Renée Houston
Renée Houston (24 July 1902 - 9 February 1980) was a Scottish comedy actress and revue artist who appeared in television and film roles.
Born in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, as Katherina Houston Gribbin she toured music halls and revues with her sister Billie Houston as the "Houston Sisters".
In 1926, the sisters made a short musical film, the script of which Renée had written. It was produced by Lee De Forest, whose process, Phonofilm, enabled a soundtrack to be played alongside the film (a year before The Jazz Singer).
Houston married three times, the second was to the actor Pat Aherne, the brother of Brian Aherne. Her third husband was the actor Donald Stewart.
In her later years, she specialised in "battleaxe" roles, notably as shop steward Vic Spanner's (Kenneth Cope) formidable mother in Carry On at Your Convenience (1971). She published her autobiography in 1974 which was entitled Don't Fence Me In.
Houston was also in the early episodes of radio's The Clitheroe Kid and a regular guest on radio panel show The Petticoat Line chaired by Anona Winn.
She died in London at the age of 77 on 9 February 1980.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Known For | Acting |
|---|---|
| Most Rating | 0.8532 |
| Birthday | 1902-07-24 |
| Place of Birth | Johnstone, Renfrewshire, Scotland, UK |
| Also Known As | Renee Houston, Katherina Rita Murphy Gribbin, |
1966
Cul-de-sac
6.721/321
On the run and in search of help, two wounded gangsters find refuge in the secluded castle of a feeble man and his wife; however, under the point of a...
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Cul-de-sac
1965
Repulsion
7.369/1137
Beautiful young manicurist Carole suffers from androphobia (the pathological fear of interaction with men). When her sister and roommate, Helen, leave...
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Repulsion
1964
Carry On Spying
6.375/68
Carry On favourite Barbara Windsor makes her debut in this outrageous send-up of the James Bond movies. Fearless agent Desmond Simpkins and Charlie Bi...
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Carry On Spying
1944
Two Thousand Women
6.909/11
During the Second World War, three downed English airmen hide out with women's internment camp in France.
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Two Thousand Women
1975
Legend of the Werewolf
5.352/27
In 19th-century Paris, a man raised by wolves works at a travelling circus, but on full moon nights, he transforms into a dangerous beast. Professor P...
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Legend of the Werewolf
1957
Time Without Pity
6.547/53
Alec Graham is sentenced to death for the murder of his girlfriend Jennie, with whom he spent a weekend at the English country home of the parents of...
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Time Without Pity
1958
The Horse's Mouth
6.77/50
Gulley Jimson is a boorish aging artist recently released from prison. A swindler in search of his next art project, he hunkers down in the penthouse...
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The Horse's Mouth
1962
The Phantom of the Opera
6.413/109
A London opera house is haunted by tragic events on its opening night, but when its star is kidnapped, a producer tracks down the Phantom who is inten...
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The Phantom of the Opera
1963
Carry On Cabby
6.4/73
Speedee Taxis is a great success, which means its workaholic owner Charlie starts neglecting Peggy, his wife. Suddenly a fleet of rival taxis appears...
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Carry On Cabby
1971
Carry On at Your Convenience
6.239/67
At WC Boggs' Lavatory factory, Vic Spanner is the union representative who calls a strike at the drop of a hat. However, eventually everyone gets fed...
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Carry On at Your Convenience
1960
The Flesh and the Fiends
6.6/59
Edinburgh surgeon Dr. Robert Knox requires cadavers for his research into the functioning of the human body; local ne'er-do-wells Burke and Hare find...
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The Flesh and the Fiends
1956
A Town Like Alice
6.414/35
In 1941 Malaysia, the advancing Japanese army captures a lot of British territory very quickly. The men are sent off to labor camps, but they have no...
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A Town Like Alice
1958
The Nice Americans
10/1
American airman loves English girl whose father refuses permission for their marriage out of hatred for all Yankees.
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The Nice Americans
1961
Watch It, Sailor!
7/3
Sailor Albert gets a message from the Navy saying he can't marry for certain unexplained legal reasons. Everyone, including his domineering mother-in-...
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Watch It, Sailor!
1943
The Peterville Diamond
5.75/4
Frantic farce involving a neglected wife, a stolen diamond and four identical briefcases.
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The Peterville Diamond
1955
Track the Man Down
6.1/8
A newspaper reporter finds himself drawn into the aftermath of a racetrack robbery.
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Track the Man Down
1966
The Spy with a Cold Nose
4/5
A dog with a spying device under its skin is sent to the Russian government as a present. When the Russians send the dog to a veterinary, British int...
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The Spy with a Cold Nose
1962
Out of the Fog
7/5
Scotland Yard is thrown into an uproar when a mad killer begins knocking off beautiful young blondes.
