Micheline Patton (1912 – 30 June 2001) was an Irish actress who worked on radio, stage and television from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s.
Micheline Elizabeth Patton was born in Belfast in 1912, and died on 30 June 2001 in Godalming, Surrey. Her father was Billy Patton, a surgeon. [1] She went to school in Malvern Girls' College, and studied Modern History at St Hugh's College, Oxford, graduating in 1935. [2] [3] One of her cousins was the Irish playwright, BBC producer and war correspondent Denis Johnston. [1] [4]
Between 1935 and 1947, Patton read several short stories for BBC Radio, including works by Katherine Mansfield, [5] Anton Chekhov, [6] and Helen Colvill. [7] She acted in radio plays, including playing the role of Winifred in the 1947 BBC Radio adaptation of In Chancery from The Forsyte Saga. [8]
Patton acted in early BBC television broadcasts. In December 1937, she appeared in a backless dress in the final episode of the early fashion documentary Clothes-Line. Patton was viewed from behind, giving an illusion of nudity, which led to outraged viewers writing in to complain. [9] The episode was titled Grandmamma Looks Back, inspiring the copresenter Pearl Binder's quip, "Grandmamma looks back but Micheline has no back to be seen." [9]
Clothes-Line | (9 Dec 1937) | [10] |
Producer | Mary Adams | |
The grand-mother | Nesta Sawyer | |
The grand-daughter | Micheline Patton | |
The album by | Pearl Binder | |
The diary by | James Laver |
She went on to appear in a November 1938 adaptation of Robert J. Flaherty's book The Captain's Chair (produced as The Last Voyage of Captain Grant).
The Last Voyage of Captain Grant | (9 Nov 1938) | [11] | |
A narrative of the Arctic based upon Robert Flaherty's novel The Captain's Chair, adapted for television and produced by Denis Johnston. The narration will be spoken by the author, Robert Flaherty. | |||
Writer/narrator | Robert Flaherty | ||
Adapted for television and produced by | Denis Johnston | ||
Captain Grant | John Laurie | ||
Catlin | David Marsh | ||
McDougall | Graveley Edwards | ||
Timmins | Rupert Siddons | ||
The Factor | Cyril Gardiner | ||
Quartermaster | William Heilbronn | ||
First Director | Douglas Allen | ||
Second Director Steward |
Guy Glover | ||
Third Director Second Officer |
Ian Aylmer | ||
Chairman Second Factor |
John Thompson | ||
Girl | Micheline Patton |
and in July 1939, a drama based on the Parnell Commission.
The Parnell Commission | (18 Jul 1939) | [12] | |
A reconstruction of the famous forgery investigation of 1888–89 | |||
Producer | Denis Johnston | ||
Piggott | Eliot Makeham | ||
Sir Charles Russel | Felix Aylmer | ||
Parnell | Mark Dignam | ||
Attorney General | Wilfrid Walter | ||
Eye Witness | Brefni O'Rorke | ||
Mrs O'Shea | Olga Edwardes | ||
President of the Court | Graveley Edwards | ||
Timothy Harrington | Blake Giffard | ||
Doctor Maguire | Nigel Fitzgerald | ||
Henniker Heaton | Lionel Dymoke | ||
Frank Hugh O'Donnell | Harry Hutchinson | ||
Court Registrar | Leo McCabe | ||
Captain O'Shea | Charles Oliver | ||
Friend | Micheline Patton | ||
Servant at Eltham | Moya Devlin | ||
Solicitor's Clerk | Russell Hogarth | ||
Spanish Policeman | Rafael Terry | ||
Reporter Houston's Voice |
Kenneth Barton | ||
[Actor] | Jack Clifford |
In 1947 Patton had a small role in Weep for the Cyclops, a biographical 1947 television drama on Jonathan Swift, which was written and produced by her cousin Denis Johnston. [4]
Weep for the Cyclops | (21 Aug 1947) | [13] | |
The true history of Dr. Jonathan Swift, Dean of St. Patrick's, Dublin | |||
Writer / Producer | Denis Johnston | ||
Setting | Barry Learoyd | ||
Jonathan Swift | Fred O'Donovan [A] | ||
Esther Johnson (Stella) | Joyce Heron | ||
Esther Vanhomrigh (Vanessa) | Muriel Pavlow | ||
Charles Ford | Godfrey Kenton | ||
Dr Berkeley | Ivan Samson | ||
Rebecca Dingley | Jean Anderson | ||
Richard Brennan | Harry Fine | ||
Rev Mr Tisdall | Stuart Latham | ||
John Gay | Oliver Burt | ||
Mrs Vanhomrigh | Marjorie Gresley | ||
Moll Vanhomrigh | Ursula Harby | ||
A curate | John Chandos | ||
First trollop | Sally Travers | ||
Second trollop | Micheline Patton |
Patton's final recorded BBC appearance was in 1958, with a role in The Ordeal of Christabel Pankhurst.
