Lucile Watson
Lucile Watson (May 27, 1879 – June 24, 1962) was a Canadian actress, long based in the United States. She was "famous for her roles of formidable dowagers."[1]
Lucile Watson | |
|---|---|
Watson in 1953 | |
| Born | May 27, 1879 Quebec City, Quebec, Canada |
| Died | June 24, 1962 (aged 83) New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1902–1954 |
Early years edit
Watson was born in Quebec and raised in Ottawa, the daughter of an officer in the British Army. Despite his wishes, she traveled to New York City and enrolled in a dramatic school.[2]
Career edit
Watson was primarily a stage actress, appearing in 39 Broadway plays.[3] She starred in plays such as Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines, Heartbreak House, Ghosts, The Importance of Being Earnest, and Pride and Prejudice.
Watson's first film role was in the 1916 silent film The Girl with Green Eyes, a film version of the Clyde Fitch play she had performed on Broadway in 1902. She did not appear in another movie until 1930 when she had an uncredited role in The Royal Family of Broadway. In 1939, she portrayed Norma Shearer's wise mother in the cultural comedy/drama from the Clare Booth Luce play The Women.
In perhaps her most acclaimed performance, Watson portrayed Fanny Farrelly in playwright Lillian Hellman's anti-fascist dramatic stage play Watch on the Rhine on Broadway in 1941, starring Paul Lukas.[4] Two years later in Hollywood, she and Lukas reprised their roles in the film adaptation,[5] for which Watson received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.[6]
Lucile Watson played Aunt March in the 1949 film version of Little Women, whose stars included Elizabeth Taylor as Amy. The following year, she was cast along with her famous The Women co-star Joan Crawford in the melodrama Harriet Craig.
Death edit
Watson died on June 24, 1962.[7]
Broadway roles edit
- No More Ladies (1934) as Mrs. Fanny Townsend
- Watch on the Rhine (1941) as Fanny Farrelly[8]
Partial filmography edit
- The Royal Family of Broadway (1930) as Actress Backstage (uncredited)
- What Every Woman Knows (1934) as La Contessa la Brierre
- The Bishop Misbehaves (1935) as Lady Emily
- The Garden of Allah (1936) as Mother Superior Josephine
- A Woman Rebels (1936) as Betty Bumble
- Three Smart Girls (1936) as Martha
- The Young in Heart (1938) as Mrs. Jennings
- Sweethearts (1938) as Mrs. Marlowe
- Made for Each Other (1939) as Mrs. Harriet Mason
- The Women (1939) as Mrs. Morehead
- Waterloo Bridge (1940) as Lady Margaret Cronin
- Florian (1940) as Countess
- Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941) as Mrs. Custer
- Rage in Heaven (1941) as Mrs. Monrell
- Footsteps in the Dark (1941) as Mrs. Archer
- The Great Lie (1941) as Aunt Ada
- Model Wife (1941) as J.J. Benson
- Watch on the Rhine (1943) as Fanny Farrelly
- Uncertain Glory (1944) as Mme. Maret
- Till We Meet Again (1944) as Mother Superior
- The Thin Man Goes Home (1945) as Mrs. Charles
- Tomorrow Is Forever (1946) as Aunt Jessica Hamilton
- My Reputation (1946) as Mrs. Mary Kimball
- Never Say Goodbye (1946) as Mrs. Hamilton
- Song of the South (1946) as Grandmother
- The Razor's Edge (1946) as Louisa Bradley
- Ivy (1947) as Mrs. Gretorex
- The Emperor Waltz (1948) as Princess Bitotska
- Julia Misbehaves (1948) as Mrs. Packett
- That Wonderful Urge (1948) as Aunt Cornelia Farley
- Little Women (1949) as Aunt March
- Everybody Does It (1949) as Mrs. Blair
- Let's Dance (1950) as Serena Everett
- Harriet Craig (1950) as Celia Fenwick
- My Forbidden Past (1951) as Aunt Eula Beaurevel
Sources edit
References edit
- ^ "Famed actress dies at 83". California, Redlands. Redlands Daily Facts. June 26, 1962. p. 5. Retrieved March 14, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Lucile Watson, Type". D.C, Washington. The Washington Herald. February 9, 1919. p. 15. Retrieved March 14, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Lucile Watson". Playbill. Retrieved March 14, 2016.
- ^ "Obituaries". Variety. June 27, 1962. p. 63. ProQuest 1032424803.
Perhaps her most highly praised performance was as Fanny Farrelly in Lillian Hellman's anti-Nazi play, 'Watch on the Rhine,' which starred Paul Lucas and opened in 1941.
- ^ "Watch on the Rhine". IBDB.com. Internet Broadway Database.
- ^ United Press (February 7, 1944). "Three Former Winners Listed in 'Oscar' Race". The Pittsburgh Press. p. 9. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
- ^ "Lucile Watson, Actress, 83, Dies". Connecticut, Bridgeport. The Bridgeport Post. June 25, 1962. p. 24. Retrieved March 14, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Watch on the Rhine". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
Further reading edit
- Alistair, Rupert (2018). "Lucile Watson". The Name Below the Title : 65 Classic Movie Character Actors from Hollywood's Golden Age (softcover) (First ed.). Great Britain: Independently published. pp. 249–251. ISBN 978-1-7200-3837-5.
External links edit
- Lucile Watson at IMDb
- Lucile Watson at the Internet Broadway Database
- Lucile Watson portraits Broadway 1910s or 20s NYP Library
- Lucile Watson at Find a Grave