Zeffie Agnes Lydia Tilbury (20 November 1863 – 24 July 1950) was an English-American actress.
profile at Cinemorgue

Early years

Born in

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Padd ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbourin ...

, England, Tilbury was the only child of the variety performer Lydia Thompson and John Christian Tilbury, a riding-master and "fashionable 'man about town'" from a comfortably wealthy background, his grandfather, of the Tilbury family firm of London coachbuilders, having created the Tilbury carriage. Her father died aged 26 in 1864; having borrowed an inexperienced horse, "All Fours", to participate in the South Essex Steeplechase at

Brentwood, Essex Brentwood is a town in the Borough of Brentwood, in the county of Essex in the East of England. It is in the London commuter belt, situated 20 miles (30 km) east-north-east of Charing Cross and close by the M25 motorway. In 2017, the pop ...

, he was crushed by the horse when it failed to clear a fence and rolled on him. Although he didn't appear badly injured, his skull was fractured and he had suffered severe internal injuries, which caused his death the next day.

Career

Tilbury was known first on the London stage and on Broadway in New York City."Classical Plays: Souvenirs and Portraits"
Rob Wilton Theatricalia In 1881, she debuted on stage in ''Nine Points of the Law'' at the Theatre Royal, Brighton, England. She is today best known for playing wise or evil older characters in films, such as the distinguished lady gambler at dinner with Garbo in '' The Single Standard'', as the pitiful Grandma Joad in '' The Grapes of Wrath'' and Grandma Lester in '' Tobacco Road''. She appeared in over 70 films. Her earliest surviving silent film is the Valentino / Nazimova 1921 production of '' Camille''. Tilbury is probably best remembered as the old woman in the 1936

Hal Roach Harry Eugene "Hal" Roach Sr.Randy Skretvedt, Skretvedt, Randy (2016), ''Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies'', Bonaventure Press. p.608. (January 14, 1892 – November 2, 1992) was an American film and television producer, director, a ...

'' Our Gang'' comedy ''

Second Childhood ''Second Childhood'' is the second album by the singer and songwriter Phoebe Snow, released in 1976. ''Second Childhood'' was certified gold by the RIAA on July 9, 1976. Reception In a retrospective review for AllMusic, critic William Ruhlmann ...

.'' She is befriended by Spanky and his friends on her birthday and, as a result, is transformed from a lonely, disagreeable recluse to a happy and loving carefree soul. In the same year she also portrayed the Gypsy Queen in the

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). Starting their career as a duo ...

film '' The Bohemian Girl''.

Personal life

Tilbury was married twice. First to Arthur Frederick Lewis in June 1887, and later to L.E. Woodthorpe in 1904, who died on 8 April 1915.

Death

She died in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wo ...

in 1950 at the age of 86. Her grave is located at Chapel of the Pines Crematory.

Filmography

References

External links

* * *
Zeffie Tilbury
portrait at NYP Library
signed photograph
archived) English film actresses 1864 births 1950 deaths People from Paddington Actresses from London English stage actresses 20th-century English actresses British expatriate actresses in the United States {{England-film-actor-stub