Margaret Rawlings

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Margaret Rawlins (1973), portrait by Allan Warren

Margaret Rawlings, Lady Barlow (born June 5, 1906 in Osaka , Japan , † May 19, 1996 in Wendover , Buckinghamshire , England ) was a British actress who was considered a major actress in British theater.

life and career

Margaret Rawlins was born in Japan to a British missionary. While she was still receiving her schooling at Lady Margaret Hall , Rawlins appeared in the first plays of John Masefield . She learned her acting craft with a theater group that performed exclusively works by George Bernhard Shaw . She attracted attention in 1931 with a depiction of Salome based on a choreography by Ninette de Valois, which was described as extraordinarily erotic . She particularly focused on tragic, dramatic characters such as Lady Macbeth in William Shakespeare's Macbeth . The actress was considered to be very independent: When she was dissatisfied with a performance of Phèdre by Jean Racine , which was her favorite role, she quickly re-translated and staged the play herself. At an advanced age, she was much noticed as the lavish Empress Eugénie in a one-man Piece on. In her long career in the theater, from 1927 to 1983, Rawlins was considered consistently successful. She was mostly seen in the West End in London, but also made a few appearances on Broadway in New York. In her obituary, the Independent wrote that she was probably the last great classic tragedy actress to go.

Compared to her theater career, Rawlings' cinematic output is rather small. Over a period of more than 60 years, she took part in feature films, television films and television series at irregular intervals. In A Heart and a Crown (1953) she embodied the strict countess who guards a princess played by Audrey Hepburn . Rawlins had her last role in 1990 as the mother of Dr. Jekyll ( Michael Caine ) in the TV movie Jekyll and Hyde .

From 1927 to the divorce in 1938 Rawlins was married to the British actor and theater director Gabriel Toyne (1905-1963). In 1942 she married Sir Robert Barlow, which also gave her the title of Lady. They were married and had one child until his death in 1976. Margaret Rawlins died shortly before her 90th birthday in 1996.

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Obituary in the Independent
  2. ^ Margaret Rawlins in the IBDB
  3. ^ Obituary in the Independent
personal data
SURNAME Rawlings, Margaret
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rawlings, Lady Barlow, Margaret (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British actress
DATE OF BIRTH June 5, 1906
PLACE OF BIRTH Osaka , Japan
DATE OF DEATH May 19, 1996
Place of death Wendover , Buckinghamshire , England