# Ruth Kettlewell

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ruth_Kettlewell
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ruth_Kettlewell.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Kettlewell
> Source revision: 1321648370
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|British actress (1913–2007)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| name          = Ruth Kettlewell
| image         = Ruth_Kettlewell.jpg
| caption        = 
| birth_name    = Ruth Anne Berry
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|df=y|1913|4|13}}
| birth_place   = [Worcester](/source/Worcester%2C_England), [Worcestershire](/source/Worcestershire), England
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|df=y|2007|7|17|1913|4|13}}
| death_place   = [London](/source/London), England
| yearsactive   = 
| spouse        = The Rev Robert Kettlewell 
| children      = 
| occupation    = [Actress](/source/Actress)
}}
'''Ruth Kettlewell''' (born '''Ruth Anne Berry'''; 13 April 1913 – 17 July 2007) was an English actress.<ref>[http://www.britmovie.co.uk/forums/actors-actresses/9702-ruth-kettlewell-r-i-p.html Peer tributes]</ref><ref>{{IMDb name|0450591}}</ref> She was, by her own admission, a "character bag"; that is, a face recognisable to regular television viewers, but not a household name.<ref name=Times>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110523224314/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article2245972.ece ''Times'' Obituary]</ref>

==Early life==
Kettlewell was born as the second daughter of a [clergyman](/source/clergyman), and was educated at [Casterton School](/source/Casterton_School) and at art college. She married a [curate](/source/curate), the Rev Robert Kettlewell, at the age of eighteen. Her husband died from the [scarlet fever](/source/scarlet_fever) that he caught while serving as a [wartime](/source/World_War_II) army [padre](/source/Military_Chaplain). She herself served in the [Women's Land Army](/source/Women's_Land_Army) from 1942 to 1946.

==Career==
===Early career===
After playing small parts in many [amateur dramatic productions](/source/amateur_theatre), Kettlewell began her career in [repertory theatre](/source/Repertory)<ref>[http://www.serendipityproductions.co.uk/friends/history.html Memories of time in rep]</ref> at the Little Theatre, Great Yarmouth; first with [Aurora Productions Limited](/source/Aurora_Productions_Limited) and later with the Great Yarmouth Repertory Company.<ref>Repertory, "Yarmouth Milestone", 29/10/1953, ''The Stage'', Page 12, British News Archive</ref> By the late 1950s, she had managed to secure small [West End](/source/West_End_theatre) roles. In 1959, she had her first film role in ''[Room at the Top](/source/Room_at_the_Top_(1959_film))''. She also acted in [Norwegian](/source/Norwegian_language) for a [Scandinavia](/source/Scandinavia)n children's film.

===TV and Radio breakthroughs===
In the 1960s, Kettlewell's television career unfolded and she worked alongside the likes of [Harry Worth](/source/Harry_Worth_(actor%2C_born_1917)), [Joan Sims](/source/Joan_Sims) and [Deryck Guyler](/source/Deryck_Guyler). She is perhaps best known for her role in the early episodes of ''[All Gas and Gaiters](/source/All_Gas_and_Gaiters)'',<ref>[http://www.sitcom.co.uk/gas_gaiters/index.shtml ''All Gas and Gaiters'' critique]</ref> where she played Mrs Grace Pugh-Critchley, the [Dean](/source/Dean_(religion))'s wife. In 1966, she had a small role in the seminal ''[Cathy Come Home](/source/Cathy_Come_Home)''.

A specialist in landladies and mothers-in-law, she was equally at home with both adult and children's material. In the early 1970s, she played alongside the Scottish comedy double-act [Mike Hope and Albie Keen](/source/Hope_and_Keen) in BBC TV's ''Hope and Keens Crazy House'', later reprised as ''Hope and Keen's Crazy Bus''.<ref>[http://tv.cream.org/a-z/h/h2.htm Hope and Keen's Crazy House/Bus at TV Cream]</ref> Like many actors, she continued to work well into her eighties.<ref>[http://www.tv.com/ruth-kettlewell/person/77194/summary.html Most recent role]</ref>

