Bessie Kate Johnson (18 November 1878 – 4 May 1957) was an English actress who appeared on stage from 1894 and on screen from the 1930s to the 1950s.

Biography

In 1908 she married the actor Frank Goodenough Bayly (1873 – 28 November 1923, Newcastle upon Tyne). The couple had two children, William Frank Goodenough Bayly (1910-1973) and Johnson Goodenough Bayly (1915-1980). Katie Johnson’s stage career included memorable performances such as “Little Lord Fauntleroy” at the Prince’s Theatre in Bristol and her role as Lady McClean in “Escape Me Never” at the Apollo in London in 1933, which she later reprised on Broadway in 1935. She also appeared in 'The Rescue Party' at the Comedy Theatre, London in 1926. For much of her career, well into her seventies, she played mostly minor roles. She first appeared in a film at age 53, in 1932, but never received critical acclaim for her performances until 1955, when she starred, aged 76, in the Ealing Studios comedy The Ladykillers as Mrs Louisa Wilberforce. The role earned her a British Film Academy award for best British actress. She subsequently played the intriguing role of Aunt Alice, an eavesdropping amateur detective, in “How to Murder a Rich Uncle” (1957). This remained her final performance as she died at the age of 78. Other performance include the BBC science fiction serial The Quatermass Experiment (1953) and the role of a spy in I See a Dark Stranger (1946).

Selected filmography

Additional sources