Watch Rosalie Crutchley Videos

Rosalie Crutchley (4 January 1920 – 28 July 1997) was an English actress. Trained at the Royal Academy of Music, Crutchley was best known for her television performances, but had a long and successful career in the theatre and in films, making her stage debut at least as early as 1932 and her screen debut in 1947. She continued acting up until her death in 1997. She had dark piercing eyes, and often played foreign characters, or rather sinister characters. She played many classical roles, including Juliet in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Hermione in The Winter's Tale and Goneril in... MORE

Rosalie Crutchley (4 January 1920 – 28 July 1997) was an English actress. Trained at the Royal Academy of Music, Crutchley was best known for her television performances, but had a long and successful career in the theatre and in films, making her stage debut at least as early as 1932 and her screen debut in 1947. She continued acting up until her death in 1997. She had dark piercing eyes, and often played foreign characters, or rather sinister characters. She played many classical roles, including Juliet in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Hermione in The Winter's Tale and Goneril in King Lear. Her screen debut was as a violinist who is murdered in Take My Life (1947). She played Madame Defarge in both A Tale of Two Cities, the 1958 film, and in the 1965 television serialisation of the same story. She played Catherine Parr in the 1970 TV series, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, and played the same character its sequel, Elizabeth R (1971). Other roles included Mrs Sparsit in Hard Times (ITV, 1977), and Electra (1974). She is probably remembered best for her performances in the classic movies Quo Vadis (1951) as Acte, Nero's confidante, and The Haunting (1963) as the sinister housekeeper LESS