Lila Kaye (7 November 1929 – 10 January 2012) was an English actress. She spent a number of years working in the United States, on Broadway and in television, before returning to Britain.Born in Middlesbrough, North Riding of Yorkshire, she often played motherly and/or comedic characters, mostly on television, notably in My Son Reuben (1975), co-starring Bernard Spear, as a Jewish mother and her bachelor son who jointly run a dry-cleaning business. She also notably appeared in feature films, including roles in An American Werewolf In London, as the conflicted rural barmaid trying to warn off two doomed lost American backpackers, and Nuns on the Run, as a formidable nun.She appeared as a nurse in a notable Royal Shakespeare Company production of John Vanbrugh's play, The Relapse, at the Aldwych Theatre in London in 1967, alongside, among others, Donald Sinden, Patrick Stewart and Ben Kingsley. She debuted the role of Serafima Ilinitchna in Nikolai Erdman's The Suicide (1979). She was part of the cast of the Royal Shakespeare Company's epic stage production of Nicholas Nickleby on Broadway in 1981.Kaye starred in the title role of the short-lived U.S. television series Mama Malone a year later, which showcased the uncanny American accent, that she could adopt at will, which caused most viewers to believe she was American. She made guest appearances on several U.S. television series, such as Murder She Wrote, Cheers, and Dear John (reuniting her with An American Werewolf In London co-star Jenny Agutter). She resided in Florida before returning to Britain. Her last role was in the British television serial Julia Jekyll and Harriet Hyde in 1998, in which she appeared as "Granny Jekyll". After this role she announced her retirement.
After relocating to New York City with her parents as a young child in Depression-era New York City, studied Ballet and Voice for several years at the renowned Crown Studios in Brooklyn, founded by Charlotte Steinberg Siegler (the first woman and ultimately the first Jewish woman to own and operate a chain of dance schools for children).
Actress
Title
Year
Status
Character
Animated Tales of the World
2001
TV Series
Woman / Bird
Julia Jekyll and Harriet Hyde
1998
TV Series
Granny Jekyll
Interview Day
1996
TV Movie
Mother Polly
Dragonworld
1994
Mrs. Cosgrove
Cafe Americain
1993-1994
TV Series
Margaret Hunt
Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris
1992
TV Movie
Vi Butterfield
Look at It This Way
1992
TV Mini-Series
Caretaker
Covington Cross
1992
TV Series
Mother Superior
Anglo Saxon Attitudes
1992
TV Mini-Series
Dr. Rose Lorimer
Bodger and Badger
1991
TV Series
Miss Trout / Mrs. Trout
Reason for Living: The Jill Ireland Story
1991
TV Movie
Dorothy, Jill's mother
Birds of a Feather
1990
TV Series
Mrs. McCarthy
Mulberry Street
1990
TV Movie
Mary 'Mama' Savoia
Screenplay
1987-1990
TV Series
Jane's Mother / Lagrange
Nuns on the Run
1990
Sister Mary of the Annunciation
Murder, She Wrote
1989
TV Series
Teresa Mancini
Dear John
1989
TV Series
Audrey
Bert Rigby, You're a Fool
1989
Mrs. Pennington
Bad Boyes
1988
TV Series
Gran
Making Waves
1987
Short
Mrs. Nash
The Sign of Four
1987
TV Movie
Mrs Mordecai Smith
The Return of Sherlock Holmes
1987
TV Movie
Ms. Houston
The Return of the Antelope
1986
TV Series
Mrs. Mallarby
Lost Empires
1986
TV Mini-Series
Rose Bentwood
The Canterville Ghost
1986
TV Movie
Mrs. Umney
Cheers
1985
TV Series
Lillian Huxley
Camille
1984
TV Movie
Nanine
Pericles, Prince of Tyre
1984
TV Movie
Bawd
Ellis Island
1984
TV Mini-Series
Kathleen O'Donnell
The Invisible Man
1984
TV Mini-Series
Mrs. Jenny Hall
Goodie-Two-Shoes
1984
Short
Miss Bloom
Mama Malone
1984
TV Series
Mama Renate Malone
Pull the Other One
1984
TV Series
Grandma
Give us a Break
1983
TV Series
Glad
The Forgotten Story
1983
TV Series
Madge
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby
1982
TV Mini-Series
Mrs. Crummles
Mrs. Squeers
Sredni Vashtar
1981
Short
Mrs. Woolridge
An American Werewolf in London
1981
Barmaid
Kreuzfahrten eines Globetrotters
1981
TV Series
Mrs. Boofuls
Quincy's Quest
1979
Griselda / Mrs. Claus
The Strange Affair of Adelaide Harris
1979
TV Series
Mrs. Alexander
Will Shakespeare
1978
TV Mini-Series
Mistress Dainey
The Black Panther
1977
Van der Valk
1977
TV Series
Emma Struys
BBC2 Play of the Week
1977
TV Series
Bertha
The Velvet Glove
1977
TV Series
Madame Blavatsky
My Son Reuben
1975
TV Series
Fay Greenberg
Dixon of Dock Green
1963-1975
TV Series
Mrs. Silver / Mrs. Webster
Spring and Autumn
1974
TV Series
Mrs. Collier
Masquerade
1974
TV Series
Attendant
John Halifax, Gentleman
1974
TV Mini-Series
Mrs. Tod
Beryl's Lot
1974
TV Series
Dora Waters
Thriller
1973
TV Series
Bess Tarling
BBC Play of the Month
1972
TV Series
Mrs. Mossop
Thirty-Minute Theatre
1972
TV Series
The Manageress
The Silver Sword
1971
TV Mini-Series
Emma Wolff
See No Evil
1971
Gypsy Mother
Mr. Horatio Knibbles
1971
The Flaxton Boys
1970
TV Series
Sarah Weekes
The Saint
1968
TV Series
Ma
The Fiction-Makers
1968
Ma
The Wednesday Play
1966
TV Series
Mrs. Baker / Staff
Thirteen Against Fate
1966
TV Series
Madame Poignard
Coronation Street
1966
TV Series
Rose Bonnetti
David Copperfield
1966
TV Series
Peggotty
Emergency-Ward 10
1965
TV Series
Mrs. Garfield
Theatre 625
1965
TV Series
Romaine
The Sleeper
1964
TV Movie
Kasia
Love Story
1964
TV Series
Mrs. Freedman
Z Cars
1964
TV Series
Mrs. Nagle
Taxi!
1964
TV Series
Lily Becker
Armchair Theatre
1964
TV Series
Dinah Wiseman
Festival
1963
TV Series
Sophie
BBC Sunday-Night Play
1963
TV Mini-Series
Joyce
Thanks
Title
Year
Status
Character
Beware the Moon: Remembering 'An American Werewolf in London'