The Ordeal of Christabel Pankhurst | (4 Jun 1958) | [14] | |
Written by Arthur Swinson in which television brings you great moments of history with the news coverage of today. | |||
Writer | Arthur Swinson | ||
Designer | Stephen Bundy | ||
Producer | Michael Mills | ||
News Editor | Frank Owen | ||
News Reporter | Francis Williams | ||
News Reporter | Raymond Baxter | ||
[Actor] | Tony Britton | ||
Christabel Pankhurst | Sarah Lawson | ||
[Actor] | Elwyn Brook-Jones | ||
[Actor] | Leslie Perrins | ||
[Actress] | Marian Spencer | ||
[Actress] | Edna Morris | ||
[Actor] | Alfred Burke | ||
[Actress] | Christine Lindsay | ||
[Actor] | Jack Stewart | ||
[Actress] | Olga Dickie | ||
[Actress] | Micheline Patton | ||
[Actress] | Hazel Jennings |
Patton's best received role was probably as Emily Brontë in The Brontës, by Alfred Sangster, produced by the Sheffield Repertory Company. [15] She played this role from 1946–1949, receiving generally good notices. in 1946 a reviewer for the Brontë Society noted that Patton was so "exceptionally good that one suspected (perhaps too artlessly) a spiritual affinity. What strength that pale, frigid face reflected!" [16] A reviewer for Punch commented on the "interesting" Patton's ability to "suggest dark churnings of the soul." [17] Less enthusiastically, in 1947, a reviewer for Theatre World commented "Micheline Patton does all that could be done with her material," calling the part "poorly written." [15]
Patton appeared as Mrs. Broome in The Yellow Teddy Bears in 1963. [19]
Micheline Patton (1912 – 30 June 2001) was an Irish actress who worked on radio, stage and television from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s.
Micheline Elizabeth Patton was born in Belfast in 1912, and died on 30 June 2001 in Godalming, Surrey. Her father was Billy Patton, a surgeon. [1] She went to school in Malvern Girls' College, and studied Modern History at St Hugh's College, Oxford, graduating in 1935. [2] [3] One of her cousins was the Irish playwright, BBC producer and war correspondent Denis Johnston. [1] [4]
Between 1935 and 1947, Patton read several short stories for BBC Radio, including works by Katherine Mansfield, [5] Anton Chekhov, [6] and Helen Colvill. [7] She acted in radio plays, including playing the role of Winifred in the 1947 BBC Radio adaptation of In Chancery from The Forsyte Saga. [8]
Patton acted in early BBC television broadcasts. In December 1937, she appeared in a backless dress in the final episode of the early fashion documentary Clothes-Line. Patton was viewed from behind, giving an illusion of nudity, which led to outraged viewers writing in to complain. [9] The episode was titled Grandmamma Looks Back, inspiring the copresenter Pearl Binder's quip, "Grandmamma looks back but Micheline has no back to be seen." [9]
Clothes-Line | (9 Dec 1937) | [10] |
Producer | Mary Adams | |
The grand-mother | Nesta Sawyer | |
The grand-daughter | Micheline Patton | |
The album by | Pearl Binder | |
The diary by | James Laver |
She went on to appear in a November 1938 adaptation of Robert J. Flaherty's book The Captain's Chair (produced as The Last Voyage of Captain Grant).
The Last Voyage of Captain Grant | (9 Nov 1938) | [11] | |
A narrative of the Arctic based upon Robert Flaherty's novel The Captain's Chair, adapted for television and produced by Denis Johnston. The narration will be spoken by the author, Robert Flaherty. | |||
Writer/narrator | Robert Flaherty | ||
Adapted for television and produced by | Denis Johnston | ||
Captain Grant | John Laurie | ||
Catlin | David Marsh | ||
McDougall | Graveley Edwards | ||
Timmins | Rupert Siddons | ||
The Factor | Cyril Gardiner | ||
Quartermaster | William Heilbronn | ||
First Director | Douglas Allen | ||
Second Director Steward |
Guy Glover | ||
Third Director Second Officer |
Ian Aylmer | ||
Chairman Second Factor |
John Thompson | ||
Girl | Micheline Patton |
and in July 1939, a drama based on the Parnell Commission.
