| DAME THORA HIRD A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY
Thora was destined to be an actress as it ran in her family. Her mother was an actress and her father, James Henry Hird, was stage manager, producer and director at the Royalty Theatre. It was here that Thora made her debut when she was only eight weeks old. Her father, known for being a perfectionist, refused to allow a doll to be carried on stage during a scene that required a child. Instead, he had Thora's mother (who was starring in the play) carry their newborn daughter. Thora attended The Misses Nelson's Prep School in Morecambe until the age of fourteen. She then held a number of jobs, including as an assistant in a music shop and in the local Co-op. While interacting with customers she would also study them - their mannerisms, their speech patterns - and all of this proved to be very beneficial when she became an actress and began creating characters. Her professional acting career began in 1931 when she became a member of the Morecambe Repertory. Nine years later she made her debut in London's West End. She was eventually placed under contract to do films for Ealing Studios. Her first movie appearance was in 1941's The Black Sheep of Whitehall. This was followed in 1942 by The Big Blockade with Michael Redgrave, in which she played a barmaid at a German railway station. It took her a while to get what might be considered leading roles but Thora worked on a consistent basis in both theater and film, which helped her hone her craft. By the 1960s she was a staple on British television, appearing on game shows, dramas, children's shows and even in commercials. She was literally working seven days a week but loved every minute of it. Thora, always a very spiritual person, was a natural to host Praise Be! This program, originally called Your Songs of Praise Choice, allowed viewers to call up and request hymns. The show ran for seventeen years, during which time Thora found herself often stopped in the street by people requesting hymns. Age did not slow her down. In 1986 (when she was in her mid 70s) she began playing Edie in Last of the Summer Wine and the following year gave a highly praised performance in an episode of Alan Bennett's Talking Heads entitled A Cream Cracker Under the Settee, which won her a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Award. During the 90s Dame Thora also made cameos in such shows as Heartbeat and Dinnerladies. She starred in another Alan Bennett play, Waiting for the Telegram, and played an elderly stroke victim in the drama Lost for Words. These roles won her BAFTA and Emmy Awards. She was made Dame Thora Hird in 1993. Apart from her work, Thora enjoyed gardening and travel. The latter passion, along with her strong religious beliefs, led her to go on pilgrimages to the Holy Land and Jordan during the 1990s. Thora was also a family woman. She married her manager, James Scott, in 1937 and they remained married until he died from a stroke in 1994. They were a highly devoted, inseparable couple. They had one child, Janette, who is the ex-wife of singer Mel Torme. Dame Thora was an inspiration to everyone - especially the elderly and with whom she could empathize. Her strong faith helped her deal with arthritis, angina and three hip operations. In fact, she did some of her best work while suffering with health problems. She was the epitome of the down-to-earth, working-class northern woman shown in Last of the Summer Wine. Her appeal can perhaps best be summarized by a journalist who interviewed her: We had not met before, yet here was someone I felt I had known all my life. She was all my aunts who came to tea, and such people are never at their very best until they are at least 60. Very true words indeed about an extraordinary lady. May she rest in peace.
Editor, The Insider
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