# Sheila Keith

Sheila Keith (9 June 1920 – 14 October 2004) was a Scottish stage and screen actress. She is well-known to horror film fans for her collaborations with director Pete Walker, starring in House of Whipcord, Frightmare, House of Mortal Sin, The Comeback and House of the Long Shadows. She was once referred to as the "Female Boris Karloff" and a "British horror icon."

## Early life

Keith was born to Scottish parents in London while they were visiting the city and brought up in Aberdeen, Scotland. Longing to act, she trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London.

## Career

Her stage career took her from repertory theatre at the Bristol Old Vic and Pitlochry, to West End appearances including Noël Coward's Present Laughter, Mame with Ginger Rogers, An Italian Straw Hat, Anyone for Denis?, and Deathtrap.
The Scotsman wrote: "In the Sixties, she was often seen in series such as The Saint, Public Eye and Sherlock Holmes. But she gained a national popularity when she went into Crossroads in 1967 as Mrs Cornet. It was the era when the soap was hugely popular and Noelle Gordon ruled the motel with a rod of iron...She played Lady Rosina in the BBC’s mammoth production of The Pallisers, Aunt Morag (keen on her whisky) in Hinge and Bracket's TV series Dear Ladies, Auntie Ethel in Moody and Pegg. She was also seen in the first run of Dr Finlay's Casebook.". Also, too, the Housekeeper, Mrs. Mitcham, in the Lord Peter Wimsey (TV series), The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club episode, 1973.
Keith remains best known for her excellent performances in the cult horror films of director Pete Walker, having played leading roles in shockers such as House of Whipcord, Frightmare, House of Mortal Sin, The Comeback and House of the Long Shadows. She played variously, a lesbian prison warder, a one eyed housekeeper, and an elderly cannibal, amongst other parts.
In her obituary, The Times described her as an "Actress of film, stage and television who became a 'British horror icon' ...It was with her portrayal of sinister, sadistic and deranged women in the horror movies of the director Pete Walker that she acquired her most devoted following".
Sheila Keith also had a memorable role as the Reverend Mother Stephen opposite Arthur Lowe, in all three series of the LWT sitcom Bless Me, Father.
Her final role was in the first episode of a horror spoof TV series, Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible, starring Steve Coogan, in 2001.

