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Doris Hare/Mabel Butler
 Born into an acting family, her Father, Mother 3 Brothers
and 2 Sisters were all on the stage. At the age of three she made her professional debut at the Alexander Portable Theatre
in their production of Current Cash. She continued working in music halls and choruses before making her West End
debut at The Palace as Sally in The Scarlet Clue in 1916. In a packed career that spanned almost ninety years she
has toured Ireland, Australia and South Africa as well as appearing in America in various productions including Night
Must Fall. She has also played a principal boy in pantomimes and has worked for the Royal Shakespeare Company and The
National Theatre. A familiar voice throughout the war on the radio series Shipmates
Ashore, after which she received an MBE for her work as a wartime entertainer.
info on wapidea Born
in Bargoed, Glamorgan, Doris Hare's parents had a portable theatre in South Wales and it seemed inevitable that she would
become a part of it, making her debut at the age of three in Current Cash and appearing in juvenile troupes all over Britain
as a child, before going solo as 'Little Doris Hare'. Appearing in music-hall, variety, cabaret revues and pantomimes, Hare also acted in plays by George
Bernard Shaw, Noel Coward, Alan Bennett, Pinero and Harold Pinter. In 1930, the actress toured in The Show's the Thing,
taking the part made famous by Gracie Fields. Hare was also on radio during the early days of the BBC at Savoy Hill and was
hostess of Shipmates Ashore, the BBC's programme for the Merchant Navy, earning her an MBE in 1941. In October, 1932, she made her (apparently) only recording session
in London; "Three White Feathers" b/w "The Old Man of the Mountain" issued on Zonophone (6265). In the 1960s she spent a year with the National Theatre, three
years with the Royal Shakespeare Company and performed with the Chichester Festival Theatre company for several seasons. Doris Hare made her screen debut in the classic Night Mail film
of 1936. She became best known as a comedy actress, and appeared in films like The History of Mr Polly (1949) and popular
TV programmes such as Dixon of Dock Green and The Saint. Hare came to national attention in the small-screen role as Stan Butler's widowed mother, Mrs Mabel
Butler, in On the Buses, taking over the part from Cicely Courtneidge in the second series of the raucous ITV comedy, which
had started in 1969. The series ran until 1973 and spawned three spin-off films On the Buses (1971), Mutiny on the Buses (1972)
and Holiday on the Buses (1973) in which Hare recreated her small-screen role. The cast also performed a stage version of
the popular series in Vancouver, Canada, in 1988. After the show ended, Doris Hare spent a year in the West End farce No Sex Please, We're British. Having turned down the role of Ena Sharples in Coronation Street,
Doris did play Alice Pickens in the series during 1969. She was due to marry Albert Tatlock, but the wedding never took place. In 1969 she appeared in the paranormal detective series Randall
and Hopkirk (Deceased) in the 13th episode "But What a Sweet Little Room" as the scary spiritualist Madame Hanska.
She also appeared in the Confessions series of films with Robin Askwith and Anthony Booth during the 1970s. One of her last
film roles was as a nun in Nuns on the Run with comedy actor Robbie Coltrane in 1990. A couple of years later she made her
final stage appearance in the West End farce It Runs in the Family. Doris Hare won a Variety Club of Great Britain Special Award for her contributions to show business
in 1982.
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Annette (Ty Gwyn) and Doris Hare 20.04.90
Doris Hare & The Rector (left) With thanks to Les and St Sadwrns
Church
for permission to use the the photos‘©’ Doris never forgot her roots and carried on working until she sadly passed away at the age of 95. The actress died at Denville Hall, the actors'
retirement home in Northwood, Middlesex.
She was cremated at Breakspear on the 2nd June, 2000
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BBC NEWS ITEM Wednesday, 31 May, 2000,
03:24 GMT 04:24 UK On the Buses Stars Dies actress who played the
long-suffering mother to Reg Varney's character in On the Buses, Doris Hare, has died at the age
of 95. Her leading role in the popular 1970s sitcom helped make her a household name. She also counted numerous West End and
Broadway appearances among her credits, in an acting career which spanned 84 years. The actress died on Wednesday at Denville
Hall, the actors' retirement home in Northwood, Middlesex. She was much loved by audiences for her part in the popular
TV show On the Buses, which ran from 1970 to 1975 and spawned three feature film spin-offs. Ms Hare's co-star in the series, Anna Karen, paid tribute to the actress,
who she said had remarkable energy and panache. "She was an absolutely amazing lady. I've never met a woman who was
so full of life," said Miss Karen, who played Miss Hare's daughter Olive in the bus garage sitcom. Ms Hare was born
in Bargoed, South Wales, in March 1905, and made her stage debut at the age of three at the Alexander Portable Theatre, Bargoed.
