Jean Anderson

Gaunt Sussex-born actress of Scottish descent whose dignified manner and plain, but expressive features qualified her for a wide range of character parts, from austere nurses and long-suffering mothers to overbearing dowagers and nosy gossips; from meddlesome chaperones to authoritarian aunts and intransigent spinsters. She rarely gave an indifferent performance and was often quite brilliant, particularly on the small screen. Jean Anderson was the daughter of a well-to-do cloth merchant specialising in muslin. As she grew up, she aspired to become a violinist, later a tennis player. Though she did make a junior Wimbledon appearance in the 1920's, her road eventually led to training at RADA, where her acting skills were first discovered. In 1931, she joined the Richmond Repertory Company and soon found herself in a leading role opposite Robert Morley. By decade's end, she had a three year spell at Dublin's Gate Theatre as the lead in Eugene O'Neill's "Ah, Wilderness!". During the succe