In her obituary, [The Independent](/source/The_Independent) noted that "By her own admission ...Ruth Kettlewell often played battleaxes, but it kept her in regular work...for half a century, sometimes only in fleeting roles. A lifelong Christian, she even felt sympathy for those on the receiving end of her characters' stern actions."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/ruth-kettlewell-462782.html|title = Ruth Kettlewell| website=[Independent.co.uk](/source/Independent.co.uk) |date = 18 September 2011}}</ref>

==Later life==
A devout [Anglo-Catholic](/source/Anglo-Catholic) and an active member of the Actors’ Church Union, she visited the shrine of [Our Lady of Walsingham](/source/Our_Lady_of_Walsingham) on numerous occasions.<ref name=Times/> She directed many amateur productions with a devotional theme for her church, [St Augustine of Canterbury](/source/St_Augustine_of_Canterbury), [Highgate](/source/Highgate),<ref>[http://www.saintaugustine.org.uk/ Parish web-site]</ref> where she also served as a [churchwarden](/source/churchwarden) and a [sacristan](/source/sacristan). She died on 17 July 2007 in London.

==Filmography==
===Film===
* ''[Room at the Top](/source/Room_at_the_Top_(1959_film))'' (1959) - Thespians Member (uncredited)
* ''[Friends and Neighbours](/source/Friends_and_Neighbours)'' (1959) - Woman in club
* ''[Sons and Lovers](/source/Sons_and_Lovers_(1960_film))'' (1960) - Mrs. Bonner
* ''[Edgar Wallace Mysteries](/source/Edgar_Wallace_Mysteries)'' - ([The Clue of the New Pin (1961 film)](/source/The_Clue_of_the_New_Pin_(1961_film))) - (1961) - Mrs. Rushby
* ''[The Yellow Teddy Bears](/source/The_Yellow_Teddy_Bears)'' (1963) - Mrs. Seymour
* ''[Oh! What a Lovely War](/source/Oh!_What_a_Lovely_War)'' (1969) - Duchess Sophie (uncredited)
* ''[No Blade of Grass](/source/No_Blade_of_Grass_(film))'' (1970) - Fat Woman
* ''[Zeppelin](/source/Zeppelin_(film))'' (1971) - Mrs. Parker
* ''[Professor Popper's Problem](/source/Professor_Popper's_Problem)'' (1974) - Meter Maid
* ''[Adventures of a Private Eye](/source/Adventures_of_a_Private_Eye)'' (1977) - Mrs. Grimpton
* ''[The Black Panther](/source/The_Black_Panther_(1977_film))'' (1977)
* ''Crystalstone'' (1987) - Dolores
* ''[Great Balls of Fire!](/source/Great_Balls_of_Fire!_(film))'' (1989) - Dowager
* ''[Funny Bones](/source/Funny_Bones)'' (1995) - Camilla Powell

===Television===
* ''[Swallows and Amazons](/source/Swallows_and_Amazons_(television_series))'' (1963) as Mrs. Jackson
* ''[All Gas and Gaiters](/source/All_Gas_and_Gaiters)'' (1966-1969) - Grace Pugh-Critchley / Mrs. Beems
* ''[On the Buses](/source/On_the_Buses)'' (1970-1971) - the Nurse
* ''[The Good Life](/source/The_Good_Life_(1975_TV_series))'' (1975) - Woman
* ''[The Howerd Confessions](/source/The_Howerd_Confessions)'' (1976) - the Magistrate
* ''[Juliet Bravo](/source/Juliet_Bravo)'' (1980) - the Magistrate
* ''[In Loving Memory](/source/In_Loving_Memory_(TV_series))'' (1980) - Big Madge Butley
* ''[Don't Wait Up](/source/Don't_Wait_Up_(TV_series))'' (1984) - Mrs Fletcher
* ''[That's My Boy](/source/That's_My_Boy_(1981_TV_series))'' (1984) - Miss Falkender

==References==
<references/>

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kettlewell, Ruth}}
Category:1913 births
Category:2007 deaths
Category:Actors from Worcester, England
Category:English Anglo-Catholics
Category:English film actresses
Category:English stage actresses
Category:English television actresses
Category:Actresses from Worcestershire

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ruth Kettlewell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Kettlewell) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Kettlewell?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.