Rosalind Knight

Birthday: 1933-12-03
Deathday: 2020-12-19
Birthplace: Marylebone, London, England, UK
Gender: Female
Owned By: Unowned

Born in Marylebone, London, versatile character actress Rosalind Marie Knight was born to theatrical parentage. Her father was the accomplished thespian Esmond Knight. Her mother, the comedienne Frances Clare, often featured in Ivor Novello operettas. Rosalind's interest in theatre was first kindled at the age of six when she and her mother attended a staging of Novello's "The Dancing Years" at Drury Lane. Rosalind was evacuated to the countryside with her nanny during the war years. In 1949, she accompanied her father to the Old Vic Theatre and became enthralled by a production of "The Snow Queen", primarily performed by drama school novices. The following year she won an audition and spent two years at the Old Vic Theatre School. This was succeeded by a lengthy apprenticeship in repertory which led to her gaining further experience as assistant stage manager for the West of England Theatre Company, the Midland Theatre Company in Coventry and the Piccolo Theatre Company in Manchester.

In 1955, she made her first impact on screen as a lady-in-waiting in Laurence Olivier's Richard III (1955), which also featured her father in the cast. A year later, having come to the attention of a movie producer, she played Annabel, one of the schoolgirls, in Blue Murder at St. Trinian's (1957) (decades later, she would return as a teacher in the sequel The Wildcats of St. Trinian's (1980)). This set the tone for a number of subsequent comedic roles which included a couple of early Carry On's and the Tony Richardson-directed Tom Jones (1963), in which she played the giddy Mrs. Harriet Fitzpatrick. While doing the Carry On films she was not under any form of contract and was paid a mere $50 a week. In 1957, Rosalind joined her father in an early BBC adaptation of Nicholas Nickleby (1957) as the spiteful Fanny Squeers. In a later miniseries based on Charles Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit (1964), she was a splendidly shrewish Charity Pecksniff.

During her prolific career, Rosalind relished every opportunity to portray a diverse range of characters, good and bad, from servants to princesses (Alice of Battenberg in The Crown (2016)) to old maids (Aspasia Fitzgibbon in The Pallisers (1974)) to wealthy socialites (Margot Asquith in Nancy Astor (1982)) and unpleasant aristocratic dowagers (Daphne Winkworth in Jeeves and Wooster (1990)). She even essayed a retired prostitute turned landlady in the sitcom Gimme Gimme Gimme (1999). In addition to a staple of period dramas she guested in numerous episodic TV dramas, including Poirot (1989), Dalziel and Pascoe (1996), Heartbeat (1992), Marple (2004), Midsomer Murders (1997) and Sherlock (2010). All the while, she remained heavily engaged in theatrical work with the Old Vic, The Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Court Theatre, her last appearance being the strict, incorruptible governess Mrs. Prism in Shaw's "The Importance of Being Earnest".

Rosalind was married to director/producer Michael Elliott from 1959. In 1976, she helped rebuild and re-open the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, of which her husband was involved as one of five artistic directors. She was also a patron of the Actor's Centre in London and the Ladies' Theatrical Guild (a charity founded in 1891). Rosalind Knight continued to perform as an actress right up to her death on December 19 2020, at the age of 87.

Credits

Year Title Character
2015-10-30 The Lady in the Van Old Nun
2011-09-05 The Lost World Cup
2009-01-01 The Alchemistic Suitcase Lady
2007-10-18 The Shell Seekers Mrs. Croftway
2002-04-26 About a Boy Lindsey's Mum
1998-12-18 Gunslinger's Revenge Miss Willow
1995-02-10 Solitaire for 2 Receptionist
1994-10-25 Pleasure Madame Desneuves
1993-09-26 Royal Celebration Mrs. Maynard
1992-04-14 Swords at Teatime Shirley
1991-10-10 Afraid of the Dark Edith
1987-10-04 Claws Mrs Hargreaves
1987-04-17 Prick Up Your Ears RADA Judge
1982-12-08 The Disappearance of Harry Dr Abbeydale
1981-01-23 The Kindness of Mrs Radcliffe Matron
1980-09-10 The Wildcats of St. Trinian's Miss Walsh
1979-04-30 The Lady Vanishes Evelyn Barnes
1977-11-10 That's Carry On! Felicity Wheeler
1976-11-11 It Could Happen to You Mrs Ramlin
1975-11-07 The Old Curiosity Shop Mrs. George
1975-01-17 Eskimo Nell Lady Longhorn
1973-12-06 Baby Blues Sister Maidenhead
1970-02-04 Start the Revolution Without Me Helene de Sisi
1968-11-27 On the Eve of Publication Barbara
1963-08-24 Tom Jones Mrs. Fitzpatrick
1963-03-21 As You Like It Celia
1961-08-14 The Kitchen Daphne
1960-08-31 There Was a Crooked Man Nurse
1960-07-12 Doctor in Love Doctor (uncredited)
1959-08-20 Carry On Teacher Felicity Wheeler
1959-01-30 Carry On Nurse Student Nurse Nightingale
1958-11-11 The Horse's Mouth Art Student (uncredited)
1957-12-01 Blue Murder at St. Trinian's Annabel
1957-03-13 Fortune Is a Woman (uncredited)