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Renée Houston
Born	Katherina Rita Murphy Gribbin (1902-07-24)24 July 1902 Johnstone, Renfrewshire, Scotland
Died	9 February 1980(1980-02-09) (aged 77) Brinsworth House, Twickenham, England
Nationality	Scottish
Occupation(s)	Actress, comedian
Years active	1910s–1980

Renée Houston (born Katherina Rita Murphy Gribbin; 24 July 1902 – 9 February 1980) was a Scottish comedy actress and revue artist who appeared in television and film roles.

Biography

Born in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, into a theatrical family who performed as James Houston and Company, she toured music halls and revues with her sister Billie Houston (born Sarah McMahon Gribbin; 1906–1972) as the "Houston Sisters". They became a leading variety act in the 1920s, sometimes performing as two children in over-sized furniture; Billie played the part of a boy.

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). The sisters ended their working partnership in 1936, when Billie reportedly became ill, although it has been suggested that the split may have been due to the sisters' frequent disagreements.

Renee Houston continued as a solo comedienne and actress, appearing in the Noel Gay revue Love Laughs!. She eventually revived her double act, this time with her third husband, the actor Donald Stewart, until his death in 1966.

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 also worked for director Roman Polanski in Repulsion (1965) and Cul-de-sac (1966). She published her autobiography in 1974 which was entitled Don't Fence Me In.

Houston was also in early episodes of radio's The Clitheroe Kid, playing his Scottish mother in half a dozen 1958 broadcasts (but the role was quickly recast to use an English actress instead), and was a regular guest on radio panel show Petticoat Line chaired by Anona Winn. According to entertainment historian Richard Anthony Baker: "So many listeners found her forthright language unacceptable that she was eventually limited to two swear words per show."

She died in London at the age of 77 on 9 February 1980. Houston was married three times. The second was to the actor Pat Aherne, the brother of Brian Aherne. Her third husband was the actor Donald Stewart.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

1. ^ Richard Anthony Baker, Old Time Variety: an illustrated history, Pen & Sword, 2011, ISBN 978-1-78340-066-9, pp.28-30
2. "Renée Houston". Ftvdb.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 26 April 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
3. ^ Roy Hudd and Philip Hindin, Roy Hudd's Cavalcade of Variety Acts, Robson Books, 1998, ISBN 1-86105-206-5, pp.84-85
4. clairemckendrick (18 May 2015). "The Houston Sisters: Back in the Spotlight".
5. Pathé, British. "A Match Or Two - Two Little Tricks By The Houston Sisters". www.britishpathe.com.
6. "Film Career". 23 February 2017.
7. Mundy, John (15 July 2007). The British Musical Film. Manchester University Press. ISBN 9780719063213 – via Google Books.
8. "Carry On at Your Convenience (1971) - Gerald Thomas - Cast and Crew". AllMovie.
9. "Repulsion (1965)". BFI. Archived from the original on 19 April 2016.
10. "Cul-de-sac (1966)". BFI. Archived from the original on 11 August 2016.
11. McFarlane, Brian (16 May 2016). The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth edition. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9781526111975 – via Google Books.
12. "Jimmy Clitheroe as 'THE CLITHEROE KID'". 2 May 1958. p. 31 – via BBC Genome.
13. "Petticoat Line". 28 September 1967. p. 68 – via BBC Genome.
14. McFarlane, Brian (16 May 2016). The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth edition. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9781526111975 – via Google Books.
15. "Houston, Renée [real name Caterina Rita Murphy Gribbin] (1902–1980), actress". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/49223. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

Bibliography

• Halliwell's Who's Who in the Movies HarperCollins ISBN 0-06-093507-3
• Renée Houston: Spirit of the Irresistibles by Miranda Brooke Tempest Time ISBN 978-1-5262-0636-7

External links

• Renée Houston at IMDb

• 1902 births
• 1980 deaths
• Scottish film actresses
• Scottish television actresses
• Scottish vaudeville performers
• People from Johnstone
• 20th-century Scottish actresses
• 20th-century Scottish comedians
• Actresses from Renfrewshire
• Scottish women comedians