Mary Brough | |
|---|---|
 Brough in the 1910s | |
| Born | Mary Bessie Brough 14 April 1863 |
| Died | 30 September 1934 (aged 71) Stockwell, South London, England |
| Resting place | West Norwood Cemetery |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1881–1934 |
| Parent | Lionel Brough |
| Relatives | Fanny Brough (cousin) |
Mary Bessie Brough (16 April 1863 – 30 September 1934) was an English actress in theatre, silent films and early talkies, including eleven of the twelve Aldwych farces of the 1920s and early 1930s.
The daughter of a well-known actor, Lionel Brough, with a long theatrical family tradition, she became a professional actress in December 1881. Although she was in regular demand in character parts she did not become well known to theatre-goers until she was nearly sixty. In 1922 she was cast in a small part in a farce, Tons of Money, which was followed by a ten-year series of new farces at the Aldwych Theatre for which the actor-manager Tom Walls assembled a regular company of players, including Brough. The playwright Ben Travers wrote parts expressly to suit her persona; she recorded several of them in films of the farces.