Googie Withers facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Googie Withers CBE AO
Withers in 1947
Born	Georgette Lizette Withers (1917-03-12)12 March 1917 Karachi, British India
Died	15 July 2011(2011-07-15) (aged 94) Sydney, Australia
Education	Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts
Occupation	Actress, dancer
Years active	1929–2002
Spouse(s)	John McCallum ​ ​ (m. 1948; his death 2010)​
Children	3, including Joanna

Georgette Lizette "Googie" Withers (born March 12, 1917 – died July 15, 2011) was a famous English actress and dancer. She had a very long career, working for over 70 years in plays, movies, and TV shows. She became a big star in British films during and after World War II.

Googie often worked in British movies, especially with actor and producer John McCallum. She married him, and in the late 1950s, they moved to Australia, where John was from. They became very well known for their theater work there. In the 1970s, she played a prison governor named Faye Boswell in the TV series Within These Walls.

Googie Withers: Her Early Life and Name

Googie Withers was born in Karachi, which was then part of British India (now Pakistan). Her father, Edgar Withers, was a captain in the Royal Navy. Her mother, Lizette, had Dutch, French, and German family roots.

Googie's real name was Georgette Lizette. Her Punjabi nanny, called an ayah, gave her the nickname "chota ghugi'". This means "little dove" in Punjabi. It later became "Googie", and she liked it so much she used it as her stage name. As a child, she was interested in learning the Urdu language.

When her father left the Royal Navy, her family moved to England. Googie went to a boarding school near Dover and later a day school in London.

Becoming an Actress: Googie's Career Begins

Googie started acting when she was just twelve years old. She studied at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts and learned ballet and tap dancing at Buddy Bradley's dance school.

First Steps in Film

While working as a dancer in a West End play, she got a chance to be an extra in a movie called The Girl in the Crowd (1935). On set, a main actress was fired, and Googie was asked to take her place! This led to a seven-year contract with Warner Brothers. After that, she worked for other big studios like Fox British and Ealing Studios.

During the 1930s, Googie was always busy. She played lead roles in smaller films and supporting roles in bigger ones. Some of her early films included Windfall (1935) and All at Sea (1935). She also appeared in Her Last Affaire (1935) and Crown v. Stevens (1936).

Working with Famous Directors

One of her most famous roles from this time was in Alfred Hitchcock's movie The Lady Vanishes (1938). She played one of Margaret Lockwood's friends. She also appeared in films with popular comedians like Will Hay in Convict 99 (1938) and George Formby in Trouble Brewing (1939).

Rising to Stardom in the 1940s

The 1940s brought Googie some of her most important roles. She starred in One of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1942), a World War II drama. In this film, she played a brave Dutch resistance fighter who helped British airmen escape. This role was very different from her earlier ones.

She also appeared in The Silver Fleet (1943) and the comedy On Approval (1944). Googie was one of many stars in the spooky film Dead of Night (1945).

Becoming a Leading Lady

Googie got a starring role in Pink String and Sealing Wax (1945), which was very popular. Then, she played the main character in The Loves of Joanna Godden (1947). This movie was a big hit. It was also where she met actor John McCallum, whom she later married. They stayed married until John passed away in 2010.

Her next big success was It Always Rains on Sunday (1948), one of the most popular films that year. In 1948, she was voted the 8th most popular British star!

Googie then made three comedies, including the very popular Miranda (1948), where she acted with her husband, John McCallum. She also appeared in the thriller Night and the City (1950) with Hollywood stars Gene Tierney and Richard Widmark.

After having her first child, Googie took a break. She returned to star as a doctor in White Corridors (1951), another popular film. She also made three more films with her husband: Derby Day (1952), Devil on Horseback (1954), and Port of Escape (1956).

Moving to Australia

In 1959, Googie and John McCallum moved to Australia. John was offered a job running the J.C. Williamson theaters there. Googie continued her acting career in Australia, starring in many stage plays.

Some of her famous plays in Australia included The Deep Blue Sea, The Importance of Being Earnest, and The Cherry Orchard. She also designed the set for one play, Beekman Place (1965). Googie and John often performed together, both in Australia and in the UK.

Later Career and Final Roles

Googie returned to films in 1971 with the lead role in Nickel Queen, which her husband John directed.

In 1974, she became well known for playing Faye Boswell, the first governor of a women's prison, in the TV series Within These Walls. She was even asked to play a similar role in the Australian version, Prisoner, but she said no.

Googie also appeared in BBC TV productions like Hotel du Lac (1986) and Northanger Abbey (1987).

In 1989, she performed in a play called The Cocktail Hour in England, alongside her husband John and their daughter, Joanna. Her very last movie role was in the film Shine (1996), where she played the Australian writer Katharine Susannah Prichard. For this role, she and the other actors were nominated for a special award.

In 2002, at 85 years old, Googie appeared in a play in London's West End called Lady Windermere's Fan with Vanessa Redgrave. In 2007, when she was 90, she and John McCallum gave a long interview on Australian TV.

Death

Googie Withers passed away on July 15, 2011, at her home in Sydney, Australia. She was 94 years old. Her husband, John McCallum, had passed away the year before.

Honours and Awards

Googie Withers received many awards for her acting.

• In 1980, she was made an Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for her contributions to drama.
• In 2001, she was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the UK.
• She also received the JC Williamson Award in 1999 for her lifetime achievements in theater.

In 1971, she was surprised on the TV show This Is Your Life. She thought she was going to an interview, but instead, the show's host, Eamonn Andrews, surprised her!

Selected filmography