{{Short description|Australian actress (1916–1986)}} {{Use Australian English|date=February 2014}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2026}} {{Infobox person | name = Aileen Britton | image = | caption = | birth_name= | birth_place = Inverell, New South Wales, Australia | birth_date= 18 February 1916 | death_place =Sydney, Australia | death_date = 19 April 1986 (aged 70) | occupation = Actress | years_active = 1937–1986 }}
'''Aileen Britton''' (18 February 1916 in Sydney – 19 April 1986) credited also as '''Aileen Britain''', was an Australian character actress of theatre, radio, television, and film (TV movie and theatrical), with a career in the industry spanning nearly 50 years.
Britton made her debut in a film ''Tall Timbers'' in 1937, a performance called "heartbreakin".<ref name="tall">{{cite magazine|magazine=Filmink|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/forgotten-australian-films-tall-timbers/|date=12 July 2025|access-date=12 July 2025|title=Forgotten Australian Films: Tall Timbers}}</ref> She then worked primarily exclusively in theatre roles<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/contributor/225813|title=Aileen Britton|publisher=AusStage}}</ref> and having been signed with the Independent Theatre <ref>{{cite news |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71273799|title=TALENTED AUSTRALIAN ACTRESS. |newspaper=The Worker |location=Brisbane, Queensland |date=9 February 1937 |accessdate=14 March 2015 |page=17 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
Britton post-theatre was a staple of the small screen, where she usually played quirky elderly ladies, mothers and grandmothers, in TV series'. Her television credits include ''Number 96''<ref>Giles, Nigel "Number 96: Australia's Most Notorious Address"</ref> ''Matlock Police'', ''The Restless Years'', ''The Sullivans'', ''Prisoner'', and ''A Country Practice''.
==Filmography==
===Film=== {|class="wikitable !Year !Title !Role !Type |- | 1937 || ''Tall Timbers'' || Claire Darley || Feature film |- | 1942 || ''100,000 Cobbers'' || Miss Lane || Film short<ref name="cob">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/forgotten-australian-films-100000-cobbers/|magazine=Filmink|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|date=12 September 2025|access-date=12 September 2025|title=Forgotten Australian Films: 100,000 Cobbers}}</ref> |- | 1958 || ''An Enemy of the People'' || Kate Stockman || Teleplay |- | 1959 | ''The Skin of Our Teeth'' || Mrs Antrobus / Mrs Everyman || Teleplay |- | 1975 || ''The Tichborne Affair'' || Mrs. Skinner || TV film |- | 1977 || ''Born to Run'' (aka ''Harness Fever'') || Susannah || Feature film |- | 1977 | ''The Death Train'' | Barmaid / Hotel Desk Clerk | TV film |- | 1977 | ''Ballantyne's Mission'' | | TV film |- | 1978 | ''She'll Be Sweet'' (aka 'Magee and the Lady') | Mrs. Avery | TV film |- | 1979 || ''My Brilliant Career'' || Grandma Bossier || Feature film |- | 1982 || ''Fluteman'' || Beatrice Peachley || Feature film |- | 1982 || ''The Mystery at Castle House'' || Miss Markham || Feature film |- | 1982 || ''Now and Forever'' || Bethanie || Feature film |- | 1983 || ''Platypus Cove'' || Grandma Mason || TV film |- | 1985 || ''Don't Call Me Girlie'' || Herself || Documentary film short |- | 1987 || ''The Place at the Coast'' || Gran || Feature film |}
===Television=== {|class="wikitable !Year !Title !Role !Type |- | 1957 | ''The Adventures of Long John Silver'' | Conseulla | TV series, 1 episode |- | | ''That's My Desire'' | | TV series |- | 1960 | ''Probation Officer'' | Mrs. Andrews | TV series, 1 episode |- | 1962 | ''Call Oxbridge 2000'' | Mrs. Bennett | TV series, 11 episodes |- | 1963 | ''24-Hour Call'' | Mrs. Bennett | TV series, 4 episodes |- | 1964 | ''The Purple Jacaranda'' | Housekeeper | TV series |- | 1966 | ''Australian Playhouse'' | Mrs. Plum | TV series, 1 episode |- | 1967 | ''Homicide'' | Mrs. Townley | TV series, 1 episode |- | 1968–69 | ''I've Married A Bachelor'' | Mrs. Malley | TV series, 14 episodes |- | 1972 | ''Redheap'' | Mrs. Piper | TV series, 3 episodes |- | 1973 | ''Serpent in the Rainbow'' | | TV series |- | 1973 | ''Boney'' | Nora | TV series, 1 episode |- | 1973 | ''Seven Little Australians'' | Mrs. Gormiston | TV miniseries, 1 episode |- | 1974 | ''Behind the Legend'' | Lady Mitchell | TV series, 1 episode: "Thomas Mitchell" |- | 1975 | ''Number 96'' | Mrs. Florentine | TV series, 12 episodes |- | 1975; 1976 | ''Matlock Police'' | Mrs. Gates / Nan Skuhorp | TV series, 2 episodes |- | 1976 | ''The Lost Islands'' | Widow Martha Quack | TV series, 1 episode |- | 1976 | ''Solo One'' | Aunt Nan | TV series, 9 episodes |- | 1977 | ''The Sullivans'' | Mrs. Skinner | TV series, 4 episodes |- | 1977 | ''Glenview High'' | Mrs. Greer | TV series, episode 5: "The Cheat" |- | 1977 | ''Young Ramsay'' | Mrs. Anderson | TV series, episode 9: "All Things Bright and Beautiful" |- | 1979 | ''The Restless Years'' | Kath Campbell | TV series, 4 episodes |- | 1980 | ''Arcade'' | Joyce Blair | TV series, 35 episodes |- | 1981; 1985 | ''Prisoner'' | Mrs. Hartley / Florence Marne | TV series, 8 episodes |- | 1981; 1983; 1985 | ''A Country Practice'' | Emily Page / Evelyn Cuthrie / Aunt Daphne | TV series, 7 episodes |- | 1983 | ''Carson's Law'' | Lillian Brewster | TV series |- | 1986 | ''Cyclone Tracy'' | Big Caroline | TV miniseries, 3 episodes |}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|0110157}} * {{AusStage|contributor/225813|Aileen Britton theatre appearances}} * [http://colsearch.nfsa.gov.au/nfsa/search/summary/summary.w3p;adv=;group=;groupequals=;page=0;parentid=;query=Person%3A%22%2FPerson%2Fkey%2F48332-1%22;querytype=;resCount=10 Aileen Britton] at National Film and Sound Archive
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Britton, Aileen}} Category:1916 births Category:1986 deaths Category:Actresses from Sydney Category:Australian film actresses Category:Australian soap opera actresses Category:20th-century Australian actresses
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