Hayes, Patricia (1909–1998)
Hayes, Patricia (1909–1998)
English stage, tv and screen actress. Born Patricia Lawlor Hayes, Dec 22, 1909, in Camberwell, London, England; died Sept 19, 1998, in London; m. Valentine Rooke, 1939 (div. 1951); children: 3, including actor Richard O'Callaghan.
As a child, made London stage debut in The Great Big World (1921), followed by Eileen, The White Devil and The Blue Bird; attended RADA, winning the Bancroft gold medal (1928); as an adult, appeared in The Glory of the Sun, Jean de la Lune, The Tidings Brought to Mary and Night Must Fall (as Dora Parkoe); created role of Frankie in George and Margaret (1937) and was highly successful as Ruby Birtle in When We Are Married on stage and in film (1938); on tv, appeared regularly on "Benny Hill," as Min on "Till Death," and starred in "The Trouble with Lilian" and "The Last of the Baskets" (both 1971); headed the Catholic Actors Guild in Britain for many years. Named Officer of the British Empire (OBE, 1987).