Georgina Hale

Georgina Hale
Hale in 1976
Born	Georgina A Hole 4 August 1943 Ilford, Essex, England
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1965–present
Spouse(s)	John Forgeham (divorced)

Georgina Hale (born Georgina A Hole 4 August 1943) is an English actress notable for many stage, film and television appearances; often in the works of director Ken Russell and writer Simon Gray. She won a BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for her performance as Alma Mahler in the 1974 film, Mahler.

In 2010, Hale was featured in an article in the British newspaper The Guardian, where she was ranked third in a list of ten great character actors in British television.^[1]

Life and early career

Hale was born in Ilford, Essex to Elsie (née Fordham) and George Robert Hole. She revealed that her "schooling was appalling since we were always moving around" and was unable to read or write for many years.^[2] As a teenager, she worked as an apprentice hairdresser and studied acting at a Stanislavski Method studio in London, before being accepted into the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

Acting career

Stage

Hale and actor Murray Melvin at the Young Vic Theatre, October 2007

An accomplished stage actress, Hale made her professional debut at Stratford as a walk-on. She subsequently appeared in rep at Canterbury, Windsor and Ipswich; then at the Playhouse, Liverpool in 1967, where her parts included the title role in Gigi, and Juliet in Romeo and Juliet. At the Thorndike Theatre in Leatherhead in October 1975 she played Liza Doolittle in Pygmalion, followed by an acclaimed portrayal of Nina in Chekhov's The Seagull at the Playhouse, Derby in July 1976, making her West End debut in the production when it transferred to the Duke of York's Theatre in August 1976.^[3]

Other roles included: Marie Caroline David in The Tribades (Hampstead, May 1978); Melanie in Boo Hoo (Open Space, July 1978); and Bobbi Michele in The Last of the Red Hot Lovers (Royal Exchange, Manchester, April 1979 - transferring to the Criterion Theatre in November 1979).

In 1981, Hale played the role of Josie in Nell Dunn’s play, Steaming, at the Comedy Theatre in London. Hale received a 1981 Best Comedy Performance Olivier nomination for her performance.^[4]

A year later in April 1982 she starred opposite Glenda Jackson in Summit Conference at the Lyric Theatre, playing Benito Mussolini's mistress Clara Petacci in a revival of Robert David MacDonald's play for the Citizens' Theatre, Glasgow.^[5]

Over the years, Hale has made numerous appearances with the Citizens'. These include Mourning Becomes Electra (1991), The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore (1994), Britannicus (2002) and Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard (2002).

Other notable stage appearances include Simon Gray's Life Support, opposite Alan Bates, at the Aldwych Theatre in London (1997), Noël Coward’s Semi-Monde at the Lyric Theatre (2001), Roger Hall's Take A Chance On Me at the New End Theatre (2003), and as Nell in Samuel Beckett’s Endgame at the Barbican Centre (2006).

Film

Hale’s most notable film role is arguably that of Alma Mahler in Ken Russell’s Mahler (1974), a biopic of the Austrian composer and conductor, Gustav Mahler. Hale received the 1975 Most Promising Newcomer BAFTA Film Award for her performance.^[6] Hale also made appearances in a number of Russell’s other films, with supporting roles in The Devils (1971), and The Boy Friend (1971), and cameo roles in Lisztomania (1975), Valentino (1977), and Treasure Island (1995).

"Georgina Hale...an actress of such sensitivity that she can make the hair rise on your arms."

Ken Russell, 2007^[7]

Hale had a small role in the 1980 Walt Disney film The Watcher in the Woods, starring Bette Davis. Hale took the role of the younger version of Davis’ character largely because of her admiration for Davis.^[8]

Subsequent film appearances include supporting roles in Butley (1974), Sweeney 2 (1978), McVicar (1980), Castaway (1986), Beyond Bedlam (1994), Preaching to the Perverted (1997), Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont (2005), and Cockneys vs Zombies (2011).

Television

Hale's television career spans five decades. Her first major television appearances were opposite Adam Faith in the ITV series, Budgie (1971–72) and as Lili Dietrich in the miniseries The Strauss Family (1972). In 1975, Hale featured in two television plays written by Simon Gray. These were Plaintiffs and Defendants and Two Sundays, broadcast as part of the ITV series, Play for Today (1975).

In 1980, Hale portrayed Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in the UK, in the third episode of the first series of "Lady Killers."

