reed, based on the novel by Joseph Conrad under the similar title An Outcast of the Islands. ... The Mau Mau Uprising was an insurgency by Kenyan rebels against the British colonial administration from 1952 to 1960. ... Something Of Value is a 1957 drama film directed by Richard Brooks. ... Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ... Best Supporting Actor or Best Supporting Actress is an accolade given by a group of film or theatre professionals in recognition of the work of supporting and character actors. ... Separate Tables is a 1958 film, based on the play by Terence Rattigan and directed by Delbert Mann. ... David Paul Scofield, CH, CBE (born 21 January 1922) is a British actor who was born in Hurstpierpoint, Sussex, England. ... For the numerous educational institutions, see Thomas More College. ... A Man for All Seasons is a 1966 film based on Robert Bolts play of the same name about Sir Thomas More. ... Toys in the Attic is a 1963 film starring Dean Martin, Geraldine Page, Wendy Hiller and Gene Tierney. ... The Golden Globe Awards are American awards for motion pictures and television programs, given out each year during a formal dinner. ... Sons and Lovers is a 1960 film adaptation of the D. H. Lawrence novel Sons and Lovers. ... Murder on the Orient Express is a 1974 feature film directed by Sidney Lumet and based on the 1934 novel Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie. ... Voyage of the Damned is the title of a 1976 film drama inspired by true events concerning the fate of an ocean liner carrying Jewish refugees from Germany to Cuba in 1939. ... The Elephant Man is a 1980 biopic loosely based on the story of the 19th century British deformed celebrity, Joseph Merrick (called John Merrick in the film). ...

Other film work includes:

• Lancashire Luck (1937)
• How to Murder a Rich Uncle (1958)
• The Cat and the Canary (1978)
• Miss Morison's Ghosts (1981)
• Making Love (1982)
• Attracta (1983)
• The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne (1987)

Making Love is a 1982 film about a married man coming to terms with his homosexuality and the love triangle that develops around him, his wife and another man. ... Saint Attracta (Naomh Adhracht in Irish) is the patron saint of the parish of Tourlestrane, Co. ... The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne is a 1987 drama film made by Handmade Films Ltd. ... Miyoshi Umeki (May 8, 1929 – August 28, 2007[1]), was an Academy Award-winning actress best known for her roles as Katsumi, the wife of Joe Kelly (Red Buttons), in the 1957 film Sayonara, and as Mrs. ... Sayonara is a 1957 film which tells the story of an American Air Force flier who was a fighter Ace during the Korean War. ... The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; nominations are made by Academy members who are actors and actresses. ... Separate Tables is a 1958 film, based on the play by Terence Rattigan and directed by Delbert Mann. ... Shelley Winters (August 18, 1920 – January 14, 2006) was a two-time Academy Award-winning American actress. ... The Diary of Anne Frank is a 1959 motion picture based on the diary of Holocaust victim Anne Frank. ...

Television career

She made numerous television appearances, in both Britain and in the United States. In the 1950's and 1960's, she performed in episodes of American drama series such as "Studio One" and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" among others. In 1965, she starred in an episode of the acclaimed dramatic series "Profiles in Courage", in which she played Anne Hutchinson, a free-thinking woman charged with heresy in Colonial America. In Britain, in the 1960's, she appeared in the drama series "Play of the Month", Play for Today as well as on the children's TV programme Jackanory, reading the stories of Alison Uttley. Anne Hutchinson on Trial by Edwin Austin Abbey Anne Hutchinson (July, 1591 – July, 1643) was the unauthorized Puritan preacher of a dissident church discussion group and a pioneer settler in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Netherlands. ... The Play for Today logo, seen here in the opening title sequence from 1976. ... Jackanory is a long-running BBC childrens television series that was designed to stimulate an interest in reading. ... Alison Uttley (17 December 1884 – 7 May 1976), née Alice Jane Taylor, was a prolific British writer of over 100 books. ...

Throughout the 1970's and 1980's, she appeared in many television films including a memorable Duchess of York in the BBC Television Shakespeare production of Richard II (1978), the irrasible Edwardian Oxford academic in Miss Morrison's Ghosts (1981) and in the BBC dramatization of the Vita Sackville-West novel All Passion Spent (1986), she was the quietly defiant Lady Slane. Her last appearance, before retiring from acting, was the title role in The Countess Alice (1992) with Zoe Wanamaker. The BBC Television Shakespeare was a set of television adaptations of the plays of Shakespeare, produced by the BBC between 1978 and 1985. ... Vita Sackville-West Vita Sackville-West (March 9, 1892 – June 2, 1962) was an English poet, novelist and gardener. ... Zoe Wanamaker as Madam Hooch Zoë Wanamaker, Honorary CBE (born May 13, 1949 in New York City) is an American-born actress who lives and works in the United Kingdom. ...

Other TV roles include:

• David Copperfield (1969)
• Clochemerle (1972)
• The Curse of King Tut's Tomb (1980)
• Country (1981)
• The Kingfisher (1982)
• Witness for the Prosecution (1982)
• The Importance of Being Earnest (1985)
• The Death of the Heart (1985)
• Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy (1986)
• Anne of Avonlea (1987)
• A Taste for Death (1988)
• Ending Up (1989)
• The Best Of Friends (1991)

Clochemerle is a 1934 French satirical novel by Gabriel Chevallier. ... Witness for the Prosecution is a 1957 crime film based on a short story (and later play) by Agatha Christie. ... Anne of Avonlea is a 1987 television film. ... The Best of Friends is a compilation album (9th release) by singer/songwriter duo Loggins and Messina, released in late 1976 (see 1977 in music). ...

External links

• Wendy Hiller at the Internet Movie Database
• Wendy Hiller at the TCM Movie Database
• Wendy Hiller at the Internet Broadway Database
• Wendy Hiller at screenonline