Molly Leuw
Born Mary Olive Leuw in Walthamstow, Essex, she was known as Molly throughout her life.
Her paternal grandfather had come to London as a child with his family from North Holland, and her other grandparents were born in London.
As a child, she took leading roles in several charity performances, organised by her father, in aid of invalided servicemen.
She studied drama & dance at the Guildhall School of Music, then at the Ginner-Mawer School, London, in 1924–1927.
She married Guy Howard Shannon in 1930; they had a son & divorced in 1938.
In the Second World War, she was in the Ambulance Service in London, then resigned to join the Land Army.
In 1947, she played Madame Elvira in the television play, “… and Talking of Tightropes” by Caryl Brahams & S. J. Simon.
In the 1930s she adopted the stage name Looe, because ‘Leuw’ had been often misspelled. She also used the name Mary Shannon, qv, in a performance of “Anastasia” in 1958.
Past productions
- The Dowager Empress of Russia, Anastasia, The Selfridge Players
- Mrs Borrow / Dora, Exercise “Bowler”, Great Newport Theatre Committee and Reunion Theatre Association
- Louisa Eshton, Jane Eyre, Cyril Phillips
- The Dancing Girl
- Love Chase
- All for Love
- The Fair Maid of the West
- Conversion Of St. Paul
- Malvern Festival
- Gertrude (Replacement), For Services Rendered
- Henrietta Moulton-Barrett, The Barretts of Wimpole Street
- The Apple Cart
- The Apple Cart
- Alice, The Princess Royal, The Apple Cart, Birmingham Repertory Company