Nora Cecil

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Nora Cecil
NoraCecil.nature in the wrong.jpg
Cecil in the short Nature in the Wrong (1933)
Born(1878-09-26)September 26, 1878
London, England, UK
DiedMay 1, 1951(1951-05-01) (aged 72)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1915–1947
Children1

Nora Cecil (September 20, 1878 – May 1, 1951) was an English-American character actress whose 30-year career spanned both the silent and sound film eras.

Career[]

Stage[]

Cecil's career began on the stage, when she debuted in London at age 19.[1] She appeared in a single Broadway production, The Sleeping Beauty and the Beast, which ran for more than 240 performances at the Broadway Theatre in 1901–1902.[2] (A 1930 newspaper article says that Cecil "made her debut, three decades ago, on the London stage.")[3]

Film[]

Cecil appeared in well over 100 feature films and film shorts.[4]

In 1915, she moved from the stage into films, her first appearance being in a starring role in The Arrival of Perpetua, directed by Émile Chautard.[5] She often played "thin-lipped, stern-visaged dowagers and forbidding mothers-in-law"[6] and "welfare workers, landladies, schoolmistresses and maiden aunts".[7]

One of the most significant roles was in the W.C. Fields vehicle, The Old Fashioned Way in 1934.[8] Some of the other notable films in which Cecil appeared include: Ernst Lubitsch's historical romance, The Merry Widow, starring Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald;[9] the 1939 version of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, starring Mickey Rooney;[10] and the John Ford classic, Stagecoach, with John Wayne.[11]

Her final acting performance was in a featured role in Mourning Becomes Electra in 1947, starring Rosalind Russell.[12]

Personal life and death[]

Cecil had a daughter, Dorothy, who was also an actress.[3]

Cecil died on May 1, 1951 in Los Angeles, California, aged 72.[13]

Filmography[]

(Per AFI database)[4]

References[]

  1. ^ "Daughter in mother's steps". The Los Angeles Times. California, Los Angeles. September 20, 1929. p. 23. Retrieved February 17, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "The Sleeping Beauty and the Beast". Internet Broadway Database. Archived from the original on April 24, 2015. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "Pianist Starts Music Dispute with Composer". Pennsylvania, Shamokin. Shamokin News-Dispatch. January 3, 1930. p. 3. Retrieved March 24, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "Nora Cecil profile". American Film Institute. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  5. ^ "The Arrival of Perpetua: Detail View". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on April 2, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  6. ^ IMDb Biography
  7. ^ "Nora Cecil profile". AllMovie. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
  8. ^ "Nora Cecil profile". AllMovie. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  9. ^ "The Merry Widow: Detail View". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on April 2, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  10. ^ "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Detail View". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on March 29, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  11. ^ "Stagecoach: Detail View". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on April 17, 2015. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  12. ^ "Mourning Becomes Electra: Detail View". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on March 28, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  13. ^ "Nora Cecil profile". Find a Grave. Archived from the original on May 22, 2015. Retrieved May 22, 2015.

External links[]

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