Kay Dotrice
{{Short description|British actress (1929–2007)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Kay Dotrice
| birthname = Katherine Florence Newman
| birth_date = {{birth date|1929|05|09|df=y}}
| birth_place = Liverpool, England
| death_date = {{death date and age|2007|8|2|1929|5|9|df=y}}
| death_place = Hollywood, California, U.S.
| occupation = Actress
| spouse = {{marriage|Roy Dotrice|1947|}}
| children = 3, including Michele and Karen
}}
Katherine Florence Dotrice (née Newman; 9 May 1929 – 2 August 2007{{cite book |last1=Lentz |first1=Harris M. III |title=Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2007: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture |date=2008 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=9780786451913 |page=98 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AX3GCwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Kay+Dotrice%22&pg=PA98 |accessdate=18 March 2019}}), known professionally as Kay Newman and Kay Dotrice, was a British stage and screen actress, best known for her roles in the UK TV series Crossroads, the movie Cheech & Chong's The Corsican Brothers, and many repertory performances during the 1950s.
Career
Dotrice began her career performing in revue and repertory theatre, particularly in the north of England. She played many lead roles, and consistently received positive notices. Reviewing J. Hartley Manners' Peg O' My Heart, one critic wrote "the Chichester family .. members were vividly contrasted [with] ... Kay Newman, fresh from her success as Emmy in "They Walk Alone", as the resentful Ethel", while another said, "Kay Newman, as the slandered wife, gave an appealing performance". Reviews of Mel Dinelli's The Man commented "Kay Newman in particular gave an impressive performance. As the frightened and tormented woman who unwittingly hires the services of a homicidal maniac as a house-help, she had a firm grasp on the part", and "Kay Newman reveals strong dramatic powers as in rapid succession she conveys nervous tension ranging from surprise to panic." In John Van Druten's Behold We Live, she "gives a delightful character study as a down-to-earth London housekeeper." In performances on Guernsey of Johnny Belinda, "the leading part of Belinda [was] a personal triumph for Kay Newman, who played it with charm and restraint."
In 1962, her six-year-old daughter Karen Dotrice was offered a five-year contract by Walt Disney, and Kay Dotrice spent all her time with her, supporting her and helping her learn her scripts.{{cite news |title=£40,000 Offer To Child Actress |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000271/19621002/015/0002 |accessdate=23 March 2019 |work=Liverpool Echo |date=2 October 1962 |page=2}} In 1977, she returned to performing under the name Kay Dotrice, playing the roles of Mrs Darling and Michael in a Decca recording of Peter Pan.{{cite news |title=All in the Family |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002135/19771031/085/0004 |accessdate=23 March 2019 |work=Birmingham Daily Post |date=31 October 1977 |page=4}}{{cite journal |title=Recording News |journal=The Gramophone |date=1977 |volume=55 |pages=1142, 1234 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z4w9AQAAIAAJ&q=%22Kay+Dotrice%22 |accessdate=23 March 2019}} The following year, she was cast as Mrs Crisp in the long-running ITV series Crossroads, and appeared in twenty-five episodes.{{cite news |title=Crossed roads |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002135/19781103/085/0004 |accessdate=23 March 2019 |work=Birmingham Daily Post |date=3 November 1978 |page=4}}{{cite news |last1=Coldstream |first1=John |title=Full house for the entertaining family Dotrice |url=http://tinyurl.galegroup.com/tinyurl/9Vuqm9 |accessdate=23 March 2019 |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=10 November 1978 |page=17}} In 1984, she appeared as the midwife in the film Cheech & Chong's The Corsican Brothers.{{cite news |title=Obituaries |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/obituaries-147189 |accessdate=21 March 2019 |work=Hollywood Reporter |date=9 August 2007}}
=Selected stage performances (as Kay Newman)=
Family
Dotrice was the wife of actor Roy Dotrice. They lived for many years in Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire.{{cite news |last1=McKee |first1=Victoria |title=Parting with a hotbed of talent |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002135/19790814/261/0010 |accessdate=23 March 2019 |work=Birmingham Daily Post |date=14 August 1979 |page=10}} Their daughters, Karen, Michele and Yvette, have also been actresses.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0234539}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dotrice, Kay}}
Category:British film actresses
Category:British stage actresses
Category:British television actresses
Category:Shakespearean actresses
Category:21st-century British actresses