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 Paddi ...
,
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
, England, Tilbury was the only child of the variety performer
Lydia Thompson
Lydia Thompson (born Eliza Thompson; 19 February 1838 – 17 November 1908), was an English dancer, comedian, actor and theatrical producer.
From 1852, as a teenager, she danced and performed in pantomimes, in the UK and then in Europe and soo ...
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 popula ...
, 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
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
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
The Theatre Royal, Brighton is a theatre in Brighton, England presenting a range of West End and touring musicals and plays, along with performances of opera and ballet.
History
In 1806 the Prince of Wales (later George IV) gave Royal Assent fo ...
, England.The Single Standard
''The Single Standard'' is a 1929 American romantic drama film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer directed by veteran John S. Robertson and starring Greta Garbo, Nils Asther, and Johnny Mack Brown.
This was Greta Garbo's fifteenth film and her second c ...
'', as the pitiful Grandma Joad in ''The Grapes of Wrath
''The Grapes of Wrath'' is an American realist novel written by John Steinbeck and published in 1939. The book won the National Book Award
and Pulitzer Prize for fiction, and it was cited prominently when Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize ...
'' and Grandma Lester in '' Tobacco Road''.
She appeared in over 70 films. Her earliest surviving silent film is the Valentino / Nazimova
Alla Nazimova (Russian: Алла Назимова; born Marem-Ides Leventon, Russian: Марем-Идес Левентон; June 3 Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._May_22.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>O ...
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
''Our Gang'' (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' or ''Hal Roach's Rascals'') is an American series of comedy short films chronicling a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. Created by film producer Hal Roach, also the ...
'' comedy '' Second Childhood.'' 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 Double act, comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–19 ...
film ''The Bohemian Girl
''The Bohemian Girl'' is an Irish Romantic opera composed by Michael William Balfe with a libretto by Alfred Bunn. The plot is loosely based on a Miguel de Cervantes' tale, ''La Gitanilla''.
The best-known aria from the piece is " I Dreamt I Dwe ...
''.
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 world' ...
in 1950 at the age of 86. Her grave is located at Chapel of the Pines Crematory
Chapel of the Pines Crematory is a crematory and columbarium located at 1605 South Catalina Street, Los Angeles, in the U.S. state of California, in the historic West Adams District a short distance southwest of Downtown. It is beside Angelus-Ros ...
.
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