Born in
Glasgow and brought up in the
Springburn area of the city, Weir began in amateur dramatics. In her early professional career, she was a well-known
radio actress, featuring in many
comedy shows, such as
ITMA. Her greatest theatrical success came in
The Happiest Days of Your Life. She made her film debut in 1949, and had a regular role as the housekeeper, Aggie McDonald, in the radio and television
sitcom Life With The Lyons. In 1969, she appeared in
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie starring
Dame Maggie Smith. She and
Helena Gloag played the Kerr sisters, the sewing mistresses of Marcia Blaine School for Girls. In 1970 Weir and Gloag reprised their collaboration in
Scrooge, playing old sisters in debt to
Ebenezer Scrooge, played by
Albert Finney. In the 1980s, she lampooned this homely image in the comedy series
Victoria Wood As Seen On TV and appeared in a pop video for
The Bluebells 1983 hit "
Young At Heart". At the
1979 general election, Molly Weir was one of "a galaxy of stage and television stars" to appear at an election rally in support of the
Conservative Party. She is also the subject of the 1988 song "
Molly's Lips" by
The Vaselines, and later covered by
Nirvana, described by Vaselines singer
Eugene Kelly as 'what he'd like to do to her up a dark alleyway some night" in a live performance released in their album, Enter The Vaselines. Following her death, Molly Weir's ashes were scattered on the banks of
Loch Lomond, a favourite holiday location; and almost all her estate (of nearly £1.9 million), was bequeathed to charities. ==Selected filmography==