Margaret Taylor Rutherford DBE (1892-1972) (2025)

Born 11 May 1892 in Balham, London, England

Ancestors

[sibling(s) unknown]

Died 22 May 1972at age 80in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England

Profile last modified 28 Apr 2024| Created 27 Apr 2018

This page has been accessed 2,730 times.

Biography

Margaret Rutherford was a British character actress. She starred as Madame Arcati the film adaptation of Noel Coward's "Blithe Spirit," and as Miss Marple in four George Pollock films. She won an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress and a Golden Globe for her role in The VIPs.

Margaret Taylor Rutherford, daughter of William Rutherford and Florence Nicholson was born on 11 May (June quarter) 1892 in the district of Wansdworth^[1][2]. Her mother died when she was just 4 years old^[3]. In 1901, then 8 years old, she was living in Wimbledon in the household of her aunt, Bessie Nicholson (incorrectly identified as her grandmother on the enumeration)^[4]. In 1911 she was a student in an Eastbourne school^[5]

She married fellow actor James Buckley "Stringer" Davis in 1945 in Amersham^[6].

Dame Margaret Rutherford died in the June quarter of 1972 in Amersham^[2][7]. She was buried in St James Churchyard in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire. Her husband, who died one year later, is buried with her. The epitaph reads "A Blithe Spirit."^[8].

Dame Margaret Rutherford was a bulky, eccentric comedic supporting player of British films and plays. Following a number of years spent as a speech and piano teacher, she trained at the Old Vic and debuted onstage in 1925, when she was in her 30s; it was 1933 before she appeared in London. Rutherford began appearing in films in 1936 and went on to have a sporadically busy screen career through the late '60s, meanwhile continuing her illustrious stage career.

In 1967 Rutherford became a Dame of the British Empire. She was married to actor Stringer Davis, with whom she appeared in several films; one of their children was writer Gordon Langley Hall, who later wrote a biography of Rutherford under the name "Dawn Langley Hall." She wrote an autobiography, Margaret Rutherford (1972). - https://www.allmovie.com/artist/margaret-rutherford-p62313

Sources

1. ↑ Rutherford, Margaret Taylor. Mother's Maiden Surname: Nicholson. GRO Reference: 1892 J Quarter in WANDSWORTH Volume 01D Page 780 GRO Online Index, accessed June 2020
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} "England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVCP-RXGN: 4 September 2014), Margaret Rutherford, 1972; from "England & Wales Deaths, 1837-2006," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com: 2012); citing Death, Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.
3. ↑ "England Deaths and Burials, 1538-1991," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JZ82-D6D: 10 March 2018), Florence Rutherford, burial 27 May 1896; citing Wimbledon Parish, Surrey County, England, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 994,433.
4. ↑ "England and Wales Census, 1901," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X9XX-KH3: 20 May 2019), Margaret Rutherford in the household of Bessie Nicholson, Wimbledon, Surrey, England, United Kingdom; from "1901 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com: n.d.); citing Wimbledon subdistrict, PRO RG 13, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.
5. ↑ "England and Wales Census, 1911," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X7B2-X12: 12 July 2019), Margaret Taylor Rutherford, Seaford, Sussex, England, United Kingdom; from "1911 England and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com: n.d.); citing PRO RG 14, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.
6. ↑ "England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV81-38XN: 8 October 2014), Margaret T Rutherford and null, 1945; from "England & Wales Marriages, 1837-2005," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com: 2012); citing 1945, quarter 1, vol. 3A, p. 2849, Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.
7. ↑ Inscription on gravestone, photograph visible on Find A Grave: Memorial #8388553, accessed 10 June 2020
8. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #8388553, with photos of grave and epitaph. Database and images (https://www.findagrave.com: accessed 10 June 2020), memorial page for Dame Margaret Rutherford (11 May 1892–22 May 1972), citing St James Churchyard, Gerrards Cross, South Bucks District, Buckinghamshire, England; Maintained by Find A Grave .

• Margaret Rutherford

• 1939 England and Wales Register

112 Caunce St, Blackpool, Lancashire, England

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