- Esther McCracken
Esther McCracken (née Armstrong) (1902-1971) was a British actress and playwright.
Biography
She was born as Esther Helen Armstong in
Newcastle upon Tyne onJune 25 1902 . She was educated at theCentral Newcastle High School Citation
title = Obituary: Esther McCracken
newspaper =The Times
date = Sept 1971] , where she won the cricket-ball throwing competition every year.From 1929, Esther acted with the
Newcastle Repertory Company . Her first play "The Willing Spirit" was produced in 1936. It was her second play, "Quiet Wedding" in 1938which made her reputation as a writer of domestic comedy and brought her toLondon . It was later filmed byAnthony Asquith in 1941.She later followed her success with the less successful "The Willing Spirit" in 1936, "Counter Attraction" in 1938 and "White Elephants" in 1940. Her 1941 play "Quiet Weekend" surpassed her earlier success and it ran for over a thousand performances] .
She married
Angus McCracken , a famous northern rugby player and accountant in 1936, but he was killed in action in 1943. In the following year, she marriedMungo Campbell , the shipping magnate. Esther went on to introduceWhat Cheor Geordie , which ran from 1940 to 1956. The signature tune was the very popular 'Wherever ye gaan, you're sure to meet a Geordie'. She also wrote more serious plays in her later career including "Living Room" in 1943, "No Medals" in 1944 and "Cry Liberty" in 1950.The initials of Esther, her husband and that of a friend are included in the name of
MEA House in Ellison Place, Newcastle, which was set up through their efforts. This is the first British building purpose-built to house a range of voluntary services.She died in September 1971. The actress
Imogen Stubbs is Esther's granddaughter.References
External links
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0566837/ Imdb profile]
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