Oona Naylor: Facts About John Laurie’s Wife

Oona Naylor

Oona Naylor is the wife of British actor, John Paton Laurie and the mother of Veronica Laurie. Oona Naylor is also known as Oonah Veronica Todd-Naylor. She was born in Beckenham, Kent, England on 17 Mar 1901 to her parents, Henry Paul Todd Naylor and Ethel Mary Mendel. Details about the childhood of Oona Todd-Naylor, where she attended school, and other essential information are still unknown however, we will keep you informed. Oona Todd-Naylor passed away on 21 Mar 1990 in Bovey Tracey, Devon, England.

Oona Naylor: Profile Summary

Full NameOonah Veronica Todd-Naylor
GenderFemale
Famous asJohn Laurie’s Wife
Born17 Mar 1901
BirthplaceBeckenham, Kent, England
SpouseJohn Laurie
Daughter Veronica Laurie
ParentHenry Paul Todd Naylor and Ethel Mary Mendel
Died1990

Oona Naylor was married to her partner, John Laurie. The couple was married for about 52 years before her husband, John Laurie passed away. John Laurie left behind his partner and 1 child. Oona Todd-Naylor and John Laurie had one child, a daughter named Veronica Laurie, born in 1939.

Oona Naylor was a very private person. She has kept away from the media even though she was married to a celebrity.

Oona Todd-Naylor’s husband was born John Paton Laurie on March 25, 1897, in Dumfries, Dumfriesshire. His parents were William Laurie and Jessie Ann Laurie. His father was a clerk in a tweed mill and later a hatter and hosier. Paton Laurie was schooled in Dumfries Academy and later got trained to be an actor at the Central School of Speech and Drama, under Elsie Fogerty. He was based at the Royal Albert Hall, London as well as acted for the first time on stage in 1921.

Oona Naylor’s husband abandoned a career in architecture to serve in the First World War as a member of the Honourable Artillery Company. He is best noticed for his role in the sitcom Dad’s Army (1968-1977) as Private Frazer. He also performed on stage and in movies and on television during his career.

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The spouse of Oona Todd-Naylor was cast in Shakespearean roles as a stage actor and was a speaker of verse, especially of Robert Burns. He made his first appearance at the Old Vic on the London stage (1922) as he played several leading roles as a Shakespearean actor. Later, he joined the Old Vic Laurie and was included with the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon, where he played roles as Richard III, Othello, and Macbeth.

He then got the opportunity to play Hamlet in only his second season with the Royal Shakespeare Company and mentioned that he believed his performance of the role of Hamlet was the definitive version as he revealed, ‘That’s the way to play Hamlet, don’t wait too long, like some of the boys are doing today.’

Oona Todd-Naylor’s husband, Laurie invented the role of John the Baptist in Dorothy L Sayers’ cycle of plays, The Man Born to Be King, and repeated the role in two further versions of the cycle, on radio and also played the part of MacDuff in a radio adaptation of “Macbeth”, with Ralph Richardson playing the title role.

He had his first film that was the 1930 film Juno and the Paycock, which was directed by Alfred Hitchcock. He appeared in the successes of feature films with directors like Alfred Hitchcock, Laurence Olivier, and Michael Powell commonly playing bit-parts or supporting roles than leading roles.

Oona Naylor’s partner also starred as Mad Peter in the Hammer film The Reptile and occurred in The Abominable Dr. Phibes, the Disney film One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing, and then The Prisoner of Zenda. He appeared in Return to the Edge of the World in 1978, in which Michael Powell revisited his film of forty years before, which was one of his last appearances. He finally appeared in the BBC Radio 2 comedy series Tony’s alongside Victor Spinetti and Deborah Watling, his final work.

However, Oona Todd-Naylor’s husband got married two times. He was married to Florence May Saunders, his first wife who he met at the Old Vic before marrying Oonah Veronica Todd-Naylor, his second wife. Florence May Saunders died from meningitis in the year 1926. Oonah Veronica Todd-Naylor and John Laurie have a daughter, Veronica born in 1939.

Oona Naylor’s husband passed away at the age of 83 years from emphysema in the Chalfont and Gerrards Cross Hospital, Chalfont St Peter. Oona Todd-Naylor also died ten years later (1901–1990). John Laurie’s body was cremated and his ashes were scattered at sea.

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