Beatrice Mary Beckley (4 June 1882 – 8 February 1959) was an English-born American actress of stage and screen. Beckley was born in Hampstead, London, to Lt. Col. Thomas Beckley and Emily Margaretta Hernulewicz.''1891 England Census'' She was trained by Geneviève Ward. Her first appearance on the stage was in an amateur production of W S Gilbert's '' Pygmalion and Galatea'' at

Hampstead Town Hall Hampstead Town hall is a municipal building on Haverstock Hill, Hampstead, London. It is a Grade II listed building. History The facility was commissioned by the Vestry of St John who had previously met in the offices of the local workhouse. ...

. She made her stage debut in London in a 1901 production of H. V. Esmond's ''The Wilderness'' before moving to the United States. She spent four seasons with the company of James K. Hackett, before marrying him in a lawyer's office in Milwaukee on 16 December 1911. Beckley appeared in many theater productions in the United States, including main roles in ''The Walls of Jericho'', ''Samson'', and ''The Prisoner of Zenda'', opposite Hackett. She also reprised her stage roles in film adaptations of ''

The Prisoner of Zenda ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' is an 1894 adventure novel by Anthony Hope, in which the King of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus is unable to attend the ceremony. Political forces within the realm are such that, in orde ...

'' (1913) and '' Should a Husband Forgive?'' (1919). When her husband died in Paris on 8 November 1926, he was cremated there, and his ashes taken for interment in the family vault at the Woodlawn Cemetery in New York. Beckley inherited a

life interest A life interest (or life rent in Scotland) is a form of right, usually under a trust, that lasts only for the lifetime of the person benefiting from that right. A person with a life interest is known as a life tenant. A life interest ends when ...

in most of Hackett's property and more than $273,000 USD. When she died her estate was valued at £5127. She died of complications from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

at the Hôtel du Louvre in Monte Carlo, aged 73.''U.S., Reports of Deaths of American Citizens Abroad, 1835–1974''

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beckley, Beatrice 1882 births 1959 deaths 20th-century English actresses English stage actresses British emigrants to the United States Actors from Hampstead English people of Polish descent American people of Polish descent Deaths from Parkinson's disease

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