Veronica Turleigh
{{Short description|Irish actress (1903–1971)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Use Irish English|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Veronica Turleigh
| image = Veronica_Turleigh.jpg
| caption =
| birth_name = Bridget Veronica Turleigh
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1903|01|14}}
| birth_place = Castleforward Demesne, County Donegal, Ireland
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1971|09|03|1903|01|14}}
| death_place = Blackheath, London, England
| restingplace =
| othername =
| occupation = Actor
| yearsactive =
| spouse = James Laver
| awards =
}}
Veronica Turleigh (14 January 1903 – 3 September 1971) was an Irish actress.
Biography
Bridget Veronica Turleigh was born on 14 January 1903 at Castleforward Demesne, County Donegal, Ireland. She attended the Catholic University in Dublin.{{cite book|last1=Read|first1=Piers Paul|title=Alec Guinness: The Authorised Biography|date=2003|publisher=Simon and Schuster|location=London|isbn=0743244982|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/alecguinnessauth00read}} Turleigh was the daughter of a member of the Royal Irish Constabulary, Martin Turley. She married James Laver, an expert on fashion and writer, in 1928.{{cite ODNB|last1=Moore|first1=Doris Langley|title=Laver, James (1899–1975)|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/31337|year=2004|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/31337|accessdate=16 March 2016}} Laver and Turleigh had two children, Patrick and Bridget. Patrick Laver went on to become a British diplomat.{{cite news|title=Patrick Laver|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1513532/Patrick-Laver.html|accessdate=16 March 2016|agency=The Telegraph|date=21 March 2006}}
She was a member of the Oxford Playhouse in the 1920s.{{cite book|last1=Chapman|first1=Don|title=Oxford Playhouse: High and Low Drama in a University City|date=2008|publisher=University of Hertfordshire Press|location=Hertfordshire|isbn=978-1902806877}} Turleigh acted alongside and was close friends with actors such as Alec Guinness and Robert Coote. She was proclaimed by Guinness as "one of the six nicest women I know." In 1939 she played Gertrude in Tyrone Guthrie's modern-dress and uncut Hamlet at The Old Vic with Alec Guinness in the title role. She appeared in the television series The Saint ("The Good Medicine", 1964) in a supporting role.{{Cite web|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7921e8e9|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814205627/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7921e8e9|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 August 2020|title=Good Medicine (1964)|website=BFI}} Her final acting role on the screen was in The Root of All Evil? (1969).{{cite web|title=Veronica Turleigh|url=http://celebrities.prettyfamous.com/l/731198/Veronica-Turleigh|website=Pretty Famous|accessdate=16 March 2016}}
Turleigh died on 3 September 1971, following a fall into a scalding bath at the couple's home, The Glebe, Blackheath, London. Guinness read at her funeral. As her husband was involved in the collection of items related in theatre history and production, items associated with Turleigh's acting career are in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum.{{cite web|title=Costume design|url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O67029/costume-design-meiklejohn-maise-dele/|website=Victoria and Albert|accessdate=16 March 2016}}
Partial filmography and playography
- The Agamemnon of Aeschylus{{cite web|title=Veronica Turleigh|url=http://www.irishplayography.com/person.aspx?personid=11737|website=Playography Ireland|accessdate=16 March 2016}}
- Teresa of Avila{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cLtSDwAAQBAJ&dq=teresa+of+avila+veronica+turleigh&pg=PT454|title=Sybil Thorndike: A Star Of Life|first=Jonathan|last=Croall|date=1 February 2009|publisher=Haus Publishing|isbn=9781912208111|via=Google Books}}
- King Arthur Was a Gentleman (1942) - (uncredited)
- The Card (1952) - Mrs. Machin
- The Horse's Mouth (1958){{cite web|title=Veronica Turleigh|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/72136/Veronica-Turleigh|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160323110244/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/72136/Veronica-Turleigh|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 March 2016|department=Movies & TV Dept.|work=The New York Times|date=2016|accessdate=16 March 2016}} - Lady Beeder
- Theatre 625 (1964, Episode: "Women in Crisis My Grandmother"){{cite web|title=Veronica Turleigh|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba310c657|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322162914/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba310c657|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 March 2016|website=British Film Institute|accessdate=16 March 2016}} - Mrs. Wallace
- ITV Play of the Week (1965, TV Series) - Amelia Madras / Hecuba
- Knock on Any Door (1965, Episode: "Guests of Honour") - Ursula's Mother
- ITV Sunday Night Theatre (1969, Episode: "The Innocent Ceremony") - Mrs. Wingate
- The Root of All Evil? (1969, "Floating Man") - Mother (final appearance)
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://archive.thetablet.co.uk/article/18th-september-1971/23/obituary The Tablet Obituary]
- [http://www.aveleyman.com/ActorCredit.aspx?ActorID=43353 Additional acting roles]
- [https://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/people/60/35.shtml Roles with the BBC]
- [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0877230/bio Entry on IMDB]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turleigh, Veronica}}
Category:20th-century Irish actresses
Category:Accidental deaths in London
Category:Actresses from County Donegal