Esther McCracken
{{Short description|British actress and playwright (1902–1971)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Esther McCracken
| image = Esther_McCracken.png
| caption = Photo by John Gay, 1949
| birth_name = Esther Helen Armstrong
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1902|06|25}}
| birth_place = Newcastle upon Tyne, England
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1971|08|09|1902|06|25}}
| death_place = London, England
| restingplace =
| othername =
| occupation = {{hlist | Playwright | actress}}
| yearsactive =
| spouse =
| website =
| awards =
}}
Esther Helen McCracken (née Armstrong; 25 June 1902 – 9 August 1971) was a British actress and playwright.{{cite web|url=http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2bb21bf3c9|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722035113/http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2bb21bf3c9|url-status=dead|archive-date=2012-07-22|title=Esther McCracken|work=BFI}}
Biography
She was born Esther Helen Armstrong in Newcastle upon Tyne on 25 June 1902 and was educated at the Central Newcastle High School,{{Citation|title=Obituary: Esther McCracken|newspaper=The Times|location=London|date=September 1971}} where she won the cricket-ball throwing competition every year.{{cite web|url=http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/chronicles-100-greatest-geordies-nos-1368857|title=Chronicle's 100 Greatest Geordies: No's 90 to 86|date=3 August 2012|work=nechronicle}}
From 1929, she acted with the Newcastle Repertory Company. Her first play The Willing Spirit was produced in 1936. It was her second play, Quiet Wedding, in 1938, which made her reputation as a writer of domestic comedy and took her to London. It was later filmed by Anthony Asquith in 1941, and by Roy Boulting in 1958, as Happy Is the Bride.{{cite web|url=http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b6b3c58ff|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120713085422/http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b6b3c58ff|url-status=dead|archive-date=2012-07-13|title=Quiet Wedding|work=BFI}}{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/77345/happy-is-the-bride|title=Happy Is the Bride (1958) - Overview - TCM.com|work=Turner Classic Movies}}
Her next plays, The Willing Spirit in 1936, Counter Attraction in 1938, and White Elephants in 1940, were less successful, but Quiet Weekend, in 1941, surpassed her earlier success and ran for over a thousand performances.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mreCBAAAQBAJ&dq=quiet+weekend+london+stage+1940-1949&pg=PA47|title=The London Stage 1940-1949: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel|first=J. P.|last=Wearing|date=August 22, 2014|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=9780810893061|via=Google Books}} It was filmed in 1946.{{cite web|url=http://www.radiotimes.com/film/czhjg/quiet-weekend|title=Quiet Weekend|first=David|last=Parkinson|work=RadioTimes}}
She married Angus McCracken, a famous northern rugby player and accountant in 1936, but he was killed in action in Naples, Italy in 1943.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/08/13/archives/esther-iviccracken-dies-british-playwright-69.html|title=Esther McCracken Dies; British Playwright, 69|date=13 August 1971|via=NYTimes.com}} In the following year, she married Mungo Campbell, the shipping magnate. She went on to introduce the BBC radio variety programme Wot Cheor Geordie, which ran from 1940 to 1956.{{Cite web|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/5ec76ace6e36abaf17dd0cce257cc336|title=Esther McCracken in 'Wot Cheor. Geordie! '|date=30 March 1951|issue=1428|pages=36|via=BBC Genome}} The signature tune was the very popular "Wherever ye gaan, you're sure to meet a Geordie".{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OK6IDwAAQBAJ&dq=Wot+Cheor+Geordie+bbc++%22Wherever+ye+gaan%2C+you%27re+sure+to+meet+a+Geordie%22&pg=PT116|title=A-Z of Newcastle: Places-People-History|first=Ken|last=Hutchinson|date=15 June 2018|publisher=Amberley Publishing Limited|isbn=9781445665092|via=Google Books}} She also wrote more serious plays in her later career, including Living Room in 1943, No Medals in 1944 (filmed as The Weaker Sex), and Cry Liberty in 1950.{{Cite web|url=https://theatricalia.com/person/s9e/esther-mccracken|title=Esther McCracken | Theatricalia|website=theatricalia.com}}
The initials of McCracken, her husband and 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.meahouse.org.uk/about-us.htm|title=About - MEA House|work=meahouse.org.uk}}
She died in August 1971. The actress Imogen Stubbs is her granddaughter.{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/186332%7C0/Imogen-Stubbs/|title=Overview for Imogen Stubbs|work=Turner Classic Movies}}
References
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External links
- {{IMDb name|0566837}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:McCracken, Esther}}
Category:English women dramatists and playwrights
Category:English stage actresses
Category:People educated at Central Newcastle High School
Category:20th-century English actresses
Category:20th-century English women writers