Kathleen O'Regan (11 November 1903The England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007, gives the birthdate of Elizabeth Kathleen Plimpton as 11 November 1899; via Ancestry. – 10 December 1970), born Elizabeth Kathleen Melvin, was an Irish actress, born in Co. Down best remembered for her roles in the first London performances of Juno and the Paycock and The Plough and the Stars.
Career O'Regan made her West End debut in a production of Persevering Pat. She was in the first London productions of the Sean O'Casey plays Juno and the Paycock and The Plough and the Stars. She starred in Gregorio Martinez Sierra's The Kingdom of God in 1927, in A Night in June, Young Woodley, and Tinker Tailor in 1928, and in comedies including the farce Two Deep in 1930. A 1928 reviewer noted that O'Regan "has already a personality that can express and convey emotion, fine eyes, repose, and beautiful movement," while suggesting that she "learn our silly way of speaking English if she is to play English parts."
O'Regan also appeared in films, including Alfred Hitchcock's screen rendering of Juno and the Paycock (1930), and the all-Irish film Ireland Through the Ages (1930), The Shadow Between (1931), Fires of Fate (1932), and Rose of Tralee (1938). On radio, she was heard in adaptations including The Four Feathers.
O'Regan was considered a stylish stage beauty. She endorsed Lux soap in print advertisements that highlighted her "satin-smooth" complexion. She continued on the stage through the 1930s and into the 1940s, appearing in Eight Bells (1933), And a Woman Passed By... (1935) Ben Travers's farce Banana Ridge (1938),"Miss Kathleen O'Regan", The Times, 14 December 1970, p. 11 and The Crime of Margaret Foley (1947).
Personal life In April 1926,Kelburne A Plimpton and Elizabeth Melville (April 1926), in the England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005, via Ancestry. O'Regan married World War I veteran, sportsman, and actor Kelburne Archibald Plimpton, DSO, who was secretary of the Garrick Club. She died in 1970, aged 67, in Milford-on-Sea in Hampshire.England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995 for Elizabeth Kathleen Plimpton (died 10 December 1970), via Ancestry.
Filmography Year Film Role Other notes1930Juno and the PaycockMary Boyle1931The Shadow BetweenMargaret Haddon1932Fires of FateNora Belmont1938Rose of TraleeMary O'Malley1941Man at the GateRuth1943Thursday's ChildEllen Wilson
Notes
External links Kathleen O'Regan profile, Allmovie.com; accessed 26 October 2015.