Chili Bouchier (born Dorothy Irene Boucher; 12 September 1909 – 9 September 1999) was an English film actress who achieved success during the

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

era, and went on to many screen appearances with the advent of sound films, before progressing to theatre later in her career.

Career

Dorothy Irene Boucher was the daughter of an assessor for a painting and decorating firm. As a child, her initial ambition was to be a dancer and she enrolled at a ballet school. She made her first appearance as a child dancer at a charity performance. She became a typist on leaving school and later a model at

Harrod's Harrods Limited is a department store located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It is currently owned by the state of Qatar via its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority. The Harrods brand also applies to other ...

, where her brother worked. Her first appearance was as a bathing belle in '' Shooting Stars''. Bouchier won a contest run by the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

'' in 1927 to become a film star. In 1928, she appeared in a short film made in the DeForest

Phonofilm Phonofilm is an optical sound-on-film system developed by inventors Lee de Forest and Theodore Case in the early 1920s. Introduction In 1919 and 1920, Lee De Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patents on a sound-on-film process, ...

sound-on-film process, ''Ain't She Sweet'', with

Dick Henderson Richard Henderson (20 March 1891 – 15 October 1958) was an English music hall comedian, singer and character actor. Life and career Dick Henderson was born in Sculcoates, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, the son of a machinist. He was an app ...

. She was known as Britain's "

It girl An "it girl" is an attractive young woman, who is perceived to have both sex appeal and a personality that is especially engaging. The expression ''it girl'' originated in British upper-class society around the turn of the 20th century. ...

", and the answer to

Clara Bow Clara Gordon Bow (; July 29, 1905 – September 27, 1965) was an American actress who rose to stardom during the silent film era of the 1920s and successfully made the transition to "talkies" in 1929. Her appearance as a plucky shopgirl in the ...

in Hollywood, who was famous for the tag. She achieved success in the 1930s with the films ''

Carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

'' (1931), directed by

Herbert Wilcox Herbert Sydney Wilcox Order of the British Empire, CBE (19 April 1890 – 15 May 1977) was a British film producer and film director, director. He was one of the most successful British filmmakers from the 1920s to the 1950s. He is best know ...

and ''

Gypsy The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

'' (1937). The latter was made by the British arm of

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...

Teddington Studios Teddington Studios was a large British television studio in Teddington, London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, providing studio facilities for programmes airing on the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Sky1 and others. The complex also provide ...

, but, like a number of her films, is considered to be

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

. She also played the supporting role of

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...

in ''

The Ghost Goes West ''The Ghost Goes West'' is a 1935 British romantic comedy/fantasy film starring Robert Donat, Jean Parker, and Eugene Pallette, and directed by René Clair, his first English-language film. The film shows an Old World ghost dealing with American ...

'', starring

Robert Donat Friedrich Robert Donat (18 March 1905 – 9 June 1958) was an English actor. He is best remembered for his roles in Alfred Hitchcock's '' The 39 Steps'' (1935) and ''Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' (1939), winning for the latter the Academy Award for ...

. During this period, she was brought over to Warner Brothers in Hollywood but broke her contract after being kept hanging around. This reportedly caused her to be blackballed and unable to make another film. Hollywood film producer and business magnate

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in th ...

proposed to her, but Bouchier's great love was the bandleader Teddy Joyce, to whom she was engaged before his premature death. Despite this setback, she continued to appear in British films until 1960, albeit often in supporting roles in

B-movies A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double featur ...

. Among her later films were Murder in Reverse? (1945), a successful thriller starring

William Hartnell William Henry Hartnell (8 January 1908 – 23 April 1975) was an English actor. He is best remembered for his portrayal of the First Doctor, first incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' from 1963 to 1966. In film, ...

, and ''

Old Mother Riley's New Venture ''Old Mother Riley's New Venture'' is a low-budget black-and-white 1949 British comedy film, starring Arthur Lucan, Kitty McShane and Chili Bouchier. It is the twelfth in the long-running Old Mother Riley films, and was the first of the series t ...

'' (1949), part of the successful series of

Old Mother Riley Old Mother Riley is a fictional character portrayed from about 1934 to 1954 by Arthur Lucan and from 1954 to the 1980s by Roy Rolland as part of a British music hall act. Old Mother Riley (full comedy name: Daphne Bluebell Snowdrop Riley) is an ...

comedy films. Bouchier combined her film career with a great deal of stage work in the UK. From 1950, onwards most of her appearances were on stage in dramas, comedies and revues, where she continued to work until well into her eighties.

