Madge Ryan

Madge Winifred Ryan[2] (8 January 1919 – 9 January 1994)[1] was an Australian actress, known for her stage and film roles in the United Kingdom, including London stage productions of Entertaining Mr Sloane (1964), Philadelphia, Here I Come (1967), and Medea (1993). She also starred in the Broadway production of Summer of the Seventeenth Doll (1958).

She is sometimes confused with American actress Fran Ryan.

Madge Ryan
in A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Born
Madge Winifred Ryan

(1919-01-08)8 January 1919[1]
Townsville, Queensland, Australia[1]
Died9 January 1994(1994-01-09) (aged 75)[1]
London, England[1]
Occupation(s)Screen and stage actress
Children1

In 1966 Ryan appeared in The Saint (S5,E9 'The Better Mousetrap') as Bertha Noversham, a French Riviera Jewel thief.

Her film appearances included Summer Holiday (1963), A Clockwork Orange (1971), Frenzy (1972), and Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? (1978).

Between 1969 and 1975, Eric Idle, (married to Lyn Ashley), was Ryan's son-in-law.

Early life

Ryan was born in Townsville, Australia.[1] Her daughter Lyn Ashley is also an actress.

Career
Madge Ryan in 1948, photographed for The Bulletin by Noel Rubie[3]

Ryan established herself as a theatre actor and member of the Independent Co. in Sydney, Australia, playing the role of Birdie Hubbard in The Little Foxes at the Independent and the Princess Theatres in 1948, while living in Epping, then a rural setting on Sydney’s outer fringe.

She toured with John Nugent-Hayward in The Patsy, Fresh Fields and Claudia. She was also known during the forties and fifties for her radio work.[3]

Ryan emigrated to the United Kingdom in 1957 and starred in many British stage shows.[1] She made over sixty appearances in films and on television.[4]

In 1958, Ryan appeared in a Broadway-theatre production of Summer of the Seventeenth Doll.[5] In 1964, she played Kath in the original London production of Joe Orton's Entertaining Mr Sloane. The Independent wrote, "as the dreadful Kath, ageing seductress and murderous landlady...Madge Ryan's cruel, cool but undeniably comic acting provoked one critic to describe her work...as 'something very close to perfection'."[1]

Death

Ryan died in London in 1994, the day after her 75th birthday.[1] In their obituary, The Independent wrote, "what set her apart from the others was a certain, often powerful, independence of spirit and humour...It was a fulfilled career."[1]

Selected filmography

References
  1. Benedick, Adam (20 January 1994). "Obituary: Madge Ryan". The Independent. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
  2. "Ryan, Madge Winifred (1919–1994)".
  3. "Women's letters". The Bulletin. 69 (3546): 19. 28 January 1948 – via Trove.
  4. Madge Ryan at IMDb
  5. "Summer of the 17th Doll". IBDB.com. Internet Broadway Database.
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