Lilian Bond (January 18, 1908 – January 25, 1991) was an English-American actress based in the United States.
Life and career
Bond was born in London and made her first professional stage appearance at the age of 14
[ ] in the
pantomime ''
Dick Whittington and His Cat''. Later she joined the chorus of ''Piccadilly Revels'' and continued on the stage when she relocated to the United States, where her performances included roles in ''
The Earl Carroll Vanities'' and in various productions of the
Ziegfeld Follies.
[ ]
Bond began working in films in 1929, initially in the drama ''No More Children'' for Cliff Broughton Productions. Between 1929 and 1931, she co-starred in eight additional films, most notably with
Tom Tyler in the 1931
Western ''Rider of the Plains''. In 1932, she was named a
WAMPAS Baby Star, along with
Gloria Stuart,
Ginger Rogers, and other young actresses rising in popularity with theater audiences.
[ ]
From 1932 to 1953, she had roles in 39 more films, ranging from lead characters to uncredited performances. In
James Whale's comedic thriller starring
Boris Karloff titled ''
The Old Dark House'' (1932), Bond plays Gladys DuCane, a chorus girl who falls in love with Roger Penderel (played by
Melvyn Douglas). Perhaps her best-known film role is in the 1940
Western ''
The Westerner'' starring
Gary Cooper and
Walter Brennan. In that production she portrays the British-American actress and
socialite
A socialite is a person from a wealthy and (possibly) aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having traditio ...
Lillie Langtry.
By the 1950s, her career had declined, with her having mostly TV appearances. She retired from acting at the age of 50 in 1958.
Personal life and death
Bond technically married four times, including marrying the same man twice. At the height of her career, on June 28, 1935, she wed Sidney Smith, a highly successful New York
broker and celebrated
big-game hunter; however, "a technical legal question" required the couple to remarry on September 3, 1936.
[ ] In 1943 they separated, with each accusing the other of cruelty.
Their divorce was finalized the next year.
In 1950, Bond married Morton Lowry; the union lasted six years. Finally, in 1961, she wed
Michael Fessier
Michael Fessier (1905–1988) was an American screenwriter and film producer. He worked for Hollywood studios such as MGM and Universal Pictures. Later in his career he worked in television. He also wrote short stories and novels, two of which wer ...
, who was a
screenwriter
A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based.
...
, film producer, and novelist. The two remained together until his death in 1988.
Three years later, at age 83, Bond suffered a heart attack and died at a convalescent hospital in
Reseda, California.
Selected filmography
* ''
Sagebrush Politics
''Sagebrush Politics'' is a 1930 American silent Western film with sound sequences, directed by Denver Dixon, starring Art Mix, Wally Merrill, and Lilian Bond.
Cast
* Art Mix as Tom Williams
* Lilian Bond as Sheriff's Daughter
* Gilbert Holme ...
'' (1930) as Cleo
* ''
Stepping Out'' (1931)
* ''
Manhattan Parade'' (1931) as Sewing girl
* ''
The Squaw Man'' (1931) as Babs
* ''
Rider of the Plains'' (1931) as Betty
* ''
Hot Saturday
''Hot Saturday'' is a 1932 American pre-Code " programmer" drama film directed by William A. Seiter and starring Cary Grant, Nancy Carroll, and Randolph Scott. This was Grant's first role as a leading man. Based on the novel ''Hot Saturday'' b ...
'' (1932) as Eva Randolph
* ''
Beauty and the Boss
''Beauty and the Boss'' is a 1932 American pre-Code romantic comedy film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring Marian Marsh, David Manners and Warren William. It was based on a 1928 Hungarian play by Ladislas Fodor about a secretary who eventua ...