Marriages

In September 1929, she married the actor Harry Milton (1900-1965) whom she had met on set while filming ''Chick''. The marriage was dissolved in 1937.Papers of Chili Bouchier: Women's Library Archives
archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk. Accessed 20 November 2022. She married 23 year-old actor

Peter De Greef Peter De Greef (17 May 1922 – 29 March 1980) was a British actor who made a number of film appearances in the 1940s and 50s including '' Champagne Charlie'' (1944). He was born as Edward Denaston William De Greeff in 1922 in Marylebone in Londo ...

in 1946 at

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

in London. They separated a few months later and the marriage was finally dissolved in 1955.

Later years

In 1996, Bouchier published her autobiography, ''Shooting Star'', and received some media attention: she was a guest on the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

series ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usu ...

'' in January, and was the subject of '' This Is Your Life'' in February, when she was surprised by

Michael Aspel Michael Terence Aspel (born 12 January 1933) is an English retired television newsreader and host of programmes such as '' Crackerjack'', ''Aspel & Company'', ''Give Us a Clue'', '' This is Your Life'', '' Strange but True?'' and ''Antiques Ro ...

at a book signing session at

Harrods Harrods Limited is a department store located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It is currently owned by the state of Qatar via its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority. The Harrods brand also applies to other ...

. Featured guests were

Patricia Roc Patricia Roc (born Felicia Miriam Ursula Herold; 7 June 1915 – 30 December 2003) was an English film actress, popular in the Gainsborough melodramas such as ''Madonna of the Seven Moons'' (1945) and '' The Wicked Lady'' (1945), though she only ...

Sian Phillips Sian or Siyan may refer to: __NOTOC__ People *Siân, a Welsh girl's name; list of people with this name Places *Sian, Iran (disambiguation), various places in Iran *Sian, Russia, a rural locality in Amur Oblast, Russia *Xi'an, China, formerly roman ...

Peggy Mount Margaret Rose Mount OBE (2 May 1915 – 13 November 2001) was an English actress. As a child, she found acting an escape from an unhappy home life. After playing in amateur productions, she was taken on by a repertory company and spent nine yea ...

Avril Angers Florence Avril Angers (18 April 1918 – 9 November 2005) was an English stand-up comedian and actress. The ''Daily Telegraph'' described her as "one of the most zestful, charming and reliable character comediennes in the postwar London theat ...

Lionel Blair Lionel Blair (born Henry Lionel Ogus; 12 December 1928 – 4 November 2021) was a Canadian-born British actor, choreographer, tap dancer, and television presenter. From the late 1960s until the early 1980s, he made regular appearances as a danc ...

Mary Millar Irene Mary Wetton (26 July 1936 – 10 November 1998), better known by her stage name Mary Millar, was an English actress and singer best remembered for her role as the second actress to play Rose in the successful BBC sitcom ''Keeping Up Appea ...

Dorothy Tutin Dame Dorothy Tutin, (8 April 19306 August 2001) was an English actress of stage, film and television. For her work in the theatre, she won two Olivier Awards and two ''Evening Standard'' Awards for Best Actress. She was made a CBE in 1967 and ...

, Douglas Fairbanks Jr.,

Leslie Ash Leslie Ash (born 19 February 1960) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles in ''C.A.T.S. Eyes'' (1985–1987), the BBC sitcom ''Men Behaving Badly'' (1992–1997), ITV drama '' Where the Heart Is'' (2000–2003), and BBC me ...

and

Petula Clark Petula Sally Olwen Clark, CBE (born 15 November 1932) is an English singer, actress, and composer. She has one of the longest serving careers of a British singer, spanning more than seven decades. Clark's professional career began during the ...

Death

Bouchier died three days short of her ninetieth birthday in her ground floor flat in

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...

, London following a serious fall. Her agent, Vincent Shaw, said of her after her death, "She was one of the last of the great pre-war beauties - a fabulous trouper and a lovely lady." Author Michael Thornton, a close friend, said: "Her life was a rollercoaster. She had known great wealth and acclaim, but sadly died alone in virtual poverty in a tiny council flat supported financially by theatrical charities. John Paul Getty was marvellous to her, and always had a crate of champagne delivered to her flat on every birthday. He will be sad to hear of her death."

Selected filmography

* '' Mumsie'' (1927) * ''

A Woman in Pawn ''A Woman in Pawn'' is a 1927 British silent crime film directed by Edwin Greenwood and starring Gladys Jennings, John Stuart and Lauderdale Maitland. It was based on a melodramatic play by Frank Stayton. It was made at the Lime Grove Studios ...

'' (1927) - Elaine * '' Shooting Stars'' (1927) - Winnie - Bathing Beauty * ''

Dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's horizo ...