In 1990, Hale succeeded Elizabeth Estensen in the eponymous role of T-Bag, the villainous, tea drinking sorceress in a succession of children’s adventure series produced by Thames Television. Hale played the role in four series and two Christmas specials broadcast between 1990-92.

Other notable television appearances include guest starring roles in Upstairs, Downstairs (1975), Minder (1980), Hammer House of Horror (1980), the Doctor Who serial The Happiness Patrol (1988), One Foot in the Grave (1990), Murder Most Horrid (1994), The Bill (2002), Emmerdale (2006), and The Commander (2007).

From September 2010 to February 2011, Hale appeared as Blanche Longford in the long-running, British soap opera Hollyoaks.

Work

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1971	The Devils	Phillippe
	The Boy Friend	Fay
1972	Eagle in a Cage	Betty Balcombe
1973	The Love Ban	Joyce
1974	Mahler	Alma Mahler	Received BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer
	Butley	Carol Heasman
1975	Lisztomania		Uncredited Appearance
1976	Voyage of the Damned	Lotte Schulman
1977	Valentino		Uncredited Appearance
1978	Sweeney 2	Switchboard Girl
1979	The World Is Full of Married Men	Lori Grossman
1980	The Watcher in the Woods	Young Mrs Aylwood
	McVicar	Kate
1986	Castaway	Sister Saint Margaret
1994	Beyond Bedlam	Sister Romulus
1995	Jackson: My Life... Your Fault	Josephine
1997	Preaching to the Perverted	Miss Wilderspin
2002	AKA	Elizabeth of Lithuania
2003	Photo Finish	Therapist
2005	Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont	Shirley Burton
2011	Cockneys vs Zombies	Doreen
2015	Angel	Grandma

Selected television credits

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1971	Budgie	Jean
1972	The Strauss Family	Lili Dietrich	Mini-Series
1973	A.D.A.M.	Jean Empson	TV Film
	Only Make Believe	Sandra George
1974	Electra	Chrysothemis
1975	Plaintiffs and Defendants	Joanna
	Two Sundays	Hilary
	Children of the Sun	Fran
1978	The Seagull	Masha
1980	Minder	Renee	Guest Star, episode The Beer Hunter
	Lady Killers	Ruth Ellis	Guest Star, episode Lucky, Lucky Thirteen
1988	Doctor Who	Daisy K	Guest Star, The Happiness Patrol, Episodes 1,2 & 3
1989	Murder by Moonlight	Allison Quinney	TV Film
1990	One Foot In The Grave	April	Guest Star, episode Love And Death
	T-Bag and the Pearls of Wisdom	Tabatha Bag
1991	T-Bag and the Rings of Olympus	Tabatha Bag
	The Count of Solar	Countess Solar	TV Film
1992	T-Bag and the Sunstones of Montezuma	Tabatha Bag
	After the Dance	Moya Lexington
	Take off with T-Bag	Tabatha Bag
1994	Six Characters in Search of an Author		TV Film
1995	Treasure Island	Mrs. Hawkins	TV Film
1998	A Rather English Marriage	Sabrina's Maid	TV Film
2002	Trial and Retribution	Tammy Delaney	Guest Star, 1 episode
	The Bill	Marilyn Costello	Guest Star, 3 episodes
2006	Emmerdale	Beryl Chugspoke	Guest Star, 3 episodes
2007	The Commander	Vivian Littlewood	Guest Star, episode The Devil You Know
2010–2011	Hollyoaks	Blanche Longford	Recurring Role, 7 episodes
2012	Crime Stories	Sally Woods	Guest Star, 1 episode
2016	Holby City	Serephina Moore	Guest Star, episode On the Ropes

References

• Who's Who in the Theatre, 17th edition, Gale (1981) ISBN 0-8103-0234-9

1. "Looks Familiar: 10 great British character actors". London: guardian.co.uk. 3 August 2010. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
2. "Georgina Hale Interview". T-Room.co.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
3. Who's Who in the Theatre, 17th edition (1981)
4. "1981 Olivier Award Nominees". Olivierawards.com. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
5. Theatre Record Index, 1982
6. "1975 Bafta Winners". Bafta.org. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
7. "Actresses Who Have Bewitched Me - Ken Russell". London: TimesOnline.com. 30 August 2007. Retrieved 12 June 2009.
8. Hough, John (2002). The Watcher in the Woods (DVD). Anchor Bay Entertainment, Walt Disney Pictures.

External links

• Georgina Hale at the Internet Movie Database
• Georgina Hale portrait by photographer Rachel Lum
• Georgina Hale Interview