Phyllis Calvert

Birthday: 1915-02-18
Deathday: 2002-10-08
Birthplace: Chelsea, London, England, UK
Gender: Female
Owned By: Unowned

Phyllis Calvert (18 February 1915 – 8 October 2002) was an English film, stage and television actress.

Born Phyllis Hannah Bickle in Chelsea, she trained at the Margaret Morris School of Dancing and performed from the age of ten, gaining her first film role at the age of 12, in The Arcadians (1927), also known as The Land of Heart's Desire. Calvert performed in repertory theatre and in several films, before making her London stage debut in A Woman's Privilege in 1939.

During the following decade, she starred in many romances, including Fanny by Gaslight, with James Mason and Stewart Granger, and My Own True Love, becoming one of Britain's highest paid stars. However, three Hollywood studios failed to pay her what she asked.

She first found success in the film adaptation of H. G. Wells' Kipps (1941), but it was The Man in Grey (1943) that confirmed her status.

She acted in over 40 films, her later films include Oh! What a Lovely War and The Walking Stick. Calvert had already appeared on television, playing Mrs. March in the 1958 serials Little Women and Good Wives (both adapted from Louisa May Alcott's novel Little Women), as well as individual episodes of several other programmes, when, in 1970, she landed the part of an agony aunt with problems of her own in Kate. She made TV appearances in programmes such as Crown Court, Ladykillers, Tales of the Unexpected, Boon, After Henry and The Line Grove Story.

She was married to the actor and antiquarian bookseller Peter Murray Hill, with whom she had two children, Ann Auriol (born 1943) and Piers Auriol (born 1954). She died in London in 2002, from natural causes, aged 87.

Credits

Year Title Character
1997-09-01 Mrs. Dalloway Aunt Helena
1995-10-20 Bed Woman
1988-04-03 The Woman He Loved Queen Mary
1988-01-01 Across the Lake Lady Dolly Campbell
1987-05-03 The Death of the Heart Mrs. Heccomb
1986-12-09 All Passion Spent Carrie
1970-04-15 The Walking Stick Erica Dainton
1969-03-10 Oh! What a Lovely War Lady Dorothy Haig
1968-12-20 Twisted Nerve Enid Durnley
1965-05-26 The Battle of the Villa Fiorita Margot
1960-05-29 Oscar Wilde Constance Wilde
1958-07-16 Indiscreet Mrs. Margaret Munson
1958-01-01 The Young and the Guilty Gladys Connor
1958-01-01 A Lady Mislaid Esther Wallace
1956-08-14 Child in the House Evelyn Acheson
1956-05-07 It's Never Too Late Laura Hammond
1953-02-09 The Net Lydia Heathley
1952-07-29 Mandy Christine Garland
1951-12-18 Mr. Denning Drives North Kay Denning
1950-10-31 The Woman with No Name Yvonne Winter
1950-03-31 Appointment with Danger Sister Augustine
1949-05-23 The Golden Madonna Patricia Chandler
1948-07-01 My Own True Love Joan Clews
1948-04-14 Broken Journey Mary Johnstone
1947-05-03 Time Out of Mind Kate Fernald
1947-02-05 The Root of All Evil Jeckie Farnish
1946-09-20 The Magic Bow Jeanne
1946-09-19 Men of Two Worlds Dr. Caroline Munro
1945-07-02 They Were Sisters Lucy Moore
1945-01-22 Madonna of the Seven Moons Maddalena Labardi
1944-11-06 Two Thousand Women Freda Thompson
1944-05-08 Fanny by Gaslight Fanny
1943-08-06 The Man in Grey Clarissa Richmond Rohan / Clarissa Rohan
1942-09-21 The Young Mr. Pitt Eleanor Eden
1942-08-24 Uncensored Julie Lanvin
1941-06-28 Kipps Ann Pornick (adult)
1941-05-17 Inspector Hornleigh Goes to It Mrs. Wilkinson
1940-12-06 Neutral Port Helen Carter
1940-08-31 Charley's (Big-Hearted) Aunt Betty Forsythe
1940-07-12 Let George Do It! Mary Wilson
1940-03-07 They Came by Night Sally