1911-07-07 ( 113 years old ) in Covent Garden, London, England, UK
Born in Covent Garden, West London in 1911, Gretchen Franklin was an English actress and dancer whose showbusiness career spanned over 70 years. She was best known for her role as Ethel Skinner in the long-running BBC 1 soap opera EastEnders. She appeared in the very first episode in 1985 and was a regular in the series until 1988. After this she returned to the show intermittently until 2000 when her character was killed off, allowing Franklin to retire from acting at the age of 89. Born into a theatrical family (her father had a song and dance act, her grandfather was a famous music hall entertainer at the turn of the century and her cousin was Dad's Army star Clive Dunn) Gretchen Franklin made her theatre debut as a teenage chorus girl. She toured with comedians such as Gracie Fields before making the switch to serious acting. Her film appearances included Cloak Without Dagger (1956), Flame in the Streets (1961), The Murder Game (1965), Help! (1965), How I Won The War (1967), Twisted Nerve (1968), The Night Visitor (1971), The Three Musketeers (1973), Quincy's Quest (1979), and Ragtime (1981), among others. She is namechecked in The Fall's 1990 song Telephone Thing.
Movies
Return to Waterloo
1984-11-01
Ragtime
1981-11-20
The One and Only Phyllis Dixey
1978-11-01
The Four Musketeers
1974-10-31
The Three Musketeers
1973-12-11
Secrets
1973-08-14
The Night Visitor
1971-02-10
The Company Man
1970-11-06
Twisted Nerve
1968-12-20
Subterfuge
1968-12-12
How I Won the War
1967-10-18
The Murder Game
1965-12-12
Help!
1965-07-29
The Silent Playground
1963-12-31
The Trouble with Our Ivy
1961-11-19
Flame in the Streets
1961-06-19
Ticket to Paradise
1961-01-01
The Secret Place
1957-02-06
The High Terrace
1956-10-01
Cloak Without Dagger
1956-05-31
Before I Wake
1955-02-10
Trottie True
1949-09-29
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