May Whitty

Dame May Whitty (June 19, 1865 - May 29, 1948) was a British theater and cinema actress.

Related Topics:
June 19 - 1865 - May 29 - 1948 - British - Theater - Cinema - Actress

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Born Mary Whitty in Liverpool, England, Mary Whitty made her first stage appearance in Liverpool in 1881 before moving to London to appear on the West End. She married the actor-manager Ben Webster (actor) in 1892 and in 1895 they visited the United States where Whitty appeared on Broadway. Their only child, a daughter born in the U.S. in 1905, Margaret Webster, was a stage actress. Dame May's stage career continued for the rest of her life.

Related Topics:
Liverpool - England - 1881 - London - West End - Ben Webster (actor) - 1892 - 1895 - United States - Broadway - U.S.

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In 1918 she was made Dame of the British Empire (DBE) in recognition for her charitable work during World War I, and for her contributions to acting.

Related Topics:
1918 - World War I

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She made her first major Hollywood film appearance, recreating her stage role in the film Night Must Fall (1937) (which also starred Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell, and received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. This led to several supporting roles in films including that of the missing spy, "Miss Froy", in Alfred Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes (1938). She moved permanently to the U.S. (although she never become as U.S. citizen) in 1939 and appeared both on stage and in Hollywood films where she usually played wealthy dowagers. It was one such part, as "Lady Beldon" in Mrs Miniver (1942), that brought her a second Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Related Topics:
Night Must Fall - 1937 - Robert Montgomery - Rosalind Russell - Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress - Alfred Hitchcock - The Lady Vanishes - 1938 - U.S. - U.S. citizen - 1939 - Hollywood - Mrs Miniver - 1942

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She continued to act for the remainder of her life and died in Beverly Hills, California from cancer at the age of 82; her husband, Ben Webster (actor), had died the previous year during surgery.

Related Topics:
Beverly Hills - California - Cancer - Ben Webster (actor)

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Quote

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"I have everything Betty Grable has - I've just had it longer".

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