'' (1928) - Minor Role (uncredited) * '' Maria Marten'' (1928) - Minor Role (uncredited) * '' Palais de danse'' (1928) - No. 2 * '' Chick'' (1928) - Minnie Jarvis * '' You Know What Sailors Are'' (1928) - The Spanish Captain's Daughter * '' The Silver King'' (1929) - Olive Skinner * ''

Downstream Downstream may refer to: * Downstream (bioprocess) * Downstream (manufacturing) * Downstream (networking) * Downstream (software development) * Downstream (petroleum industry) * Upstream and downstream (DNA), determining relative positions on DNA ...

'' (1929) - Lena * '' City of Play'' (1929) - Ariel * ''

Warned Off ''Warned Off'' is a 1930 British silent film directed by Walter West and starring Tony Wylde, Chili Bouchier and Queenie Thomas. It was made at Cricklewood Studios. Cast * Tony Wylde - Frank Cuthbert * Chili Bouchier - Florrie Greville * Qu ...

'' (1930) - Florrie Greville * '' Kissing Cup's Race'' (1930) - Gabrielle * ''

Enter the Queen ''Enter the Queen'' is a 1930 British silent short comedy film directed by Arthur Varney and starring Richard Cooper, Dora March, Chili Bouchier and Percy Walsh. It was made at Beaconsfield Studios as a quota quickie for distribution by Fox ...

'' (1930, Short) - Marjorie Manners * ''

Call of the Sea ''Call of the Sea'' is an adventure video game developed by Out of the Blue and published by Raw Fury. The game was released for Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on December 8, 2020. The game was also released for Amazon Luna on April 15, 2 ...

'' (1930) - Poquita * ''

Brown Sugar Brown sugar is unrefined or partially refined soft sugar. Brown Sugar may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Brown Sugar'' (1922 film), a 1922 British silent film directed by Fred Paul * ''Brown Sugar'' (1931 film), a 1931 ...

'' (1931) - Ninon de Veaux * ''

'' (1931) - Simonetta Steno * ''

The Blue Danube "The Blue Danube" is the common English title of "An der schönen blauen Donau", Op. 314 (German for "By the Beautiful Blue Danube"), a waltz by the Austrian composer Johann Strauss II, composed in 1866. Originally performed on 15 Februa ...

'' (1932) - Yutka * ''

Ebb Tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tabl ...

'' (1932) - Cassie * ''

The King's Cup ''The King's Cup'' is a 1933 British drama film directed by Alan Cobham, Donald Macardle, Herbert Wilcox and Robert Cullen and starring Chili Bouchier, Harry Milton and William Kendall. The film is named after the King's Cup air race, establis ...

'' (1933) - Betty Conway * ''

Summer Lightning ''Summer Lightning'' is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on 1 July 1929 by Doubleday, Doran, New York, under the title ''Fish Preferred'', and in the United Kingdom on 19 July 1929 by Herbert Jenkins, London ...

'' (1933) - Sue Brown * ''

Purse Strings ''Purse Strings'' is a 1933 British drama film directed by Henry Edwards and starring Chili Bouchier, Gyles Isham and Allan Jeayes. It was made as a quota quickie at British and Dominion's Elstree Studios.Wood p.79 Cast * Chili Bouchier as Mar ...

'' (1933) - Mary Willmore * '' It's a Cop'' (1934) - Babette * '' To Be a Lady'' (1934) - Diana Whitcombe * '' The Office Wife'' (1934, Short) - Linda * ''

Death Drives Through ''Death Drives Through'' is a 1935 British sports drama film directed by Edward L. Cahn and starring Chili Bouchier, Robert Douglas and Miles Mander. It was made as a quota quickie by the independent producer Clifford Taylor at Ealing Studios. ...

'' (1935) - Kay Lord * ''

Royal Cavalcade ''Royal Cavalcade'', also known as ''Regal Cavalcade'', is a 1935 British, black-and-white, drama film directed by six separate directors: Thomas Bentley (Supervising Director), Herbert Brenon, Norman Lee, Walter Summers, W. P. Kellino and Mar ...

'' (1935) - Landgirl * ''

The Mad Hatters ''The Mad Hatters'' is a 1935 British comedy film directed by Ivar Campbell and starring Chili Bouchier, Sydney King and Evelyn Foster. Plot After opening a hat shop together, two men fall in love with a French woman living next door. Cast * ...

'' (1935) - Vicki * ''

Honours Easy ''Honours Easy'' is a 1935 British drama film directed by Herbert Brenon and starring Greta Nissen, Patric Knowles and Margaret Lockwood. It follows a man who tries to take revenge on a rival for a slight seventeen years before by framing his s ...

'' (1935) - Kate * '' Lucky Days'' (1935) - Patsy Cartwright * ''

Get Off My Foot ''Get Off My Foot'' is a 1935 British comedy film, directed by William Beaudine and starring Max Miller and Chili Bouchier. It is classed as a lost film.

