{{Short description|British actress (1890–1989)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}} {{Infobox person | name = Madoline Thomas | image = Portrait of Madoline Thomas.jpeg | imagesize = | caption = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1890|1|2|df=y}} | birth_place = Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales | death_date = {{Death date and age|1989|12|30|1890|1|2|df=y}} | death_place = Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England | other_names = | occupation = Actress | years_active = 1910s–1985 | spouse = }}
'''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.
==Early life== Madoline Mary Price was born on 2 January 1890, in Abergavenny in Monmouthshire, Wales. Her father E. J. Price<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=https://newspapers.library.wales/view/4122415/4122420/50/Madoline|title=Marriages|date=19 October 1917| newspaper=Abergavenny Chronicle |access-date=9 March 2020|page=5|via=Welsh Newspapers}}</ref> was a draper.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Morgan|first=Irena|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mFaIAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT109|title=Abergavenny Through Time|date=2012-11-15|publisher=Amberley Publishing Limited|isbn=978-1-4456-2644-4|language=en}}</ref> She was musical, a singer and pianist, and held an ATCL diploma from Trinity Guildhall as a piano teacher.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|url=https://newspapers.library.wales/view/4119913/4119918/61/Madoline|title=Musical Matinee|date=25 June 1909| newspaper=Abergavenny Chronicle|access-date=9 March 2020|page=5|via=Welsh Newspapers}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.yourpianolessons.com/blog/35-piano-teachers-and-trinity-diplomas-atcl-ltcl-ftcl|title=Piano Teachers and Trinity Diplomas - ATCL, LTCL, FTCL?|website=YourPianoLessons|access-date=2020-03-10}}</ref> She sang in church<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://newspapers.library.wales/view/4122181/4122186/83/Madoline|title=St. George's Day at Abergavenny|date=20 April 1917| newspaper=Abergavenny Chronicle|access-date=9 March 2020|page=5|via=Welsh Newspapers}}</ref> and participated in concerts and theatrical productions as a young woman.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Cotes|first=Peter|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/46402743/third-age-actresspeter-cotes/|title=Third Age Actress|date=1990-01-03|work=The Guardian|access-date=2020-03-09|pages=31|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://newspapers.library.wales/view/4121533/4121538/59/Madoline|title=Borough Theatre|date=3 December 1915| newspaper=Abergavenny Chronicle|access-date=9 March 2020|page=5|via=Welsh Newspapers}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://newspapers.library.wales/view/4120795/4120803/109/Madoline|title=St. Mary's Band of Hope|date=8 May 1914| newspaper=Abergavenny Chronicle|access-date=9 March 2020|page=8|via=Welsh Newspapers}}</ref> "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".<ref name=":3" />
==Career== Thomas' stage credits beginning in the 1940s<ref>{{Cite news|last=G.P.|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/46404122/opera-house-three-waltzesgp/|title=Opera House, 'Three Waltzes'|date=1944-10-31|work=The Guardian|access-date=2020-03-09|pages=3|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Wearing|first=J. P.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mreCBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA321|title=The London Stage 1940-1949: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel|date=2014-08-22|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-8108-9306-1|pages=188, 321|language=en}}</ref> 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'',<ref>{{Cite book|last=Shewring|first=Margaret|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oGUMX4RntjgC&pg=PA197|title=King Richard II|date=1998|publisher=Manchester University Press|isbn=978-0-7190-4626-1|pages=197|language=en}}</ref> ''Richard III'',<ref>{{Cite book|last=Richmond|first=Hugh M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i81RAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA146|title=King Richard III|date=1991|publisher=Manchester University Press|isbn=978-0-7190-2724-6|pages=146|language=en}}</ref> ''Henry V'' and ''Henry VI, Part 2'', supporting David Warner, Roy Dotrice, Ian Holm, and Peggy Ashcroft, among others.<ref>[http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/rsc/histories.html RSC Stage Histories] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225090756/http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/rsc/histories.html |date=25 February 2009 }} The Modern Library. ''Retrieved 21-08-2010''</ref> In 1977, she played a zither<ref name=":0" /> as a "venomous elder" in ''Tales from the Vienna Woods'' at the Royal National Theatre.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Billington|first=Michael|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/46403131/tales-from-the-vienna-woodsmichael/|title=Tales from the Vienna Woods|date=1977-08-09|work=The Guardian|access-date=2020-03-09|pages=8|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> In 1982, aged 92, she played Marina in Michael Bogdanov's production of ''Uncle Vanya''.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/f955ae54f4bf25d26875bc165a93354f|title=Actress Madoline Thomas Dies at 99|website=AP NEWS|access-date=2020-03-09}}</ref> That year, the ''Guardian'' profiled Thomas under the headline "A National Legend."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/46403322/a-national-legend/|title=A National Legend|date=1982-06-19|work=The Guardian|access-date=2020-03-09|pages=15|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
Thomas appeared in supporting parts in more than a dozen films between 1945 and 1972.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gifford|first=Denis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1c7eCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA651|title=British Film Catalogue: Two Volume Set - The Fiction Film/The Non-Fiction Film|date=2016-04-01|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-74063-6|pages=530, 561, 599, 651|language=en}}</ref> 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''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aveleyman.com/ActorCredit.aspx?ActorID=62479|title=Madoline Thomas|website=Aveleyman}}</ref>
==Personal life== Madoline Mary Price married John W. H. "Jack" Thomas in 1917;<ref name=":2" /> they had a son. She became a professional actress after her husband died.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> She broke her hip and died soon afterwards, in Weston-super-Mare, on 30 December 1989, three days before her 100th birthday.<ref>[http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=RM&p_theme=rm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB4D490AE6E35B2&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM Obituaries] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303172743/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=RM&p_theme=rm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB4D490AE6E35B2&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |date=3 March 2016 }} ''The Rocky Mountain News'', 1 January 1990. ''Retrieved 21 August 2010''</ref>
==Filmography== * 1945: ''Painted Boats'' (also known as ''The Girl of the Canal)''<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/46404221/the-girl-of-the-canal/|title=The Girl of the Canal|date=1947-10-09|work=Daily News|access-date=2020-03-09|pages=87|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> * 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''
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|0859189}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20181106092835/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba343c287 Madoline Thomas] at British Film Institute
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Madoline}} Category:1890 births Category:1989 deaths Category:Welsh stage actresses Category:Welsh film actresses Category:Welsh television actresses Category:Actors from Abergavenny Category:Actresses from Monmouthshire