'' (1932) as Girl at the bar
* ''
Man About Town'' (1932) as Carlotta Cortez
* ''
The Old Dark House'' (1932) as Gladys
* ''
Fireman, Save My Child'' (1932) as June Farnum
* ''
High Pressure'' (1932)
* ''
It's Tough to Be Famous'' (1932) as Edna Jackson
* ''
Union Depot'' (1932) as Actress on train (uncredited)
* ''
Air Mail
Airmail (or air mail) is a mail transport service branded and sold on the basis of at least one leg of its journey being by air. Airmail items typically arrive more quickly than surface mail, and usually cost more to send. Airmail may be the ...
'' (1932) as Irene Walkins
* ''
The Trial of Vivienne Ware'' (1932) as Dolores Divine
* ''
When Strangers Marry'' (1933) as Marion Drake
* ''
Double Harness
''Double Harness'' (1933) is an American pre-Code film starring Ann Harding and William Powell. It was based on the play of the same name by Edward Poor Montgomery. A young woman maneuvers a lazy playboy into marrying her.
This was one of sever ...
'' (1933) as Monica Page
* ''
Take a Chance'' (1933) as Thelma Green
* ''
Hot Pepper
Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for t ...
'' (1933) as Hortense
* ''Her Splendid Folly'' (1933) as Jill McAllister
* ''
Pick-Up'' (1933) as Muriel Stevens
* ''
The Big Brain'' (1933) as Dorothy Norton
* ''
Hell Bent for Love
''Hell Bent for Love'' is a 1934 American Pre-Code crime film directed by D. Ross Lederman and starring Tim McCoy and Lilian Bond.
Cast
* Tim McCoy as Police Captain Tim Daley
* Lilian Bond as Millicent 'Millie' Garland
* Bradley Page as 'Tr ...
'' (1934) as Millie Garland
* ''
Dirty Work'' (1934)
* ''
Affairs of a Gentleman'' (1934) as Carlotta Barbe
* ''
The Bishop Misbehaves'' (1935) as Mrs. Millie Walker
* ''
China Seas'' (1935) - Mrs. Timmons
* ''
Blond Cheat'' (1938) as Roberta Trent
* ''
Sued for Libel'' (1939) as Muriel Webster
* ''
The Women'' (1939) as Mrs. Erskine
* ''
The Housekeeper's Daughter'' (1939) as Gladys Fontaine
* ''
The Westerner'' (1940) as
Lillie Langtry
* ''
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...
'' (1941) as Lady Constance
* ''A Desperate Chance for Ellory Queen'' (1942) as Adele Beldon
* ''
A Tragedy at Midnight'' (1942) as Lola
* ''
The Picture of Dorian Gray'' (1945) as Kate
* ''
Nocturne'' (1946) as Mrs. Billings
* ''
The Jolson Story'' (1947)
* ''
Fighter Squadron'' (1948) as English lady
* ''
That Forsythe Woman
''That Forsyte Woman'' (released in the United Kingdom as ''The Forsyte Saga'') is a 1949 romance film directed by Compton Bennett and starring Greer Garson, Errol Flynn, Walter Pidgeon, Robert Young and Janet Leigh. It is an adaptation of th ...
'' (1949) as Maid
* ''
Shadow on the Wall'' (1950) as Attendant
* ''
The Sniper'' (1952) as Mrs. Fitzpatrick
* ''
The Big Trees'' (1952) as Daisy's girl
* ''
Man in the Attic'' (1953) as Annie Rowley
* ''
The Maze'' (1953) as Margaret Dilling
* ''
Pirates of Tripoli
''Pirates of Tripoli'' is a 1955 American adventure film directed by Felix E. Feist and starring Paul Henreid and Patricia Medina.
Plot
Princess Karjan promises pirate captain Edri-Al-Gardian a fabulous reward if he helps her regain her lost ki ...
'' (1955) as Sono
References
External links
*
*
*
Lilian Bondat Virtual History Film
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bond, Lilian
1908 births
1991 deaths
Actresses from London
British film actresses
British expatriate actresses in the United States
Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
20th-century English actresses
WAMPAS Baby Stars