Irene Handl

Irene Handl was born on Dec 27, 1901 in UK. Irene Handl's big-screen debut came with Strange Boarders directed by Herbert Mason in 1938. Irene Handl is known for Mapp & Lucia directed by Donald McWhinnie, Geraldine McEwan stars as Emmeline 'Lucia' Lucas and Prunella Scales as Miss Elizabeth Mapp. The upcoming new movie Irene Handl plays is The Night We Got the Bird which will be released on Nov 18, 2022.

English character actress best known for her many portrayals of feisty cockney types, ranging from barmaids to landladies, charwomen to cooks. Unlike her working class screen personae, Irene's parentage was quite cosmopolitan, her father (Frederick) a Viennese banker, her mother (Maria) a French aristocrat - affluent enough to enable her to travel extensively in her youth. She received her acting training at the Embassy School, under the auspices of the sister of Sybil Thorndike, but did not make her debut on the London stage until 1938.Her first successful role was in a West End comedy entitled 'George and Margaret' and this led to many other parts, including 'Blithe Spirit' by Noël Coward. From 1937, plump, cheerful Irene Handl became a popular supporting character in British films, usually in small roles or cameos, often as eccentric or pixillated old ladies. On occasion she could be a scene-stealer, as in Après moi le déluge (1959) as the grumbling wife of shop steward Peter Sellers. She was also the definitive Mrs. Hudson, landlady to the famous detective at 221b Baker Street, in La vie privée de Sherlock Holmes (1970).Irene Handl enjoyed a prolific career on radio (partnering Arthur Askey in 'Hello Playmates' and Tony Hancock in 'Hancock's Half Hour'), as well as in television. Her best-loved appearance was opposite Wilfred Pickles in the title role of Ada Cresswell in the sitcom For the Love of Ada (1970). She also made guest appearances in numerous shows, ranging from Robin des bois (1955) to The Rag Trade (1975), and remained an active performer well into her eighties. She also narrated an audio-book version of The Importance of Being Earnest and published two novels: The Sioux in 1969 (described by a reviewer as a 'gothic comic melodrama') and a more downbeat sequel, The Gold Tip Pfitzer in 1986. Besides acting and writing, Handl was a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, loved Chihuahua dogs and Rock and Roll music. Irene never married. Shortly before she died at her flat in Kensington, she had been making plans for a third novel.