Edith MacArthur
Older white woman in profile, in a black-and-white newspaper photograph from 1989.
Edith MacArthur, from a 1989 newspaper.
Born(1926-03-08)March 8, 1926
Ardrossan, Ayrshire
Died25 April 2018(2018-04-25) (aged 92)
Edinburgh, Scotland
NationalityScottish
Other namesEdith Macarthur
OccupationActress

Edith MacArthur MBE (8 March 1926 – 25 April 2018) was a Scottish actress noted for her elegant screen presence.

Early life

MacArthur was born in Ardrossan, North Ayrshire, the daughter of Donald MacArthur and Minnie Ross MacArthur. She studied at Ardrossan Academy and the Royal College of Music.[1] During World War II, she worked at the Admiralty Map Correction station in Ayrshire.[2]

Career

MacArthur began acting with the amateur Ardrossan & Saltcoats Players.[2] She worked in various Scottish stage companies before moving to London in 1960. She made her London stage debut that year, in Alec Coppel's The Gazebo, at the Savoy. With the Royal Shakespeare Company in the 1960s, she played Lady Montague in Romeo and Juliet. She was twice in London productions of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, in different roles, in 1966 and in 1994–1995.[1] She and Tom Fleming were known for Carlyle and Jane, their staged readings of the letters of Thomas Carlyle and Jane Welsh Carlyle.[3] She was long associated with the Pitlochry Festival Theatre.[3][4][5]

MacArthur was frequently seen on television,[6] with a long list of credits including Z-Cars, The Borderers, The Troubleshooters, Sutherland's Law, The Standard, The Omega Factor, The Sandbaggers, Doctor Finlay, Hamish Macbeth, Casualty and Sea of Souls. In 1972, she played the tragic Scottish mother Jean Guthrie in Sunset Song, the television adaptation of Lewis Grassic Gibbon's novel.[4][7] Her best-known role was the Lady Laird Elizabeth Cunningham in Take the High Road,[4] which she portrayed from the first episode in 1980, until December 1986 when the character was killed off in a car crash.[1][8]

MacArthur was said to have discovered the future Doctor Who actor David Tennant.[9] After seeing his first performance at age 10 in Paisley, she told his parents he would become a successful stage actor.[10][11] Tennant went on to play MacArthur's son twice on stage, in Long Day's Journey into Night and Hay Fever.[2][4]

In 2000, MacArthur was made an MBE for her contribution to the dramatic arts.[12]

Personal life

MacArthur died 25 April 2018 at the age of 92, in Edinburgh.[13][1] In her obituary in The Scotsman, she was described as "an actress whose breathtaking elegance and beauty – and uncompromising dedication to the craft she loved – was matched by a brilliant intelligence, and wicked, earthy sense of humour."[2] Her papers are archived at the National Library of Scotland.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Hayward, Anthony (7 May 2018). "Edith Macarthur obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 McMillan, Joyce (4 May 2018). "Obituary: Edith MacArthur, Theatre and television leading lady". The Scotsman. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 Inventory Acc.13182 Edith Macarthur, National Library of Scotland.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Quinn, Michael (15 May 2018). "Obituary: Edith MacArthur - 'the grande dame of Scottish theatre'". The Stage. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  5. ↑ "PFT express their sadness at the passing of Edith MacArthur". Pitlochry Festival Theatre. 26 April 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  6. ↑ Bonn, Melanie (1 May 2018). "Perthshire remembers top actress Edith". Daily Record. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  7. ↑ "Edith MacArthur". The Times. 4 May 2018. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  8. ↑ Steven, Alasdair (26 April 2018). "Obituary - Edith MacArthur, Scottish actress best known for Take The High Road". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  9. ↑ "Today's celebrity birthdays - April 18". NJ.com. 18 April 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  10. ↑ "Ready Steady Cook with David Tennant and his father". Ready Steady Cook. 6 December 2006. BBC. BBC 2.
  11. ↑ "David Tennant Pays Tribute To Edith MacArthur". David Tennant News. 5 May 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  12. ↑ Buchan, Jamie (28 April 2018). "Tributes to Perthshire theatre favourite and High Road star Edith MacArthur". The Courier. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  13. ↑ Steven, Alasdair (27 April 2018). "Obituary - Edith MacArthur, Scottish actress best known for Take The High Road". The Herald. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
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