'' (1935) - Marie * '' Mr. Cohen Takes a Walk'' (1935) - Julia Levine * ''

'' (1935) - Cleopatra * '' Faithful'' (1936) - Pamela Carson * ''

Where's Sally? ''Where's Sally?'' is a 1936 British comedy film, directed by Arthur B. Woods and starring Chili Bouchier, Gene Gerrard and Claude Hulbert. The film was a quota quickie production and is now believed to be lost.Southern Roses ''Southern Roses'' is a 1936 British musical comedy film directed by Frederic Zelnik and starring George Robey, Gina Malo and Chili Bouchier. It was shot at Denham Studios.Wood p.92 The film's sets were designed by the art director Frederick ...

'' (1936) - Estrella Estrello * ''

'' (1937) - Hassina * ''

Mayfair Melody ''Mayfair Melody'' is a 1937 British musical film, directed by Arthur B. Woods and starring popular bass-baritone singer Keith Falkner in the first of his three screen performances. It was made at Teddington Studios by the British subsidiary o ...

'' (1937) - Carmen * ''

The Minstrel Boy "The Minstrel Boy" is an Irish song written by Thomas Moore (1779–1852) and published as part of his ''Irish Melodies''. Moore himself came to be nicknamed "The Minstrel Boy", and indeed it is the title of Leonard Strong's 1937 biography of ...

'' (1937) - Dee Dawn * '' Change for a Sovereign'' (1937) - Countess Rita * '' The Singing Cop'' (1938) - Kit Fitzwillow * ''

The Dark Stairway ''The Dark Stairway'' is a 1938 British crime film, directed by Arthur B. Woods and starring Hugh Williams, Chili Bouchier and Garry Marsh. The film was a quota quickie production, based on the 1931 novel ''From This Dark Stairway'' by Mignon ...

'' (1938) - Betty Trimmer * '' Mr. Satan'' (1938) - Jacqueline Manet * ''

The Return of Carol Deane ''The Return of Carol Deane'' is a 1938 British drama film directed by Arthur B. Woods and starring Bebe Daniels, Arthur Margetson and Peter Coke. The film is adapted from the story ''The House on 56th Street'' by Joseph Santley and spans the t ...

'' (1938) - Anne Dempster * '' Everything Happens to Me'' (1938) - Sally Green * '' The Mind of Mr. Reeder'' (1939) - Elsa Weford * '' My Wife's Family'' (1941) - Rosa Latour * '' Facing the Music'' (1941) - Anna Braun * ''

Murder in Reverse? ''Murder in Reverse'' (also styled ''Murder in Reverse?'') is a 1945 British thriller film directed by Montgomery Tully and starring William Hartnell, Jimmy Hanley and Chili Bouchier. It is based on the story ''Query'' by "Seamark" ( Austin J. ...

'' (1945) - Doris Masterick * ''

The Laughing Lady ''The Laughing Lady'' is a 1946 British Technicolor musical drama film directed by Paul L. Stein and starring Anne Ziegler, Webster Booth and Francis L. Sullivan. Based on a play by Ingram D'Abbes, its plot follows a young aristocrat who mak ...

'' (1946) - Louise * ''

Mrs. Fitzherbert Maria Anne Fitzherbert (''née'' Smythe, previously Weld; 26 July 1756 – 27 March 1837) was a longtime companion of George, Prince of Wales (later King George IV of the United Kingdom). In 1785, they secretly contracted a marriage that was i ...

'' (1947) - Norris * '' The Case of Charles Peace'' (1949) - Katherine Dyson * ''

'' (1949) - Cora * '' Blueprint for Danger'' (1952) - Babs * ''

The Counterfeit Plan ''The Counterfeit Plan'' is a 1957 British crime film directed by Montgomery Tully and starring Zachary Scott and Peggie Castle.The Boy and the Bridge ''The Boy and the Bridge'' is a 1959 British drama film produced and directed by Kevin McClory. It featured Ian Maclaine, Liam Redmond, James Hayter, Geoffrey Keen, and Arthur Lowe. The film was shot during the summer of 1958 and set around L ...

'' (1959) - Publican's Wife * ''

Dead Lucky ''Dead Lucky'' is a 1960 British crime film directed by Montgomery Tully and starring Vincent Ball, Betty McDowall, John Le Mesurier, Alfred Burke and Michael Ripper. A crime reporter teams up with a fashion journalist to investigate illegal go ...

'' (1960) - Mrs. Winston (final film role)

References

External links

* *The archives of Chili Bouchier are held at

The Women's Library The Women's Library is England's main library and museum resource on women and the women's movement, concentrating on Britain in the 19th and 20th centuries. It has an institutional history as a coherent collection dating back to the mid-1920s, ...

at th
Library of the London School of Economics
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bouchier, Chili 1909 births 1999 deaths English film actresses English silent film actresses Actresses from London 20th-century English actresses English stage actresses