| Molly Weir | |
|---|---|
| Born | 17 March 1910 Glasgow, Scotland |
| Died | 28 November 2004 (aged 94) Pinner, Middlesex, England |
Mary Weir, better known as Molly Weir, (17 March 1910 - 28 November 2004) was a Scottish stage actress, most notable for her role as the long-running (1977–1984) character Hazel the McWitch in the BBC TV series Rentaghost. She was the sister of naturalist and broadcaster Tom Weir.
Born in Glasgow and brought up in the Springburn area of the city, Weir began in amateur dramatics. In her early professional career, Weir had been a well-known radio actress, featuring in many comedy shows, such as ITMA. She made her film debut in 1949, and had a regular role as the housekeeper, Aggie McDonald, in the early television sitcom, Life With The Lyons. During the 1970s and early 1980s she became famous as a writer, with several volumes of best-selling memoirs, notably, Shoes Were For Sunday. She also appeared in a series of television advertisements for Flash the household cleaning agent. In 1969 she appeared in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie starring Dame Maggie Smith. With Helena Gloag she played the Kerr sisters, the sewing mistresses of Marcia Blaine School for Girls. In 1970 Weir and Gloag repraised their collaboration in Scrooge playing old sisters in debt to Mr Scrooge, played by Albert Finney.
In the 1970s she was one of the presenters of Teatime Tales, a television series broadcast by STV in which she recalled her childhood. The series also featured Lavinia Derwent and Cliff Hanley. In the 1980s, she lampooned this homely 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.
The song "Molly's Lips" by The Vaselines (famously covered by Nirvana) was inspired by Weir, presumably because her Rentaghost character Hazel McWitch typically appeared in whiteface with emphatic red lips.