Beatrice Lillie

Bea Lillie (May 29, 1894-January 20, 1989) was the outstanding comedic actress of her time. She was born Beatrice Gladys Lillie in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Related Topics:
May 29 - 1894 - January 20 - 1989 - Toronto - Ontario - Canada

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

She began performing in Toronto and other Ontario towns as part of a family trio with her mother and older sister, Muriel. Eventually, her mother took the two girls to London, England where she made her West End debut in 1914.

Related Topics:
London, England - West End

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

She was noted primarily for her stage work in revues and light comedies, frequently paired with Gertrude Lawrence, Bert Lahr and Jack Haley. Beatrice Lillie, as she would be known professionally, took advantage of her gift for witty satire that made her a stage success for more than 50 years. In her revues, she utilized sketches, songs, and parody that in her 1924 New York debut won her lavish praise from the New York Times.

Related Topics:
Gertrude Lawrence - Bert Lahr - Jack Haley - 1924 - New York Times

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1926 she returned to New York city to perform. While there, she starred in her first film, Exit Smiling, opposite fellow Canadian Jack Pickford, the scandal-scarred younger brother of Mary Pickford. From then until the approach of World War II, Lillie repeatedly crisscrossed the Atlantic to perform on both continents.

Related Topics:
Jack Pickford - Mary Pickford - World War II

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Lillie is associated particularly with the works of Noel Coward, though Cole Porter also wrote songs for her. She made few appearances on film, appearing in a cameo role as a revivalist in Around the World in Eighty Days and as "Mrs. Meers" (a white slaver) in Thoroughly Modern Millie. She won a Tony Award in 1953 for her revue An Evening With Beatrice Lillie and made her final stage appearance in High Spirits, the musical version of Coward's Blithe Spirit. After seeing An Evening with Beatrice Lillie, British critic Ronald Barker wrote, "Other generations may have their Mistinguett and their Marie Lloyd. We have our Beatrice Lillie and seldom have we seen such a display of perfect talent."

Related Topics:
Noel Coward - Cole Porter - Film - Around the World in Eighty Days - Thoroughly Modern Millie - Tony Award - High Spirits - Blithe Spirit - Mistinguett - Marie Lloyd

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

She married, on January 20, 1920, at the church of St. Paul, Drayton Bassett, Fazely, near Tamworth in Staffordshire to Sir Robert Peel, 5th Baronet, and became known as Lady Peel. She eventually separated from her husband (but never divorced him) until he died in 1934. Their only child, Sir Robert Peel, 6th Baronet, was killed in action aboard the HMS Tenedos in Colombo Harbour in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in 1942.

Related Topics:
January 20 - 1920 - Sri Lanka

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1948, she met the singer/actor, John Philip Huck, a gentleman roughly 28 years her junior who became her friend and companion.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

She retired from the stage due to Alzheimer's disease and passed away on January 20, 1989, which was also the date of her wedding anniversary, at Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England, at the age of 94. John Philip Huck died of a heart attack 31 hours later, and is interred next to her in a cemetery near Peel Fold, in England.

Related Topics:
Alzheimer's disease - January 20 - 1989 - Henley-on-Thames - Oxfordshire - England

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Beatrice Lillie has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Tony Awards:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• 1953 : Special Award - An Evening With Beatrice Lillie (winner)
• 1958 : Best Leading Actress in a Musical - Ziegfeld Follies of 1957 (nominee)
• 1964 : Best Leading Actress in a Musical - High Spirits (nominee)
 
Beatrice Lillie: References ►