Doris was born 1st March 1905 in Bargoed, Glamorganshire, Wales.
Born into an acting family, her Father, Mother 3 Brothers and 2 Sisters were all on the stage. At the age of three she made her professional debut at the Alexander Portable Theatre in their production of Current Cash. She continued working in music halls and choruses before making her West End debut at The Palace as Sally in The Scarlet Clue in 1916. In a packed career that spanned almost ninety years she has toured Ireland, Australia and South Africa as well as appearing in America in various productions including Night Must Fall. She has also played a principal boy in pantomimes and has worked for the Royal Shakespeare Company and The National Theatre.
Doris had a long and outstanding career but was always modest about this. The roles she played were many and varied and was a forces sweetheart of The Merchant Navyoften heard on radio during the war in "Shipmates Ashore"
Shipmates Ashore. Opening signature tune
Doris Hare with Debroy Somers and His Orchestra
The role of Mum made her famous around the world, but played so many other roles that her whole life was that of acting, and was to be a subject of THIS IS YOUR LIFE.
CAREER DETAILS:
Opening Night 1935
Jubilee Window 1935
She Couldn't Say No 1939
North Sea Patrol 1939
1940revueat theSavoyTheatre.
Stars includedEvelyn Laye , Phylis Stanley , Doris Hare
1940 She Couldn't Say Nowith Tommy Trinder
1945 THE MUSICAL ROMANCE SWEET YESTERDAY
STARRING WEBSTER BOOTH, ANNE ZIEGLER
1947. 1066 and All That. Richard Littledale,Wallas Eaton.
1947Mother Goose pantomime Regal Theatre Edmonton. Starring Richard Hearne (TV's Mr Pastry) and Doris Hare
1948 17th October .A gala revue at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane to promote National Savings !! Cast includes John Mills & Leslie Mitchell, Moira Lister & David Peel, exerpts from opera & ballet, revue including Hattie Jacques, Stanley Holloway,
xml:namespace prefix = st1 />Lupino Lane, 1st Bn. Scots Guards,Finale of THE LAMBETH WALK including Hermione Gingold, Margaret Rutherford, Doris Hare, Bobby Howes,Ronald Shiner.
Here Come the Huggetts1948
The History of Mr. Polly 1949,
Dance hall 1950 with Petula Clarke
Double Exposure 1954
Thought to Kill 1954
Tiger by the Tail 1955
No Smoking 1955
THE WATER GIPSIES
WINTER GARDEN THEATRE DRURY LANE LONDON 1955
Starring: Dora Bryan Pamela Charles Peter Graves Wallas Eaton Doris Hare Jerry Verno Laurie Payne Ernest Butcher Georgina Cookson Roy Godfrey
Stranger's Meeting 1957
ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER PLACE film(1958)
Sean Connery Debut STARRING: Lana Turner, Sean Connery, Barry Sullivan, Glynis Johns, Sidney James, Terrence Longdon, Doris Hare, Martin Stephens
The League of Gentlemen 1959
A Place to Go 1963
Lyric Theatre production of George Bernard Shaws Heartbreak House, starring Irene Worth, John Clements, Michael Aldridge, Doris Hare and Bill Fraser 1967.
Coronation Steet 1969
(as Alice Pickins)
On the Buses 1969-1973
On the Buses 1971 FILM
Doris Hare This is Your Life 1971
No Sex Please were British 1971
Strand Theatre with Kenneth Fortescue, Judy Loe, Doris Hare, Andrew Sachs & Richard Caldicot
Mutiny On the Buses 1972
Holiday on the Buses 1973
Confessions of a Pop Performer 1975
Confessions of a Driving Instructor 1976
Confessions of a Holiday Camp 1977
Why Didn't They Ask Evans1980
Nuns on the Run 1990
Second Best 1994 with John Hurt
Television appearances include
The House That Jack Built, Mr Digby Darling, Her Majesty's Pleasure, Sez Les, Mums The Word, Three Piece Suite, She'll Have To Go, Diamonds, Nanny, Sharing The Time, Adrian Mole, Cellar Show, Never The Twain, Comrade Dad, Done Thievin, First Things First, The Alexei Sayle Show and the Agatha Christie film Why Didn't They Ask Evans.
BBC News Online
Wednesday, 31 May, 2000, 03:24 GMT 04:24 UK
On the Buses Stars Dies actress who played the long-suffering mother to Reg Varney's character in On the Buses, Doris Hare, has died at the age of 95. Her leading role in the popular 1970s sitcom helped make her a household name. She also counted numerous West End and Broadway appearances among her credits, in an acting career which spanned 84 years. The actress died on Wednesday at Denville Hall, the actors' retirement home in Northwood, Middlesex. She was much loved by audiences for her part in the popular TV show On the Buses, which ran from 1970 to 1975 and spawned three feature film spin-offs.
Ms Hare's co-star in the series, Anna Karen, paid tribute to the actress, who she said had remarkable energy and panache. "She was an absolutely amazing lady. I've never met a woman who was so full of life," said Miss Karen, who played Miss Hare's daughter Olive in the bus garage sitcom. Ms Hare was born in Bargoed, South Wales, in March 1905, and made her stage debut at the age of three at the Alexander Portable Theatre, Bargoed. Her first West End hit came at the Adelphi Theatre in 1932, when she was 27, with John Mills in Noel Coward's revue Words and Music. Wartime entertainer After her Broadway debut in 1936, she kept London audiences laughing during the war with her comedy role in the revue Lights Up! at the Savoy Theatre. She was a familiar voice throughout the war on the radio series Shipmates Ashore, eventually receiving an MBE for her work as a wartime entertainer. The actress was a leading player with the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1963, but it was her role in On the Buses which brought her widest fame. "She was always tremendously popular because she was just so down-to-earth, not one of those grand leading ladies with airs and graces," said the author and critic Michael Thornton. Her other TV roles included appearances in She'll Have To Go and Why Didn't They Ask Evans in 1980. Her final West End appearance was at the grand age of 87 at the London Palladium when she received a standing ovation alongside Sir John Mills at a tribute to Evelyn Laye. Ms Hare, who was a widow, leaves two daughters.