## Death

Keith died in Chertsey, Surrey in October 2004, at the age of 84.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Type |
| 1969 | It All Goes to Show | Councillor Mrs. Parker | Short film |
| 1972 | Ooh... You Are Awful | Lady Magistrate | Feature film |
| 1974 | House of Whipcord | Walker | Feature film |
| 1974 | Frightmare | Dorothy Yates | Feature film |
| 1976 | House of Mortal Sin | Miss Brabazon | Feature film |
| 1978 | The Comeback | Mrs. B | Feature film |
| 1982 | The Return of the Soldier | Sister | Feature film |
| 1983 | House of the Long Shadows | Victoria Grisbane | Feature film |
| 1986 | Clockwise | Pat's Mother | Feature film |
| 1989 | Venus Peter | Epp | Feature film |
| 1989 | Wild Flowers | Marguerite | TV movie |
| 1990 | The Rainbow Thief | Bernadette | Feature film |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Type |
| 1961 | Comedy Matinee | | Miniseries, episode 2: "Thark" |
| 1964 | Crane | Mrs Ambrose | TV series, season 2, episode 3: "Dead Reckoning" |
| 1964 | Armchair Mystery Theatre | Miss Tripp | TV series, season 2, episode 2: "The Blackmailiing of Mr S" |
| 1965 | Sherlock Holmes | Miss Stoper | TV series, season 1, episode 3: "The Copper Beaches" |
| 1965 | The Sullavan Brothers | Miss Diamond | TV series, season 2, episode 6: "The Salvation Man" |
| 1966 | Love Story | Mrs Black | TV series, season 4, episode 4: "Casanova and the Old Crow" |
| 1965; 1966 | Public Eye | Mrs Wyncherley / Susan Manning | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1967 | ITV Play of the Week | Miss Erikson | TV series, season 12, episode 26: "Present Laughter" |
| 1967 | Crossroads | Mrs Cornet | TV series, 31 episodes |
| 1967 | Mrs Thursday | Gertrude Tallifer / Honor | TV series, 3 episodes |
| 1968 | Dr. Finlay’s Casebook | Miss Talbot | TV series, season 6, episode 15: "A Moral Problem" |
| 1968 | Nicholas Nickleby | Mrs Squeers | Miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 1968 | The Ronnie Barker Playhouse | Mrs Granville | TV series, season 1, episode 3: "The Fastest Gun in Finchley" |
| 1968 | ITV Playhouse | Marion | TV series, season 2, episode 9: "The Kindness of Mrs Radcliffe" |
| 1968 | The Saint | Cynthia Ffouldes | TV series, season 6, episode 3: "Legacy for the Saint" |
| 1968 | George and the Dragon | Dr Martin | TV series, season 4, episode 4: "Life Insurance" |
| 1970 | Me Mammy | Hotel Manageress | TV series, season 2, episode 4: "The Last of the Red Hot Mammies" |
| 1970 | Rules, Rules, Rules | Troupe #2 | TV series, season 1, episode 3: "Conventions and Customs" |
| 1970 | Play for Today | Una | TV series, season 1, episode 8: "Hearts and Flowers" |
| 1971 | Kate | Miss Shaw | TV series, season 2, episode 13: "The Great Female Rebellion" |
| 1971; 1973 | The Flaxton Boys | Chief Officer Juliet Mincing-Sterne / Lady Agatha Ponsonby |
| 1972 | The Moonstone | Mrs Yolland | TV series, season 1, episode 2 |
| 1972 | Z-Cars | Mrs Jenkins | TV series, season 7, episode 51: "Quilley" |
| 1972 | It's Murder But Is It Art | Mrs MacPherson | TV series, season 1, 5 episodes |
| 1973 | The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club | Mrs Mitcham | Miniseries, episode 3: "That Damned Dorland Woman" |
| 1973 | The Regiment | Miss Hagan | TV series, season 2, episode 9: "Women" |
| 1974 | The Liver Birds | Sister | TV series, season 4, episode 20: "Follow That Ring" |
| 1974 | The Pallisers | Lady Rosina de Courcy | Miniseries, episode 21 |
| 1974 | Father Brown | Mrs Sands | TV series, season 1, episode 8: "The Actor and the Alibi" |
| 1974–75 | David Copperfield | Mrs Steerforth | Miniseries, 4 episodes |
| 1974–75 | Moody and Pegg | Auntie Ethel | TV series, 5 episodes |
| 1975 | Ballet Shoes | Dr Jake's | Miniseries, 6 episodes |
| 1975 | The Doll | Mrs. Cassidy | TV series, 3 episodes |
| 1975 | Within These Walls | Lettice Nayland | TV series, season 3, episode 14: "Inside Out" |
| 1976 | Angels | Joan White | TV series, season 2, episode 2: "Vocation" |
| 1976 | Murder | Mrs Cleary | TV series, season 1, episode 2: "Nobody's Conscience" |
| 1977 | The Cedar Tree | Gwenneth Abercrombie | TV series, season 2, episode 2: "Party Manners: Part 2" |
| 1977 | The Velvet Glove | Pamela Leonard | TV series, season 1, episode 3: "Mother" |
| 1977 | Jubilee | Mother | TV series, season 1, episode 7: "Our Kid" |
| 1977 | Sea Tales: The Return | Mrs Varley | Miniseries, season 4: "Captain Varley Goes Home" |
| 1977 | A Roof Over My Head | Mrs Bagworth | TV series, 3 episodes |
| 1978 | Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em | Sister | TV series, season 3, episode 2: "Wendy House" |
| 1978 | Bernie | | TV series, season 1, episode 6 |
| 1979 | Rings on Their Fingers | The Neighbour | TV series, season 2, episode 6: "Mother's Old, Pastures New" |
| 1979 | The Dick Francis Thriller: The Racing Game | Mrs Kite | TV series, season 1, episode 5: "Horsenap" |
| 1980 | Heartland | Grace | TV series, season 2, episode 5: "Working Arrangements" |
| 1980 | Cribb | Miss Plummer | TV series, season 1, episode 2: "Swing, Swing Together" |
| 1980 | The Other 'Arf | Mrs Lilley | TV series |
| 1980 | Escape | Dowager Lady Lucan | TV series, season 1, episode 1: "Lord Lucan" |
| 1979; 1981 | Agony | Emily Bakewell | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1978; 1979; 1981 | Bless Me, Father | Reverend Mother Stephen | TV series, seasons 1–3, 8 episodes |
| 1982 | Frost in May | Aunt Leah | Miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 1983 | All For Love | Mrs Bannerman | TV series, season 2, episode 5: "Fireworks for Elspeth" |
| 1984 | Poor Little Rich Girls | Maude Wellington | TV series, season 1, episode 4: "Lonely as a Crowd" |
| 1984 | Dear Ladies | Aunt Morag | TV series, season 3, episode 2: "Where There's a Will" |
| 1985 | Mog | Magistrate | TV series, season 1, episode 1: "A Suitable Case for Treatment" |
| 1986 | Lovejoy | Curator | TV series, season 1, episode 4: "Friends, Romans and Enemies" |
| 1986 | Hell’s Bells | Country Woman | Miniseries, episode 1: "On Your Bike, Pilgrim!" |
| 1986 | Fresh Fields | Hotelier | TV series, season 4, episode 4: "Life is Full of Ups and Downs" |
| 1987 | Never the Twain | Lady Mottram | TV series, season 6, episode 3: "Love Is a Many-Splendoured Thing" |
| 1985–87 | Drummonds | Dorothy Fisher | TV series, 17 episodes |
| 1988 | All in Good Faith | Mrs Davidson | TV series, season 3, episode 2: "And He Fell Among Thieves" |
| 1988 | Sophia and Constance | Aunt Harriet | TV series, season 1, episode 2 |
| 1989 | A Fine Romance | Miss Roy | TV series, season 1, episode 5: "Below Suspicion" |
| 1989 | The Paradise Club | Clara Malone / Ma Kane | TV series, 3 episodes |
| 1990 | After Henry | Lady Newby | RV series, season 3, episode 4: "Relative Movement" |
| 1992 | Tell Tale Hearts | Sylvia | Miniseries |
| 1993 | Health and Efficiency | Rex's Patient | TV series, season 1, episode 1: "But He Never Said He Loved Me" |
| 1994 | Love Hurts | Lady Oonagh Oppenheim | TV series, season 3, episode 10: "Cards on the Table" |
| 1994 | The Brittas Empire | Mrs Heaton-Jones | TV series, season 5, episode 5: "The Boss" |
| 1995 | Doctor Finlay | Mrs Annie Renfrew | TV series, season 3, episode 5: "A Natural Mistake" |
| 1996 | Hamish Macbeth | Aunt Ella | TV series, season 2, 2 episodes |
| 2001 | Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible | Grandma Lee | TV series, episode 1: "And Now the Fearing" (final role) |