Madoline Thomas

Madoline Thomas (born Madoline Mary Price; 2 January 1890 – 30 December 1989) was a Welsh character actress whose career, beginning in midlife, encompassed stage, film, and television roles.

Madoline Thomas
Born	(1890-01-02)2 January 1890 Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales
Died	30 December 1989(1989-12-30) (aged 99) Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1910s–1985

Early life

Madoline Mary Price was born on 2 January 1890, in Abergavenny in Monmouthshire, Wales. Her father E. J. Price^[1] was a draper.^[2] She was musical, a singer and pianist, and held an ATCL diploma from Trinity Guildhall as a piano teacher.^[3][4] She sang in church^[5] and participated in concerts and theatrical productions as a young woman.^[6][7][8] "Miss Madoline Price possesses an exceptionally fine voice," noted one report from Abergavenny in 1909, adding "We wish Miss Price every success in her musical career".^[3]

Career

Thomas' stage credits beginning in the 1940s^[9][10] included a number of roles with the Royal Shakespeare Company during the 1960s in productions directed by Peter Hall, including The Comedy of Errors, Richard II,^[11] Richard III,^[12] Henry V and Henry VI, Part 2, supporting David Warner, Roy Dotrice, Ian Holm, and Peggy Ashcroft, among others.^[13] In 1977, she played a zither^[6] as a "venomous elder" in Tales from the Vienna Woods at the Royal National Theatre.^[14] In 1982, aged 92, she played Marina in Michael Bogdanov's production of Uncle Vanya.^[15] That year, the Guardian profiled Thomas under the headline "A National Legend."^[16]

Thomas appeared in supporting parts in more than a dozen films between 1945 and 1972.^[17] Her television credits from the late 1940s into the 1980s included parts in shows such as Dixon of Dock Green, Coronation Street, Angels, "Shoestring " and When the Boat Comes In.^[18]

Personal life

Madoline Mary Price married John W. H. "Jack" Thomas in 1917;^[1] they had a son. She became a professional actress after her husband died.^[6][15] She broke her hip and died soon afterwards, in Weston-super-Mare, on 30 December 1989, three days before her 100th birthday.^[19]

Filmography

• 1945: Painted Boats (also known as The Girl of the Canal)^[20]
• 1946: Toad of Toad Hall
• 1949: Blue Scar
• 1949: The Last Days of Dolwyn
• 1950: No Trace
• 1950: Blackout
• 1951: Black Widow
• 1952: Ghost Ship
• 1953: The Square Ring
• 1953: Valley of Song
• 1956: Suspended Alibi
• 1957: Second Fiddle
• 1957: Rogue's Yarn
• 1971: Burke & Hare
• 1972: Something to Hide