Molly Weir (1910–2004)

Molly Weir, born Mary Weir, was born and raised in a tenement in Glasgow, Scotland, the eldest of four children. Her brother Tom Weir grew up to become a television host and author. She began her theatrical career in amateur dramatics. She then became a well-known radio actress, featured in many comedy shows such as ITMA (It's That Man Again), the most popular radio show of its day. She made her film debut in 1949, and had a regular role as Aggie the housekeeper in the radio and television sitcom Life With the Lyons. In the 1970s and early 1980s, she became a prolific author. Her published show business memoirs ran to five volumes, and she wrote an acclaimed and bestselling trilogy of books about her childhood, Shoes Were for Sunday, Best Foot Forward and A Toe on the Ladder (1973). She had small roles in many films, including The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969), Scrooge (1970) and Hands of The Ripper (1971). In the 1970s, she was one of the presenters of Teatime Tales, a television series in which she recalled her childhood. In the 1980s, she lampooned this cozy image in the comedy series Victoria Wood as Seen on TV and appeared in a pop video for the Bluebells 1983 hit "Young At Heart."