The Parnell Commission | (18 Jul 1939) | [12] | |
A reconstruction of the famous forgery investigation of 1888–89 | |||
Producer | Denis Johnston | ||
Piggott | Eliot Makeham | ||
Sir Charles Russel | Felix Aylmer | ||
Parnell | Mark Dignam | ||
Attorney General | Wilfrid Walter | ||
Eye Witness | Brefni O'Rorke | ||
Mrs O'Shea | Olga Edwardes | ||
President of the Court | Graveley Edwards | ||
Timothy Harrington | Blake Giffard | ||
Doctor Maguire | Nigel Fitzgerald | ||
Henniker Heaton | Lionel Dymoke | ||
Frank Hugh O'Donnell | Harry Hutchinson | ||
Court Registrar | Leo McCabe | ||
Captain O'Shea | Charles Oliver | ||
Friend | Micheline Patton | ||
Servant at Eltham | Moya Devlin | ||
Solicitor's Clerk | Russell Hogarth | ||
Spanish Policeman | Rafael Terry | ||
Reporter Houston's Voice |
Kenneth Barton | ||
[Actor] | Jack Clifford |
In 1947 Patton had a small role in Weep for the Cyclops, a biographical 1947 television drama on Jonathan Swift, which was written and produced by her cousin Denis Johnston. [4]
Weep for the Cyclops | (21 Aug 1947) | [13] | |
The true history of Dr. Jonathan Swift, Dean of St. Patrick's, Dublin | |||
Writer / Producer | Denis Johnston | ||
Setting | Barry Learoyd | ||
Jonathan Swift | Fred O'Donovan [A] | ||
Esther Johnson (Stella) | Joyce Heron | ||
Esther Vanhomrigh (Vanessa) | Muriel Pavlow | ||
Charles Ford | Godfrey Kenton | ||
Dr Berkeley | Ivan Samson | ||
Rebecca Dingley | Jean Anderson | ||
Richard Brennan | Harry Fine | ||
Rev Mr Tisdall | Stuart Latham | ||
John Gay | Oliver Burt | ||
Mrs Vanhomrigh | Marjorie Gresley | ||
Moll Vanhomrigh | Ursula Harby | ||
A curate | John Chandos | ||
First trollop | Sally Travers | ||
Second trollop | Micheline Patton |
Patton's final recorded BBC appearance was in 1958, with a role in The Ordeal of Christabel Pankhurst.
The Ordeal of Christabel Pankhurst | (4 Jun 1958) | [14] | |
Written by Arthur Swinson in which television brings you great moments of history with the news coverage of today. | |||
Writer | Arthur Swinson | ||
Designer | Stephen Bundy | ||
Producer | Michael Mills | ||
News Editor | Frank Owen | ||
News Reporter | Francis Williams | ||
News Reporter | Raymond Baxter | ||
[Actor] | Tony Britton | ||
Christabel Pankhurst | Sarah Lawson | ||
[Actor] | Elwyn Brook-Jones | ||
[Actor] | Leslie Perrins | ||
[Actress] | Marian Spencer | ||
[Actress] | Edna Morris | ||
[Actor] | Alfred Burke | ||
[Actress] | Christine Lindsay | ||
[Actor] | Jack Stewart | ||
[Actress] | Olga Dickie | ||
[Actress] | Micheline Patton | ||
[Actress] | Hazel Jennings |
Patton's best received role was probably as Emily Brontë in The Brontës, by Alfred Sangster, produced by the Sheffield Repertory Company. [15] She played this role from 1946–1949, receiving generally good notices. in 1946 a reviewer for the Brontë Society noted that Patton was so "exceptionally good that one suspected (perhaps too artlessly) a spiritual affinity. What strength that pale, frigid face reflected!" [16] A reviewer for Punch commented on the "interesting" Patton's ability to "suggest dark churnings of the soul." [17] Less enthusiastically, in 1947, a reviewer for Theatre World commented "Micheline Patton does all that could be done with her material," calling the part "poorly written." [15]
Patton appeared as Mrs. Broome in The Yellow Teddy Bears in 1963. [19]