Old Mother Riley

Old Mother Riley is a fictional character portrayed from about 1934 to 1954 by Arthur Lucan and from 1954 to the 1980s by Roy Rolland as part of a British music hall act.

Lucan was voted sixth biggest British box-office star by the Motion Picture Herald in 1943.

Although nothing like the glamorous acts like Danny La Rue, Old Mother Riley proved that drag could be a smash hit with audiences and make you a star.

Previous to Old Mother Riley, drag was a mixture of singing acts and short comedy sketches in music halls across the UK.

[7] Made on a minuscule budget, but extremely profitable, 16 of the 18 films made by Arthur Lucan featured him as Old Mother Riley: At the time of Lucan's death he was scheduled to film Old Mother Riley's Trip to Mars.