Richard Todd and Catherine
Sorry I have not posted for a while. I have been moving house, which has proved very, very stressful! While I have been away, I have noticed several new comments regarding the later life of Catherine Grant-Bogle. So I have combined these with earlier messages.
Little was known about Catherine's life after she was divorced from movie legend Richard Todd (1919-2009). So I am sure my readers will be very interested in some of the messages:
“I was looking up info on Richard Todd when I saw this article on Catherine Grant-Bogle. She was my landlady in 1970/71 in London, in a flat near the Tate Gallery. I am Canadian and was backpacking through Europe with my girlfriend. She took me, my girlfriend and a girl from Hawaii in for room and board. The rooms were as the children left them and she didn't want us to touch or move anything. She also didn't want us using the kitchen and when she found the three of us making dinner, she was very upset. She was very bitter about the divorce and told us stories. Her son Peter also came by a few times to check on her. I also have a picture of her with her cat in my photo album.I went back to London with my first husband in 1978 and went to show him the flat. And there she was walking down the street coming out of the liquor store, looking a little worse for wear.I am surprised to see that she lived another 20 years after I last saw her. She didn't look well and the difference in her from 1971 to 1978 was astounding!"
Pam continued: “She did seem so sad, not only when I was rooming at her flat, but especially when I saw her walking down the street a few years later. She was a sweet lady.Anyway, just thought I would share this with you.”Catherine was a cousin (first or second) of my paternal grandmother. She returned home to Rothesay in her later years. She lived with or was married to a German chap, and they had a couple of dogs. She did have a drink problem, from what I've heard. He outlived her by a few years. She used to drop into the Copper Kettle café which was run by another family member, my grandmother's niece Muriel."
Scott says:
"Hi all, this is fascinating stuff. My sister was married to Peter Todd for many years before he tragically took his own life. It's funny how I've stumbled across this blog as I was searching for Catherine as I'm in the process of selling my artefacts that I have had passed to me, all of which are related to Richard Todd and his film career. I'm sure I can answer many of your questions if you still have any and would be happy to do so. I have a portrait of Cathrine which is part of my collection passed to me by Richard and Peter Todd and she truly was a beautiful lady and from what I understand a fantastic mother. However, the Todds life was incredibly difficult for all involved and I saw personally the very sad end in which it finished. I'm here if you wish to discuss further.
Best regards."
"Hi!
Catherine returned to Rothesay, on Bute, in her later years and died there. She used to go to her cousin Muriel’s café, The Copper Kettle. I think that it’s true she had something of an alcohol problem latterly, but she lived with or was married to a German chap, and they had a couple of dogs. He outlived her by a few years. She was a first or second cousin of my grandmother, and my aunts were very excited as schoolgirls when she and Richard visited the family when filming Rob Roy in Argyll.
Best wishes,
Dr. Marianne M Gilchrist".
Many thanks to everyone who kindly contacted me regarding Catherine’s later life.
