Old Mother Riley

Arthur Lucan and Kitty McShane as Old Mother Riley and her daughter Kitty

Old Mother Riley was a music hall act which originally ran from about 1934 to 1954 played by Arthur Lucan, then from 1954 to 1977 by Roy Rolland.^[1]

Old Mother Riley was an Irish washerwoman character, devised by Lucan (born Arthur Towle).^[1][2] His wife Kitty McShane played Old Mother Riley's daughter, Kitty.^[1][2] It was essentially a drag act but also a double act. They were hugely successful at the time, playing music halls, theatres, radio and films. They also gave Jimmy Clitheroe his big break in 1939 in an Old Mother Riley pantomime called The Old Woman who Lives in a Shoe,^[3] and then the following year a part in their film, Old Mother Riley in Society.

After Lucan's death, the Old Mother Riley character was played by Roy Rolland (1921–1977), although occasionally called Old Mother Kelly and, for pantomime, Old Mother Goose^[1]. Rolland's Old Mother Riley was a regular on the 1970's children's variety show Junior Showtime^[1], and at the end of his life he performed with Danny La Rue, who played daughter Kitty.

Old Mother Riley is referenced in the Kinks song "The Village Green Preservation Society" from their 1968 album The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society.^[4]

The Old Mother Riley films

Made on a minuscule budget, but extremely profitable, 16 of the 17 films made by Arthur Lucan featured Old Mother Riley:

• Old Mother Riley (1937)
• Kathleen Mavourneen (1937)
• Old Mother Riley MP (1938)
• Old Mother Riley in Paris (1938)
• Old Mother Riley Joins Up (1939)
• Old Mother Riley in Society (1940)
• Old Mother Riley in Business (1940)
• Old Mother Riley's Circus (1941)
• Old Mother Riley's Ghosts (1941)
• Old Mother Riley Overseas (1943)
• Old Mother Riley Detective (1943)
• Old Mother Riley at Home (1945)
• Old Mother Riley's New Venture (1949)
• Old Mother Riley Headmistress (1950)
• Old Mother Riley's Jungle Treasure (1951)
• Mother Riley Meets the Vampire (1952) – stars Bela Lugosi.

At the time of Lucan's death he was scheduled to film Old Mother Riley's Trip to Mars.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Obituary Roy Rolland". The Independent on Sunday. 26 August 1997. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-roy-rolland-1247384.html. Retrieved 12 June 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Britmovie". Old Mother Riley: The Life and Career of Arthur Lucan. Britmovie. http://www.britmovie.co.uk/2007/01/19/old-mother-riley-the-life-and-career-of-arthur-lucan/. Retrieved 13 June 2011. 
3. ^ "Vintage British Comedy". Old Mother Riley. http://www.vintagebritishcomedy.co.uk/#/old-mother-riley-theatre/4547927999. Retrieved 13 June 2011. 
4. ^ "Magnet Magazine". Ray Davies revisits The Kinks "The Village Green Preservation Society". Magnet Magazine. http://www.magnetmagazine.com/2009/12/02/ray-davies-revisits-the-kinks-the-village-green-preservation-society-old-mother-riley/. Retrieved 13 June 2011. 

• Old Mother Riley : The Life and Career of Arthur Lucan