Gabrielle Blunt

Blunt was the daughter and only child of Henry Wilfrid Blunt and Maud Etta Hyde, who were married on 10 May 1915. She was the granddaughter of Sir John Harvey Blunt, eighth Baronet Blunt of London and Susan Hoad.

Blunt began her theatrical career in regional rep in the early 1940s touring Europe with the Entertainments National Service Association in 1945. The same year, she was seen in Vanbrugh's The Confederacy at the York Festival. In March 1945 she appeared in the stage version of "Pink String and Sealing Wax" by Roland Pertwee at the Grand Theatre, Derby. The Manager and Stage Director was Frank Tomsett and the play was directed by William Armstrong and the Author.

Blunt's first significant role was as Catriona Macroon in the film Whisky Galore!.{{Cite web |url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6baa829c |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160420110431/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6baa829c |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 20, 2016 |title=Whisky Galore! (1949) |access-date=2017-10-15}} In the early 1990s she appeared in a documentary about the film Whisky Galore, which was later also on a DVD release of the original 1949 film.

Blunt also appeared as Mrs Bulstrode in Wilt, a 1989 film adaptation of Tom Sharpe's novel.{{Cite book |title=Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2014 |last=Lentz III |first=Harris M. |publisher=McFarland & Co |year=2015 |isbn=978-0786476664 |pages=40}} She became best known for her roles in British sitcoms, appearing over the years in Happy Ever After, Shine on Harvey Moon, Roll Over Beethoven, Drop the Dead Donkey, The Fast Show, Pat & Margaret, Harry Enfield's Television Programme and Paul Merton: The Series and The Thin Blue Line.Quinn, Michael (5 September 2014).[https://www.thestage.co.uk/features/obituaries/2014/obituary-gabrielle-blunt/ "Obituary: Gabrielle Blunt"]. The Stage. Retrieved 27 June 2015.{{cite web|url=http://www.aveleyman.com/ActorCredit.aspx?ActorID=1697|title=Gabrielle Blunt|website=aveleyman.com}}

She appeared in an early episode of the popular BBC sitcom One Foot in the Grave as Mrs Birkett, an elderly neighbour who accidentally gets trapped in the Meldrews' loft when Victor closes the trap door whilst she is up there looking for jumble that Margaret has prepared for her.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00d6znh|title=BBC One - One Foot in the Grave, Series 1, The Valley of Fear|website=BBC}}{{cite web|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv-programme/e/9g7r/one-foot-in-the-grave--s1-e3-the-valley-of-fear/|title=One Foot in the Grave - S1 - Episode 3: The Valley of Fear|website=Radio Times}} She continues to be mentioned throughout the rest of the series, but is not seen again.

When she was nearly 80, in 1998, Blunt toured the UK and Europe in Out of Joint's premiere of Caryl Churchill's Blue Heart and she travelled to New York the following year to perform in it.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VL-FBwAAQBAJ&q=gabrielle+blunt+blue+heart&pg=PA187|title=The Theatre of Caryl Churchill|first=R. Darren|last=Gobert|date=20 November 2014|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic|isbn=9781408154526|via=Google Books}}{{cite web|url=http://levyarchive.bam.org/Detail/occurrences/1907|title=Leon Levy BAM Digital Archive: Production: Blue Heart [1999s.00654]|website=levyarchive.bam.org}}

Blunt was married and divorced twice and had three children. Her first husband was the actor Tony Thawnton. Her second husband, Julian Bond, adopted her two children from her first marriage.

She continued to work in television and theatre until the early 2000s. Her final appearance on television was in November 2001 in an episode of the series Heartbeat.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b8744cd37|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190224002038/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b8744cd37|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 24, 2019|title = Home Sweet Home (2001)}}

She died at the age of 95 of natural causes in the actors' retirement home Denville Hall in London, England, on 10 June 2014.

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Category:1919 births

Category:2014 deaths

Category:British film actresses

Category:British television actresses

Category:People from Blean