Kathleen Saintsbury (4 July 1899 – 1995) was a British actress from the 1920s to the 1970s but who is best known today for playing Cissy Godfrey in the BBC comedy Dad's Army. [1]
Saintsbury was born in London in 1899, the younger daughter of the actor H.A. Saintsbury (also a playwright under the name Jay Nibb) and his Irish wife, Florence. According to the 1911 census, her parents were married in 1893, but there is no record of a marriage in England. [2] Saintsbury's older sister, Dorothie Helen (known as Helen) was also an actress. Helen married first the actor Edgar Norfolk and, after a divorce, Captain Buckley Rutherford, a son of Sir Ernest Rutherford (a wine importer, not the physicist Ernest Rutherford, although they were both born in 1871 and are sometimes confused [3]). [4] The marriage to Rutherford took place in 1932; four months later Rutherford shot himself. [5] Distraught, less than a month after Rutherford's suicide, Helen also shot herself. [6] There is some suggestion that Helen was married three times, [7] but it is possible this reflects that her first husband was originally called Edgar Greenwood, and changed his name to Norfolk for the stage. [8]
Early in her career, Saintsbury appeared in stage productions:
Saintsbury's subsequent television work included:
Saintsbury is best-known for her appearance in an episode of Dad's Army. Nan Braunton had previously appeared as Cissy Godfrey, one of Private Godfrey's two sisters. Saintsbury appeared in place of Braunton in 1975, in episode 3 of series 8, Is There Honey Still for Tea? [24]
Saintsbury died in 1995, aged 95. [25] She was unmarried.
Kathleen Saintsbury (4 July 1899 – 1995) was a British actress from the 1920s to the 1970s but who is best known today for playing Cissy Godfrey in the BBC comedy Dad's Army. [1]
Saintsbury was born in London in 1899, the younger daughter of the actor H.A. Saintsbury (also a playwright under the name Jay Nibb) and his Irish wife, Florence. According to the 1911 census, her parents were married in 1893, but there is no record of a marriage in England. [2] Saintsbury's older sister, Dorothie Helen (known as Helen) was also an actress. Helen married first the actor Edgar Norfolk and, after a divorce, Captain Buckley Rutherford, a son of Sir Ernest Rutherford (a wine importer, not the physicist Ernest Rutherford, although they were both born in 1871 and are sometimes confused [3]). [4] The marriage to Rutherford took place in 1932; four months later Rutherford shot himself. [5] Distraught, less than a month after Rutherford's suicide, Helen also shot herself. [6] There is some suggestion that Helen was married three times, [7] but it is possible this reflects that her first husband was originally called Edgar Greenwood, and changed his name to Norfolk for the stage. [8]
Early in her career, Saintsbury appeared in stage productions:
Saintsbury's subsequent television work included:
Saintsbury is best-known for her appearance in an episode of Dad's Army. Nan Braunton had previously appeared as Cissy Godfrey, one of Private Godfrey's two sisters. Saintsbury appeared in place of Braunton in 1975, in episode 3 of series 8, Is There Honey Still for Tea? [24]
Saintsbury died in 1995, aged 95. [25] She was unmarried.