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Kathleen O'Regan

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Kathleen O'Regan
Publicity still for The Shadow Between (1931)
Born
Elizabeth Kathleen Melville

11 November 1903
Sligo, Ireland
Died10 December 1970 (aged 67)
Milford-on-Sea, Hampshire, U.K.
Other namesElizabeth Kathleen Plimpton, Kathleen Oregan
OccupationActress
Spouse(s)Lt Colonel K.A. Plimpton, DSO

Kathleen O'Regan (11 November 1903[1] – 10 December 1970), born Elizabeth Kathleen Melville, was an Irish actress, born in Sligo,[2] best remembered for her roles in the first London performances of Juno and the Paycock and The Plough and the Stars.[3][4]

Career

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O'Regan made her West End debut in a production of Perservering Pat.[5] She was in the first London productions of the Sean O'Casey plays Juno and the Paycock and The Plough and the Stars.[3][4] She starred in Gregorio Martinez Sierra's The Kingdom of God in 1927,[6] in A Night in June,[7] Young Woodley, and Tinker Tailor in 1928,[8] and in comedies including the farce Two Deep in 1930.[9] A 1928 reviewer noted that O'Regan "has already a personality that can express and convey emotion, fine eyes, repose, and beautiful movement," while suggesting that she "learn our silly way of speaking English if she is to play English parts."[7]

O'Regan also appeared in films, including Alfred Hitchcock's screen rendering of Juno and the Paycock (1930),[10][11] and the all-Irish film Ireland Through the Ages (1930),[2] The Shadow Between (1931),[12] Fires of Fate (1932),[13] and Rose of Tralee (1938).[14] On radio, she was heard in adaptations including The Four Feathers.[15]

O'Regan was considered a stylish stage beauty.[16] She endorsed Lux soap in print advertisements that highlighted her "satin-smooth" complexion.[17] She continued on the stage through the 1930s and into the 1940s, appearing in Eight Bells (1933),[18] And a Woman Passed By... (1935)[19] Ben Travers's farce Banana Ridge (1938),[20] and The Crime of Margaret Foley (1947).[21]

Personal life

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In April 1926,[22][23] O'Regan married World War I veteran, sportsman, and actor Kelburne Archibald Plimpton, DSO,[5] who was secretary of the Garrick Club. She died in 1970, aged 67, in Milford-on-Sea in Hampshire.[20][24]

Filmography

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Year Film Role Other notes
1930 Juno and the Paycock Mary Boyle
1931 The Shadow Between Margaret Haddon
1932 Fires of Fate Nora Belmont
1938 Rose of Tralee Mary O'Malley
1941 Man at the Gate Ruth
1943 Thursday's Child Ellen Wilson

Notes

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  1. ^ The England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007, gives the birthdate of Elizabeth Kathleen Plimpton as 11 November 1899; via Ancestry.
  2. ^ a b "Kathleen O'Regan Chosen for First All-Irish Film". Evening Telegraph. 1 March 1930. p. 2. Retrieved 25 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b Wearing, J. P. (27 March 2014). The London Stage 1920-1929: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9780810893023 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ a b Wearing, J. P. (27 March 2014). The London Stage 1920-1929: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9780810893023 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ a b "Social". Toowoomba Chronicle and Darling Downs Gazette. 10 December 1932. p. 5. Retrieved 25 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Irish Girls in London Play". Evening Herald. 19 November 1927. p. 5. Retrieved 25 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b Griffith, Hubert (11 January 1928). "Novice's Mistake in a First Play; the Three Problems of 'A Night in June'". Evening Standard. p. 4. Retrieved 25 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Unlucky Actress". Sunday Dispatch. 11 March 1928. p. 1. Retrieved 25 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Excellent Reception for the First Night of 'Two Deep'". South Wales Evening Post. 21 October 1930. p. 6. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  10. ^ "Kathleen O'Regan". Archived from the original on 31 October 2018.
  11. ^ Ussher, Kathleen (30 April 1930). "Two Talkies from the Emerald Isle". The Sydney Mail. pp. 18–19. Retrieved 25 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "British Films". Star Weekly. 8 August 1931. p. 50. Retrieved 25 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Who's Who in British Films". The Northern Star. 20 March 1933. p. 3. Retrieved 25 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "New Film; Tremont Temple; 'Rose of Tralee'". The Boston Globe. 27 December 1938. p. 24. Retrieved 25 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Broadcasting: Vaudeville Items Announcer; Miss Kathleen O'Regan in New Role". Western Morning News. 30 May 1930. p. 10. Retrieved 25 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "An Expensive Peke". Hull Daily Mail. 10 January 1930. p. 3. Retrieved 25 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "She is Ireland's very own star Kathleen O'Regan (advertisement)". Irish Independent. 9 September 1931. p. 5. Retrieved 25 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Actress Changes Her Hair--Back to the Railways". Daily Mirror. 15 June 1933. p. 9. Retrieved 25 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ Darlington, W. A. (10 April 1935). "Play of Ugly Passions; Wife's Suspicion and Jealousy, Kathleen O'Regan's Fine Acting". The Daily Telegraph. p. 10. Retrieved 25 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ a b "Miss Kathleen O'Regan", The Times, 14 December 1970, p. 11
  21. ^ "Royal Court Theatre (advertisement)". Evening Express. 31 May 1947. p. 2. Retrieved 25 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "In Love with her Voice; Romance Behind Secret Wedding of Pretty Actress". The Sunday People. 30 May 1926. p. 11. Retrieved 25 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ Kelburne A Plimpton and Elizabeth Melville (April 1926), in the England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005, via Ancestry.
  24. ^ England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995 for Elizabeth Kathleen Plimpton (died 10 December 1970), via Ancestry.
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