Her first West End hit came at the Adelphi Theatre in 1932, when she was 27, with John Mills in Noel Coward's revue Words
and Music. Wartime entertainer After her Broadway debut in 1936, she kept London audiences laughing during the war with her
comedy role in the revue Lights Up! at the Savoy Theatre. The actress was a leading player with the Royal Shakespeare Company
from 1963, but it was her role in On the Buses which brought her widest fame. "She was always tremendously popular because
she was just so down-to-earth, not one of those grand leading ladies with airs and graces," said the author and critic
Michael Thornton. Her other TV roles included appearances in She'll Have To Go and Why Didn't They Ask Evans? in 1980.
Her final West End appearance was at the grand age of 87 at the London Palladium when she received a standing ovation alongside
Sir John Mills at a tribute to Evelyn Laye. Ms Hare, who was a widow, leaves two daughters. |
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CAREER DETAILS:
Opening Night 1935
Jubilee Window 1935
Play ITS IN THE BAG with Doris Hare & Elisabeth Welch 1938
She Couldn't
Say No 1939
North Sea Patrol 1939
She Couldn't Say No 1940 with Tommy Trinder
1945
THE MUSICAL ROMANCE SWEET YESTERDAY ADELPHI THEATRE
LONDON CAST; WEBSTER
BOOTH, ANNE ZIEGLER, DORIS HARE, MARK DALY, REGINALD TATE, HUGH MILLER
1947. 1066 and All That. Richard Littledale, Wallas Eaton. 1948 17th October .A gala revue at Theatre
Royal, Drury Lane to promote National Savings !! Cast includes John Mills & Leslie Mitchell, Moira Lister & David
Peel, exerpts from opera & ballet, revue including Hattie Jacques, Stanley Holloway, Lupino Lane, 1st Bn. Scots Guards,Finale of THE LAMBETH WALK including Hermione Gingold, Margaret
Rutherford, Doris Hare, Bobby Howes,Ronald Shiner. Here Come the Huggetts1948
The History of Mr. Polly 1949, Dance hall 1950 with Petula Clarke Double Exposure 1954 Thought
to Kill 1954
THE WATER GYPSIES Jerry Verno Doris Hare Ian Frazer Dora Bryan Tom Swift 1955
Tiger by the Tail 1955 No Smoking 1955 Stranger's Meeting 1957 Heartbreak House by Bernard Shaw at the Lyric Theatre
London The production
starred Sarah Badel, Doris Hare, John Clements, Diana Churchill, Irene Worth, David Bird, Michael Aldridge, Bill Fraser, John
Humphry and Carl Bernard. 1967
ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER
PLACE film(1958) Sean Connery Debut STARRING: Lana Turner, Sean Connery, Barry Sullivan,
Glynis Johns, Sidney James, Terrence Longdon, Doris Hare, Martin Stephens The League of Gentlemen 1959 A Place to Go 1963
Coronation
Steet 1969 (as Alice Pickins) On the Buses 1969-1973 On
the Buses 1971 FILM Dois Hare This is Your Life 1971 Mutiny On the Buses 1972 Holiday on the Buses 1973 Confessions
of a Pop Performer 1975 Confessions of a Driving
Instructor 1976 Confessions of a Holiday Camp
1977 Why Didn't They Ask Evans?1980 Nuns on the Run 1990 Second Best 1994 with John Hurt
Television appearances include The House That Jack Built, Mr Digby Darling, Her Majesty's
Pleasure, Sez Les, Mums The Word, Three Piece Suite, She'll Have To Go, Diamonds, Nanny, Sharing The Time, Adrian Mole,
Cellar Show, Never The Twain, Comrade Dad, Done Thievin, First Things First, and The Alexei Sayle Show |
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Nostalgia never goes out of fashion Passengers onboard please do not copy images as they maybe copyrighted by the
third parties that have kindly supplied them to the fan club
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