Nora Cecil

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

Nora Cecil
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 active1915–47
ChildrenDorothy

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 1901-02.[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

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

Death

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. "Pianist Starts Music Dispute with Composer". Pennsylvania, Shamokin. Shamokin News-Dispatch. January 3, 1930. p. 3. Retrieved March 24, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "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.
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