At least a couple of times a year, I’m joined by two Gary’s – Malby and Crowley –  for ‘board meetings’ in regard to the Gama Clothing tee shirt company which we oversee. On many of those occasions, in a certain part of central London, we have seen the actress Georgina Hale, quietly having a coffee. All three of us come over all unnecessary each and every time we spot her, as we are big fans of her work in various TV dramas and films over the years.

Of course, most people we tell of this particular celeb spot, need to be reminded of who she is. Well, the one role of Georgina’s which seems to jog many a fading memory, is that of  ‘Katie’ who prepares Roger Daltrey’s breakfast in the film ‘McVicar.

Oh her, I hear many of you now exclaim.

She was born Georgina Hole in Ilford, Essex in 1943 to pub landlord George and his wife Elsie. Her schooling, such as it was,  was interrupted by regular family relocations and her having to start, again, at a new school.

‘I couldn’t write, spell, or read, so it was a real problem, because that sort of thing wasn’t acknowledged then. There was a real shame in it, and you were the dunce of the class, always getting whacked around the head. We were on the move a lot as well, so going to so many schools, always being the new girl, it was so frightening and so nerve-wracking as a kid, and it really affected me.’

She wanted to go to art school, but wasn’t allowed, so instead worked as a hairdresser. Given tickets by a grateful customer, she went to the theatre for the very first time aged 19 and loved the whole experience immediately. She began acting classes, now called Georgina Hale, first at the Chelsea Actors Workshop. She studied the Konstantin Stanislavski technique, handed down by the Russian theatre dramatist of the same name, which helped the actor create believable characters. Method acting being the more well-known name for the craft.

‘Someone came down and said, ‘Can you read a script?’ I thought, God, I can hardly read, and I certainly didn’t know what a script was.’

Despite all that, she learnt fast and then got into RADA – The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art – graduating in 1965. By then she had married the actor John Forgeham in 1964. John went on to play the peroxide headed ‘Frank’ in ‘The Italian Job.’

Georgina’s first professional engagement was at the Stratford Theatre in the Joan Littlewood era , before making her way around the country in repertory theatre for many years, finally making her West End debut in Chekhov’s ‘The Seagull’ in 1976.

By then of course,  she was a familiar face to many from the world of TV and film. She appeared in mainly TV plays at first and then popped up as ‘Jean,’ the slightly potty wife of Adam Faith’s ‘Budgie,’ in the second TV series of the same name from 1971/1972.

Her film career began at 24, as ‘Betsy’ in the 1973  drama ‘Eagle in a Cage’, based on the life of Napoleon Bonaparte. She then teamed up with long time admirer, director Ken Russell. She featured in his films ‘The Devils’ and ‘The Boyfriend’ both in 1971 and again as Alma in ‘Mahler’ in 1974, a role which gained her a BAFTA for most promising newcomer. She reunited with Russell again for ‘Lisztomania’ in 1975 and ‘Valentino’ in 1977.

Ken said later ‘(she is) an actress of such sensitivity that she can make the hair rise on your arms.’

Other film roles worth noting are in ‘Butley’ starring Alan Bates and  directed by Harold Pinter from 1974,  playing a saucy switchboard operator in ‘Sweeney 2′ in 1978 and cooking up a storm as already mentioned, in ‘McVicar’ from 1980.

She gained excellent reviews in the lead part in the TV drama ‘The Trial Ruth of Ellis’ also from 1980, which looked at the court case of the last woman to be hung in the UK, and as ‘Josie’ in the play ‘Steaming ‘ written by Nell Dunn, for which Georgina picked up a 1981 Olivier Award nomination.

Her notable work in the theatre continued through the 80s & 90s and into the early Noughties, before reuniting with Ken Russell in his1996  film ‘Castaway.’

Back on TV, she was Tabatha Bag, in the ‘T-Bag’  series from 1990 to 1992 playing the role with her distinctive voice to the fore,
and described by one of the writers Grant Cathro, ‘as a cross between Harpo Marx and a Dalek.’

In her varied career, she has also appeared in ‘Upstairs Downstairs’ ‘Minder’ ‘One Foot in the Grave’ ‘Doctor Who’ ‘Emmerdale’ ‘Hollyoaks’ ‘The Bill’ and ‘Holby City’ and indeed, in 2010 The Guardian name her as one of the top 10-character actors in British TV. One of her last film roles was a ‘Doreen’  in ‘Cockneys Versus Zombies’ from 2013

It’s not all been plain sailing however for her over the years, and includes a stint working as a dishwasher during two years of unemployment.

‘Once I reached 51, my life drastically changed. The parts aren’t there, the people you’ve worked for have retired or died, and there’s nothing. Four years ago, I tried to change my agent, and 11 agents turned me down. One told me they didn’t take actresses over 45 because it was too depressing to talk to them on the telephone. You felt as though you’d never been an actor. I had periods where I wondered if I’d actually done all these things, or whether it was somebody else. I say to any young actress they should make sure they can do something else, or, if they make money, invest it wisely, because once they hit middle age it gets very tough out there.’

For my money, it is always a joy to see her in any part, she never fails to give it a certain something.

The next time I see her, me and the Gary’s are definitely going over to say hello.

 

The Mumper of  SE5

 

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