Margaret Lacey


Margaret Brackenbury Lacey was a British character actress and ballet teacher. She appeared in over 30 films between 1957 and 1985, usually playing a sweet old lady or motherly figure in minor roles.

Early life

Margaret Lacey was born in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, near Manchester. She was baptised there, at the Church of St. Clement, in 1912, where her baptismal record gives her birthday as 26 October 1911, and her parents' names as Algernon Hearne Lacey and Florence Fanny. She was raised in Wales, and attended Miss Hammond's School in Colwyn Bay.

Career

Margaret Lacey was magician Jasper Maskelyne's assistant in London, as a young woman in the 1930s.
Lacey appeared in over 30 films between 1957 and 1985, mostly playing a sweet old lady or motherly figure in minor roles. Some of her film credits include Bomb in the High Street, Seance on a Wet Afternoon, Island of Terror, and Far from the [Madding Crowd (1967 film)|Far from the Madding Crowd], Black Beauty, and Richard's Things. She was a regular cast member for film directors Roy Boulting and John Schlesinger..
Lacey is also known for her minor role in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever in which she played Mrs. Whistler, a seemingly innocent Christian school teacher who smuggles diamonds in her bible for the henchmen Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd.
On television, Lacey appeared in Dr Finlay's Casebook, The Saint, Coronation Street, Weavers Green, and Z-Cars in the 1960s. Her last credited appearances were in Magnum, P.I. and The Brothers McGregor in the 1980s. In 1988, Extra Special: Margaret Lacey, a documentary about Lacey, aired on British television.
For some years in the 1950s and 1960s she held regular dancing classes at the former Metropole Hotel in Colwyn Bay. She also organised concerts and choreographed entertainments at the Prince of Wales Theatre. She was a fixture in the Llandudno Victorian Extravaganza, playing Queen Victoria in the festivities.

Personal life

Lacey lived in retirement in Wern Cottage, Rowen, Conwy. "Margaret Lacey was a rather eccentric lady," recalled one of her students in a local history. "Her outfits were colourful, and the layers did not always match. Her hair was worn in a rather dishevelled bun, but her bearing was always ladylike." She died in 1988, aged 76, in Llandudno.

Selected filmography

Brothers [in Law (film)|Brothers in Law] - HelperHappy Is the Bride - Miss Dacres Carlton-Browne of the F.O. - OnlookerI'm All Right Jack - Empire LoyalistA French Mistress - Kitchen MaidSuspect - Prince's Secretary Dentist on the Job - Old Lady ContestantBomb in the High Street - Woman at barrierOnly Two Can Play - 1st Pianist Heavens Above! - Molly Billy Liar - Mrs. Matthieson Ladies Who Do - 3rd Charlady Séance on a Wet Afternoon - Woman at first SeanceRotten to [the Core (film)|Rotten to the Core] - Miss RossiterSky West and Crooked - Village WomanThe Deadly Affair - Mrs. Bird Island of Terror - Old WomanThe Family Way - Mrs. HarrisFar from the Madding Crowd - Maryann MoneyThere's a Girl in My Soup - Autograph HunterBlack Beauty - Anna SewellMr. Forbush and the Penguins - Auntie Diamonds Are Forever - Mrs. WhistlerThe Ruling Class - Midwife Bless [This House (film)|Bless This House] - Vicar's WifeSmokey Joe's Revenge - Mrs. Williams