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Out of the Fog
1961
No, My Darling Daughter
7.25/4
A British business tycoon is surprised to discover his teenage daughter is being courted by a mysterious young man.
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No, My Darling Daughter
1966
Secrets of a Windmill Girl
3.6/5
One Windmill girl tells the tragic history of another who took to drink and, finally, killed herself after working in strip clubs.
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Secrets of a Windmill Girl
1935
Mister Cinders
8/1
The Cinderella story is reversed in this light-hearted adaptation, with Cinders a young man who eventually wins the 'princess' – in this case, an oil...
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Mister Cinders
1958
The Key
6.132/34
In wartime England, circa 1941, poorly-armed tugs are sent into "U-Boat Alley" to rescue damaged Allied ships. An American named David Ross arrives to...
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The Key
1939
A Girl Must Live
4.833/6
A run-away school-girl falls among chorus girls planning to marry into the nobility.
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A Girl Must Live
1960
And the Same to You
5.938/8
Dickie Dreadnought is the boxing-mad nephew of pious clergyman Reverend Sydney Mullet. To mollify his disapproving uncle, Dickie embarks on an elabora...
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And the Same to You
1951
Lady Godiva Rides Again
5.9/10
Marjory Clark wins a competition in her Midland town and finds herself in a Festival of Britain procession as Lady Godiva - though not in the buff. Th...
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Lady Godiva Rides Again
1933
Radio Parade
9/1
Radio Parade (1933) is a variety film featuring such stars of the time as Clapham and Dwyer, Gert and Daisy, Reginald Gardiner, Florence Desmond, and...
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Radio Parade
1933
Their Night Out
7/2
An evening of cocktails and frolicking lands a chap in hot water when he's suspected of masterminding a criminal gang!
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Their Night Out
1941
Old Bill and Son
6.6/5
Old Bill has grumbled his way through the trenches of the First World War. Now it is the Second and, envious of his son, Young Bill, he decides to enl...
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Old Bill and Son
1961
Three on a Spree
6.4/5
A young man will inherit a huge fortune--8 million pounds--but to qualify, he must spend a million pounds in just two months. Easy to do? That's what...
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Three on a Spree
1969
The Comic
0/0
The story of a comedian with a talent close to genius but with an insecurity problem.
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The Comic
1963
The Rescue Squad
6/4
A party of children playing on a moor lose their toy aeroplane which flies through the window of a lonely tower. A multitude of objects found in the t...
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The Rescue Squad
1967
River Rivals
9/1
Two families and their children are rivals in a forthcoming race for do-it-yourself boat builders. (7 episodes, each 14-21 minutes.)
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River Rivals
1934
Lost In The Legion
10/1
Two ship's cooks get lost in the desert and unwittingly enroll in the Foreign Legion!
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Lost In The Legion
1943
Down Melody Lane
0/0
The story of a Variety Theatre, illustrated by performers from its past.
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Down Melody Lane
1966
The Idol
4.9/10
A rebellious student embarks on an affair with the mother of his best friend, leading to disastrous consequences.
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The Idol
1932
Come Into My Parlour
9/1
A barber who mistakenly believes he has killed a burglar and seeks shelter in the home of a manicurist.
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Come Into My Parlour
1936
Happy Days Are Here Again
9/1
A pair of sisters have ambitions to take to the stage when they realize that their parent's act is finished.
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Happy Days Are Here Again
1954
The Belles of St Trinian's
6.403/62
The unruly schoolgirls of St Trinian's are more interested in men and mischief than homework and hockey. But greater trouble than ever beckons when th...
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The Belles of St Trinian's
1962
Twice Round the Daffodils
7/8
Twice Round the Daffodils is a 1962 British comedy drama film directed by Gerald Thomas and starring Juliet Mills, Donald Sinden, Donald Houston, Kenn...
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Twice Round the Daffodils
1963
Nurse on Wheels
6.1/16
Quietly competent young Joanna moves with her scatterbrain mother to a country village to take up her first job as District Nurse. She soon overcomes...
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Nurse on Wheels
1963
Tomorrow at Ten
5.962/13
A British policeman (John Gregson) tries to find a rich man's (Alec Clunes) son before a kidnapper's (Robert Shaw) time bomb blows.
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Tomorrow at Ten
1958
The Big Money
7/6
Petty thief Willie Frith steals a suitcase full of bank notes, only to find out that they have been given all the same serial number. But this is only...
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The Big Money
1937
Fine Feathers
9/1
A Scottish shop-girl gets mixed up with crooks then has to pose as the mistress of the Crown Prince of Boravia.
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Fine Feathers
1935
No Monkey Business
7/1
To help his partner win the daughter of an anthropologist, an actor pretends to be an ape.
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No Monkey Business
1963
The Rescue Squad
6/4
A party of children playing on a moor lose their toy aeroplane which flies through the window of a lonely tower. A multitude of objects found in the t...
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