- Born
- Died
- Birth nameArthur Towle
- Nickname
- Old Mother Riley
- Arthur Towle was in show business from when he left school in1900 until his dying day. He started as an Irish character comedian in British music halls. Touring Ireland with this act in 1913, he met Kitty McShane and married her later that year (she was 16, he 28). They gradually evolved the act of "Old Mother Riley and her Daughter" (Arthur, in drag, playing the former), which maintained popularity for nearly 40 years, and Arthur adopted the stage name Lucan to sound more Irish. The fame of Lucan and McShane did not go much beyond provincial music halls until the first Old Mother Riley film was released. Cheaply made and highly profitable, 17 films (1937-1952) starred Lucan in the richly comic role of Mrs. Riley, making him a Top Ten star in England in 1942. The gangly Mother Riley was usually a charwoman or laundress, but some entries found her running a shop or pub with the aid of her daughter, Kitty. Lucan's comedy came from Mother Riley's absurd predicaments, eccentric ways, facial and bodily contortions, and malapropism-filled tirades against all who displeased her, seasoned with "knockabout" slapstick. By 1951, Lucan and McShane had separated, and Kitty did not appear in Arthur's last film, though he continued to support her. He was struggling with a large tax debt in 1954 when he unexpectedly collapsed and died in a Yorkshire theatre before his stage show.- IMDb mini biography by: Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>
- SpouseKitty McShane(1913 - May 17, 1954) (his death, 1 child)
- In films, always worked in 'drag' as Old Mother Riley
- In 1954 Lucan was touring in a production of "Old Mother Riley Goes to Paris." On May 17, while waiting to go on stage at the Tivoli Theatre in Hull, Lucan collapsed and died. He was buried in Hull's Eastern Cemetery.
- In 1941 (as Old Mother Riley), he was named the second most popular British film star.
- Gravestone Inscription: Arthur Lucan, better known and beloved by all children as Old Mother Riley. Don't cry as you pass by, just say a prayer.
- The relationship between Lucan and his wife-partner, Kitty McShane, became increasingly volatile. For the final films in the "Old Mother Riley" series, the director could not have both of them on the set at the same time. Their shots would be done separately and edited together. For the final film in the series, "Mother Riley Meets the Vampire" (1952), McShane was replaced.
- In 1934 Lucan and his wife, Kitty McShane, introduced "Bridget's Night Out", which became a classic act in English music halls.
- I've got one foot in the grave, one foot in a bedsock, and I'm kicking the bucket with the other!
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