Renée Houston

Born: 1902-07-24

Renée Houston (24 July 1902 - 9 February 1980) was a Scottish comedy actress and revue artist who appeared in television and film roles. Born in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, as Katherina Houston Gribbin she toured music halls and revues with her sister Billie Houston as the "Houston Sisters". In 1926, the sisters made a short musical film, the script of which Renée had written. It was produced by Lee De Forest, whose process, Phonofilm, enabled a soundtrack to be played alongside the film (a year before The Jazz Singer). Houston married three times, the second was to the actor Pat Aherne, the brother of Brian Aherne. Her third husband was the actor Donald Stewart. In her later years, she specialised in "battleaxe" roles, notably as shop steward Vic Spanner's (Kenneth Cope) formidable mother in Carry On at Your Convenience (1971). She published her autobiography in 1974 which was entitled Don't Fence Me In. Houston was also in the early episodes of radio's The Clitheroe Kid and a regular guest on radio panel show The Petticoat Line chaired by Anona Winn. She died in London at the age of 77 on 9 February 1980. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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Repulsion

as Mme Balch
Released: 1965-06-01

Beautiful young manicurist Carole suffers from androphobia (the pathological fear of interaction...

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Cul-de-sac

as Christopher's Mother
Released: 1966-06-17

A wounded criminal and his dying partner take refuge at an old beachfront fortress. The owner of...

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The Belles of St. Trinian's

as Miss Brimmer
Released: 1954-09-28

The unruly schoolgirls of St Trinian's are more interested in men and mischief than homework and...

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The Horse's Mouth

as Sara Monday
Released: 1958-11-11

Gulley Jimson is a boorish aging artist recently released from prison. A swindler in search of...

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Carry On at Your Convenience

as Agatha Spanner
Released: 1971-06-15

This is the tale of industrial strife at WC Boggs' Lavatory factory. Vic Spanner is the union...

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Carry On Cabby

as Molly
Released: 1963-06-01

Speedee Taxis is a great success, which means its workaholic owner Charlie starts neglecting...

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Time Without Pity

as Mrs. Harker
Released: 1957-03-21

Alec Graham is sentenced to death for the murder of his girlfriend Jennie, with whom he spent a...

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A Town Like Alice

as Ebbey
Released: 1956-03-01

In 1941 Malaysia, the advancing Japanese army captures a lot of British territory very quickly....

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The Flesh and the Fiends

as Helen Burke
Released: 1960-02-02

Edinburgh surgeon Dr. Robert Knox requires cadavers for his research into the functioning of the...

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The Key

as Canteen Worker (uncredited)
Released: 1958-05-28

In wartime England, circa 1941, poorly-armed tugs are sent into "U-Boat Alley" to rescue damaged...

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Lady Godiva Rides Again

as Beattie
Released: 1951-10-25

Marjory Clark wins a competition in her Midland town and finds herself in a Festival of Britain...

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The Phantom of the Opera

as Mrs. Tucker
Released: 1962-06-25

A London opera house is haunted by tragic events on its opening night, but when its star is...

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The Idol

as 1st Woman at Party
Released: 1966-02-01

A rebellious student embarks on an affair with the mother of his best friend, leading to...

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Carry On Spying

as Funhouse Madame
Released: 1964-06-01

Carry On favourite Barbara Windsor makes her debut in this outrageous send-up of the James Bond...

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And the Same to You

as Mildred Pomphret
Released: 1960-02-01

Dickie Dreadnought is the boxing-mad nephew of pious clergyman Reverend Sydney Mullet. To...

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Legend of the Werewolf

as Chou-Chou
Released: 1975-08-06

A travelling circus in 19th century France adopts and showcases a feral "wolf boy", who grows...

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The Spy with a Cold Nose

as Lady Blanchflower
Released: 1966-12-19

A dog with a spying device under its skin is sent to the Russian government as a present. When...

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Two Thousand Women

as Maud Wright
Released: 1944-11-06

During the Second World War, three downed English airmen hide out with women's internment camp...

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Three on a Spree

as Mrs. Gray
Released: 1961-06-28

A young man will inherit a huge fortune--8 million pounds--but to qualify, he must spend a...

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Nurse on Wheels

as Mrs. Beacon
Released: 1963-01-03

Quietly competent young Joanna moves with her scatterbrain mother to a country village to take...

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Watch It, Sailor!

as Mrs. Mottram
Released: 1961-08-14

Sailor Albert gets a message from the Navy saying he can't marry for certain unexplained legal...

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Twice Round the Daffodils

as Matron
Released: 1962-04-02

Twice Round the Daffodils is a 1962 British comedy drama film directed by Gerald Thomas and...

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A Girl Must Live

as Gloria Lind
Released: 1939-09-24

A run-away school-girl falls among chorus girls planning to marry into the nobility.

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Track the Man Down

as Pat Sherwood
Released: 1955-06-06

A newspaper reporter finds himself drawn into the aftermath of a racetrack robbery.

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The Big Money

as Bobbie
Released: 1958-06-09

Petty thief Willie Frith steals a suitcase full of bank notes, only to find out that they have...

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Tomorrow at Ten

as Masie Maddox
Released: 1962-09-01

A British policeman (John Gregson) tries to find a rich man's (Alec Clunes) son before a...

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No, My Darling Daughter

as Miss Yardley
Released: 1961-08-22

A British business tycoon is surprised to discover his teenage daughter is being courted by a...

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Secrets of a Windmill Girl

as uncredited
Released: 1966-01-02

One Windmill girl tells the tragic history of another who took to drink and, finally, killed...

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Mister Cinders

as Mrs. Phipps
Released: 1934-01-01

The Cinderella story is reversed in this light-hearted adaptation, with Cinders a young man who...

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Old Bill and Son

as Stella Malloy
Released: 1941-03-01

Old Bill has grumbled his way through the trenches of the First World War. Now it is the Second...

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The Peterville Diamond

as Lady Margaret
Released: 1943-01-11

Frantic farce involving a neglected wife, a stolen diamond and four identical briefcases.

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Out of the Fog

as Ma
Released: 1962-09-01

Scotland Yard is thrown into an uproar when a mad killer begins knocking off beautiful young...

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Radio Parade

as uncredited
Released: 1933-10-01

Radio Parade (1933) is a variety film featuring such stars of the time as Clapham and Dwyer,...

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No Hiding Place

as uncredited
First aired: 1959-09-16

No Hiding Place is a British television series that was produced at Wembley Studios by...

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Dr. Finlay's Casebook

as uncredited
First aired: 1962-08-16

Dr Finlay's Casebook is a television series that was broadcast on the BBC from 1962 until 1971....

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The Saint

as Ida Warshed
First aired: 1962-10-04

Simon Templar is The Saint, a handsome, sophisticated, debonair, modern-day Robin Hood who...

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The Saint

as Mrs. McAlister
First aired: 1962-10-04

Simon Templar is The Saint, a handsome, sophisticated, debonair, modern-day Robin Hood who...

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Maigret

as Ja-Ja
First aired: 1960-10-31

BBC series based on the novels by Georges Simenon which starred Rupert Davies as Inspector...

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Doctor in the House

as uncredited
First aired: 1969-07-12

The misadventures of a group of medical students.

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