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Doris Hare/Mabel Butler
1st March 1905 – 30th May 2000
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Doris at the start of her career in the 1930's
TRIVIA
Doris turned down the role of Ena Sharples in “Coronation Street” in 1960.
Doris
said she did not want to be tied down to a long term commitment or be typecast.
Doris
made a guest appearance in 'Corrie' in 1969 as Albert Tatlock’s fiancee, Alice Pickins, see photo below.
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Born into an acting family, her Father, Mother 3 Brothers
and 2 Sisters were all on the stage. At the age of three she made her professional debut at the Alexander Portable Theatre
in their production of Current Cash. She continued working in music halls and choruses before making her West End
debut at The Palace as Sally in The Scarlet Clue in 1916. In a packed career that spanned almost ninety years she
has toured Ireland, Australia and South Africa as well as appearing in America in various productions including Night
Must Fall. She has also played a principal boy in pantomimes and has worked for the Royal Shakespeare Company and The
National Theatre.
Doris was familiar voice throughout the war on the radio series
Shipmates Ashore, "a show for the MERCHANT NAVY" after which she received an MBE for her work as a wartime
entertainer.
Entertaining
members of the Merchant Marine during World War II, both in shipboard revues and as hostess of the radio
program 'Shipmates Ashore.'
Doris second from left and Vera Lynn second from right in the radio show 
info on wapidea Born in Bargoed, Glamorgan,
Doris Hare's parents had a portable theatre in South Wales and it seemed inevitable that she would become a part of it,
making her debut at the age of three in Current Cash and appearing in juvenile troupes all over Britain as a child, before
going solo as 'Little Doris Hare'. Appearing
in music-hall, variety, cabaret revues and pantomimes, Hare also acted in plays by George Bernard Shaw, Noel Coward, Alan
Bennett, Pinero and Harold Pinter. In 1930, the actress toured in The Show's the Thing, taking the part made famous by
Gracie Fields. Hare was also on radio during the early days of the BBC at Savoy Hill and was hostess of Shipmates Ashore,
the BBC's programme for the Merchant Navy, earning her an MBE in 1941. In October, 1932, she made her (apparently) only recording session in London; "Three White Feathers"
b/w "The Old Man of the Mountain" issued on Zonophone (6265). In the 1960s she spent a year with the National Theatre, three years with the Royal Shakespeare Company
and performed with the Chichester Festival Theatre company for several seasons. Doris Hare made her screen debut in the classic Night Mail film of 1936. She became
best known as a comedy actress, and appeared in films like The History of Mr Polly (1949) and popular TV programmes such as
Dixon of Dock Green and The Saint. Hare
came to national attention in the small-screen role as Stan Butler's widowed mother, Mrs Mabel Butler, in On the Buses,
taking over the part from Cicely Courtneidge in the second series of the raucous ITV comedy, which had started in 1969. The
series ran until 1973 and spawned three spin-off films On the Buses (1971), Mutiny on the Buses (1972) and Holiday on the
Buses (1973) in which Hare recreated her small-screen role. The cast also performed a stage version of the popular series
in Vancouver, Canada, in 1988. After
the show ended, Doris Hare spent a year in the West End farce No Sex Please, We're British. Having turned down the role of Ena Sharples in Coronation Street,
Doris did play Alice Pickens in the series during 1969. She was due to marry Albert Tatlock, but the wedding never took place. In 1969 she appeared in the paranormal detective series Randall
and Hopkirk (Deceased) in the 13th episode "But What a Sweet Little Room" as the scary spiritualist Madame Hanska.
She also appeared in the Confessions series of films with Robin Askwith and Anthony Booth during the 1970s. One of her last
film roles was as a nun in Nuns on the Run with comedy actor Robbie Coltrane in 1990. A couple of years later she made her
final stage appearance in the West End farce It Runs in the Family.
Above - Veteran stars of the variety stage talk about their lives in the
theatre. Doris was to appear on the show in August 1981.
Doris Hare won a Variety Club of Great Britain Special Award for her contributions
to show business in 1982.
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Annette (Ty Gwyn) and Doris Hare 20.04.90
Doris Hare & The Rector (left) With thanks to Les and St Sadwrns
Church
for permission to use the the photos‘©’ Doris never forgot her roots and carried on working until she sadly passed away at the age of 95. The actress died at Denville Hall, the actors'
retirement home in Northwood, Middlesex.
She was cremated at Breakspear on the 2nd June, 2000
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BBC NEWS ITEM Wednesday, 31 May, 2000,
03:24 GMT 04:24 UK On the Buses Stars Dies actress who played the
long-suffering mother to Reg Varney's character in On the Buses, Doris Hare, has died at the age
of 95. Her leading role in the popular 1970s sitcom helped make her a household name. She also counted numerous West End and
Broadway appearances among her credits, in an acting career which spanned 84 years. The actress died on Wednesday at Denville
Hall, the actors' retirement home in Northwood, Middlesex. She was much loved by audiences for her part in the popular
TV show On the Buses, which ran from 1970 to 1975 and spawned three feature film spin-offs. Ms Hare's co-star in the series, Anna Karen, paid tribute to the actress,
who she said had remarkable energy and panache. "She was an absolutely amazing lady. I've never met a woman who was
so full of life," said Miss Karen, who played Miss Hare's daughter Olive in the bus garage sitcom. Ms Hare was born
in Bargoed, South Wales, in March 1905, and made her stage debut at the age of three at the Alexander Portable Theatre, Bargoed.
