Portrait of Fay Compton

Fay Compton

Acting

Biography

From Wikipedia Fay Compton CBE (18 September 1894 – 12 December 1978) was an English actress from a notable acting lineage; her father was actor/manager Edward Compton; her mother, Virginia Bateman, was a distinguished member of the profession, as were her elder sister, the actress Viola Compton, and her uncles and aunts. Her grandfather was the 19th-century theatrical luminary Henry Compton. Author Compton Mackenzie was her elder brother. Compton's film work is not as well known as her stage appearances. She appeared in more than forty films between 1914 and 1970. Her most popular performances in films are Odd Man Out (1947), Laughter in Paradise (1951), Orson Welles' Othello (1952), The Haunting (1963) and I Start Counting (1969). Among her television performances, she appeared in 1965 with Michael Hordern in the television play, Land of My Dreams by Clive Exton. One of her last major roles was as Aunt Ann in the BBC's 1967 television adaptation of The Forsyte Saga. She had a successful career in the radio, television and gramophone recordings.

Born: September 18, 1894

Place of Birth: Fulham, London, England, UK

Filmography

1970
I Start Counting

as Mrs. Bennett

1969
Dombey and Son

as Mrs. Brown

1968
Journey to the Unknown

as Queen Victoria

1968
Cold Comfort Farm

as Aunt Ada Doom (Starkadder)

1967
The Forsyte Saga

as 'Aunt Ann' Forsyte

1963
Uncle Vanya

as Marya, the mother

1963
The Haunting

as Mrs. Sanderson

1957
1957
Town on Trial

as Mrs. Crowley

1954
Aunt Clara

as Gladys Smith

1953
The Vanquished

as Mrs. Pinkerton

1952
Lady Possessed

as Mme. Brune

1951
Othello

as Emilia

1951
Laughter in Paradise

as Agnes Russell

1951
Blackmailed

as Mrs. Christopher

1949
The Forbidden Street

as Mrs. Culver

1948
London Belongs to Me

as Mrs. Josser

1948
Esther Waters

as Mrs. Barfield

1947
Odd Man Out

as Rosie

1941
The Prime Minister

as Queen Victoria

1939
So This Is London

as Lady Worthing

1937
The Mill on the Floss

as Mrs. Tulliver

1934
Waltzes from Vienna

as Countess Helga von Stahl

1934
Autumn Crocus

as Jenny Grey

1931
Tell England

as Mrs. Doe

1931
Uneasy Virtue

as Dorothy Rendell

1931
Cape Forlorn

as Eileen Kell

1929
Fashions in Love

as Marie de Remy

1927
Somehow Good

as Rosalind Nightingale

1924
Claude Duval

as Duchess Frances

1922
A Bill of Divorcement

as Margaret Fairfield

1921
A Woman of No Importance

as Rachel Arbuthnot

1921
The Old Wives' Tale

as Sophie Barnes