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in 1944, and the couple regularly appeared together in London, and on tour in the UK, continental Europe, Australia and North and South
America. She appeared in fifteen films between 1934 and 1969.
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209:(1957). During Richardson's long West End run in Robert Bolt's Flowering Cherry (1958), he had three leading ladies in succession: Celia Johnson, Wendy Hiller and finally Forbes.
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was on the verge of breakdown; Forbes devoted much time to supporting and comforting her. In 1962, Forbes played Lady
Sneerwell to Richardson's Sir Peter Teazle in
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in
Australia and North America, with Forbes in the role of Lady Boothroyd previously played in the West End by Peggy Ashcroft, and later by Celia Johnson.
83:. After a short spell with the Dundee Repertory company in 1931, she made her first London appearance in the same year, as Simone D'Ostignac in
71:, Brussels and Paris. At the age of sixteen she made her first stage appearance, in her father's touring company in 1929, as Mrs de Hooley in
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thought the three too theatrical to be effective on the small screen. After fourteen films since 1934, her last screen role was in
659:, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, January 2011. Retrieved 27 January 2014
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in London, New York and on a North
American tour. Husband and wife were together again in 1964 as Bottom and Titania in
40:. After making her stage debut with her father's touring company in 1929 she progressed via provincial repertory to the
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In 1955, together with Sybil
Thorndike and Lewis Casson, the Richardsons undertook a long tour of Australia, in
145:. In 1944 she married the widowed Richardson. They had one son, Charles, who became a television stage manager.
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in 1940. In 1940 and 1941 she served in the auxiliary nursing organisation the
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of the play in 1952, with the couple playing their original stage roles.
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166:(1948), in which she played Katerina Fantina, the royal mistress, and
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Among the productions in which Forbes played in the early 1950s were
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63:, London, daughter of Frank Forbes-Robertson and his wife Honoria,
755:"Blandings Castle – Lord Emsworth and the Crime Wave at Blandings"
790:, 25 February 1967, p. 6; and Richardson, Maurice. "Television",
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as the butler, Beach. The performances divided critical opinion.
134:
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to mark
Gielgud's ninetieth birthday. Her son predeceased her.
60:
283:... situation comedy is joy in their hands". The reviewers in
248:, playing in South America, Lisbon, Paris, Madrid and Athens.
44:, where she appeared continually from the 1930s to the 1970s.
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In 1959 Forbes took the part of the
Duchess of Clausonnes in
823:(fourteenth ed.). London: Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons.
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Forbes was born Muriel Elsa
Florence Forbes-Robertson in
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Actors from the London
Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
158:(1953), and several plays with her husband, including a
806:, British Film Institute. Retrieved 1 February 2014
764:, British Film Institute. Retrieved 18 January 2014
300:In 1973–74 Richardson and Forbes toured the comedy
313:. After her husband died in 1983, Forbes moved to
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251:In 1967 husband and wife appeared together in a
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309:The Richardsons lived in a large house near
773:Cooper, R W. "Wodehouse's Emsworth on TV",
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102:in the 1930s and later had an affair with
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324:Forbes died in London at the age of 86.
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819:Gaye, Freda, ed. (1967).
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699:"Obituary: Meriel Forbes"
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123:(1937), which starred
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294:Oh! What a Lovely War
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