Her first West End hit came at the Adelphi Theatre in 1932, when she was 27, with John Mills in Noel Coward's revue Words
and Music. Wartime entertainer After her Broadway debut in 1936, she kept London audiences laughing during the war with her
comedy role in the revue Lights Up! at the Savoy Theatre. The actress was a leading player with the Royal Shakespeare Company
from 1963, but it was her role in On the Buses which brought her widest fame. "She was always tremendously popular because
she was just so down-to-earth, not one of those grand leading ladies with airs and graces," said the author and critic
Michael Thornton. Her other TV roles included appearances in She'll Have To Go and Why Didn't They Ask Evans? in 1980.
Her final West End appearance was at the grand age of 87 at the London Palladium when she received a standing ovation alongside
Sir John Mills at a tribute to Evelyn Laye. Ms Hare, who was a widow, leaves two daughters. |
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Memories of Doris Hare from her Daughter and Grandson
A tribute to Doris in Borehamwood Times by Paul Burton
Guardian Newspaper obituariey
CAREER DETAILS:
1935 play- Dancing City Play Oldham
Colisium
1935 play- Opening Night
1935 play- Jubilee Window
1938 play- ITS IN THE BAG with Doris Hare &
Elisabeth Welch
1939 play- She Couldn't Say No
1939- North Sea Patrol
1940 She Couldn't Say No with
Tommy Trinder
1945 THE MUSICAL ROMANCE SWEET YESTERDAY (MUSICIAL ROMANCE) PRODUCED BY JACK HULBERT ADELPHI THEATRE LONDON,
HUGH MILLER, REGINALD TATE, ANNE ZIEGLER, WEBSTER BOOTH, MARK DALYADELPHI THEATRE LONDON
CAST; WEBSTER BOOTH, ANNE ZIEGLER,
DORIS HARE, MARK DALY, REGINALD TATE, HUGH MILLER
1947. 1066 and All That. Richard Littledale, Wallas Eaton.
1948
17th October .A gala revue at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane to promote National Savings !! Cast includes John Mills & Leslie
Mitchell, Moira Lister & David Peel, exerpts from opera & ballet, revue including Hattie Jacques, Stanley Holloway,
Lupino Lane 1st Bn. Scots Guards, Finale of THE LAMBETH WALK including Hermione Gingold, Margaret Rutherford, Doris
Hare, Bobby Howes,Ronald Shiner.
1948 Here Come the Huggetts
1949 The History of Mr. Polly
1950 Dance hall
with Petula Clarke
1954 Double Exposure
1955 THE WATER
GYPSIES Jerry Verno Doris Hare Ian Frazer Dora Bryan Tom Swift
1955 Tiger by the Tail
1955 No Smoking
1957
Stranger's Meeting
1958 Heartbreak House by Bernard Shaw at the Lyric Theatre London
The production starred
Sarah Badel, Doris Hare, John Clements, Diana Churchill, Irene Worth, David Bird, Michael Aldridge, Bill Fraser, John Humphry
and Carl Bernard.
1959 The League of Gentlemen
1961 Aldwych Theatre,
Royal Shakespeaare Theatre Company, The Physicists,
Cast: Doris Hare, Gordon Honeycombe, Cyril Cusack, Patricia
Connolly, Clive Swift, Edmond Bennett, John Corvin, Peter Geddis, Ian Mcculloch, Irene Worth, Alan Webb, Diana Rigg.
1963 A Place to Go
1964 Aldwych Theatre Afore Night Come. cast includes Paul Dawkins,Timothy West and Doris Hare.
Aldwych Theatre ' The Birthday Party ' by Harold Pinter ... starring Newton Black, Brewster Mason, Doris Hare, Patrick
Magee
1966 Piccadilly Theater 'Man of Magic'. Cast: Stuart Damon, Judith Bruce, Stubby Kaye, Doris Hare, Colin
Welland, Gaye Brown: Director - Peter Ebert
1967 ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER PLACE film(1958) Sean Connery Debut STARRING:
Lana Turner, Sean Connery, Barry Sullivan, Glynis Johns, Sidney James, Terrence Longdon, Doris Hare, Martin Stephens
1969
Coronation Steet 9 (as Alice Pickins)
On the Buses 1969-1973
On the Buses 1971 FILM
Dois Hare This is Your
Life 1971
Mutiny On the Buses 1972
Holiday on the Buses 1973
Confessions of a Pop Performer 1975
Confessions
of a Driving Instructor 1976
Confessions of a Holiday Camp 1977
Why Didn't They Ask Evans?1980
uns on
the Run 1990
Second Best 1994 with John Hurt
Television appearances include The House That Jack Built, Mr Digby Darling, Her Majesty's Pleasure, Sez Les,
Mums The Word, Three Piece Suite, She'll Have To Go, Diamonds, Nanny, Sharing The Time, Adrian Mole, Cellar Show, Never
The Twain, Comrade Dad, Done Thievin, First Things First, and The Alexei Sayle Show
LP
Records Doris has sung on:
1932-1933 'Syd Litpon & His Grosvenor House Band'
'You
Must Remember This Songs from War'
'Britain CanTake it' singing I Didn't
Really Never Oughter 'Ave Went -
The Water Gipsies singing Why Should Spring Have All The Flowers.
Apperance in plays etc; years unkown
The Royal Court Theatre, The Fire Raisers directed by Lindsay Anderson and starring Alfred Mark,s, John Thaw,
Doris Hare and James Booth/
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