Lydia Bilbrook (born Phillis Lydia Macbeth; 6 May 1888 – 4 January 1990), sometimes credited as "Bilbrooke", was an English actress whose career spanned four decades, first as a stage performer in the West End, and later in films. She is best known to today's audiences as "Lady Ada Epping" opposite comedian

Leon Errol Leon Errol (born Leonce Errol Sims, July 3, 1881 – October 12, 1951) was an Australian-American comedian and actor in the United States, popular in the first half of the 20th century for his appearances in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in film ...

in the '' Mexican Spitfire'' movie comedies of the 1940s. She took her professional name from her home town of Bilbrook. She made her first stage appearance in 1906 and her last in 1924. She created roles in '' Where the Rainbow Ends'' (1911), '' The Great Adventure'' (1913), and '' Dear Brutus'' (1917). She played the role of Alice Hobson in the first London production of '' Hobson’s Choice'' (1916). She retired from the stage after her second marriage, in 1924, but appeared in several films between 1940 and 1949, most of them made during her residence in the US during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and early postwar years.

Life and career

Early years

Bilbrook was born Phillis Lydia Macbeth, in Billbrook, Somerset, daughter of the painter Robert Walker Macbeth and his wife Lydia Esther, ''née'' Bates.Parker, Gaye and Herbert, p. 207"Phyllis Lydia MacBeth"
Ancestry UK. Retrieved 31 August 2021 She was a student at

Herbert Beerbohm Tree Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree (17 December 1852 – 2 July 1917) was an English actor and Actor-manager, theatre manager. Tree began performing in the 1870s. By 1887, he was managing the Haymarket Theatre in the West End theatre, West End, winning ...

's Academy of Dramatic Art (later the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art). In October 1906, she appeared with Tree on tour in Kinsey Peile's adaption of

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...

's ''The Man Who Was''.

Stage career

In May 1907, Bilbrook (spelling her stage surname as "Bilbrooke") made her first appearance on the London stage, at the

Duke of York's Theatre The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by ...

, in the role of the Countess Carina in Robert Marshall's comedy ''A Royal Family'', starring

Henry Ainley Henry Hinchliffe Ainley (21 August 1879 – 31 October 1945) was an English actor. Life and career Early years Ainley was born in Morley, West Yorkshire, Morley, near Leeds, on 21 August 1879, the only son and eldest child of Richard Ainley (18 ...

and Alexandra Carlisle. She appeared at the Comedy Theatre in December 1907 as Tiny Montague in ''Angela'', a farce by Georges Duval and Cosmo Gordon-Lennox, starring

Allan Aynesworth Edward Henry Abbot-Anderson (14 April 1864, Sandhurst, Berkshire – 22 August 1959, Camberley, Surrey), known professionally as Allan Aynesworth, was an English actor and producer. His career spanned more than six decades, from 1887 to 194 ...

and Marie Tempest. In 1908 she appeared at the Comedy Theatre as Nellie Sellenger to Tempest's Mrs Dot in Somerset Maugham's play ''Mrs Dot''. The drama critic of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' judged Bilbrook's performance to be "flirtingly pleasant". She then joined George Alexander's company at the

St James's Theatre The St James's Theatre was in King Street, St James's, King Street, St James's, London. It opened in 1835 and was demolished in 1957. The theatre was conceived by and built for a popular singer, John Braham (tenor), John Braham; it lost mone ...

, where in February 1909 she played the Countess of Rassendyl in ''The Prisoner of Zenda'', and subsequently Princess Flavia in the same play. Also for Alexander's company she played Madge Rockingham in ''Colonel Smith''. In 1909 she married the actor Reginald Owen. They had one child, a daughter, Blossom (1911–1927). The marriage was later dissolved. Between September 1900 and October 1910 Bilbrook was in five West End productions – as Helene in ''Madame X'', Mrs Otto Rosenberg in ''Smith'', Ethel Morley in ''The House of Temperley'', Adele in ''A Bolt from the Blue'', and Odette de Versannes in ''Inconstant George''. In September 1911 she appeared as Stephanie Julius in the comedy ''The Great Name'' with Charles Hawtrey (and, in a small role, the boy actor

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

). During the 1911–12 Christmas season she appeared as Mrs Carey at the

Savoy Theatre The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre was designed by C. J. Phipps for Richard D'Oyly Carte and opened on 10 October 1881 on a site previously occupied by the Savoy ...

in Hawtrey's production of a new "fairy play" for children, '' Where the Rainbow Ends'', with a largely juvenile cast that included Coward, Philip Tonge and Esmé Wynne. Between 1911 and her retirement from the stage in 1924, Bilbrook appeared in 14 more West End productions and one on Broadway. Among her roles were Honoria Looe in

Arnold Bennett Enoch Arnold Bennett (27 May 1867 – 27 March 1931) was an English author, best known as a novelist, who wrote prolifically. Between the 1890s and the 1930s he completed 34 novels, seven volumes of short stories, 13 plays (some in collaborati ...

's long-running comedy '' The Great Adventure'' (1913), Alice Hobson in the London production of '' Hobson’s Choice'' (1916), and Lady Caroline Laney in

J. M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succe ...

's '' Dear Brutus'' (1917). In 1923 she toured America with Cyril Maude and

Mabel Terry-Lewis Mabel Gwynedd Terry-Lewis (born as Mabel Gwynedd Lewis) ( 28 October 1872 – 28 November 1957) was an English actress and a member of the Terry-Gielgud dynasty of actors of the 19th and 20th centuries. After a successful career in her twe ...

, playing Lady Tybar in ''If Winter Comes'', playing at

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

in April and

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in the autumn. At the Shaftesbury Theatre in April 1924, Bilbrook appeared in her final stage role, Mrs Cattestock, in ''A Perfect Fit'', a comedy by

Arthur Wimperis Arthur Harold Wimperis (3 December 1874 – 14 October 1953) was an English playwright, lyricist and screenwriter, who contributed lyrics and libretti to popular Edwardian musical comedies written for the stage. But, with the advent of talking f ...

and Harry M. Vernon. In October 1924, in Paris, she married a journalist, George Harrison Brown (1893–1977). She did not appear on stage after her second marriage. The couple had one child, Felicity, born in 1928.

Later career: films

Bilbrook had appeared in the

silent film A silent film is a film without 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, w ...

s ''A Place in the Sun'' (1916) and ''Smith'' (1917), but her main film career began after she moved to the US in 1939. Her American film roles included Lady Copewell in '' Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' (1941), Lady Epping in five of the popular RKO "Mexican Spitfire" comedies with

(1940–43), Susan in the Sherlock Holmes mystery '' The Spider Woman'' (1943), Millie in '' Passport to Destiny'' (1944), Mrs Manby in ''

The Brighton Strangler ''The Brighton Strangler'' is a 1945 American crime film directed by Max Nosseck and starring John Loder (actor), John Loder, June Duprez and Michael St. Angel. Plot During The Blitz in World War II, wartime London, an actor suffers concussion an ...

'' (1945) and Mrs Vane in ''

The Picture of Dorian Gray ''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' is an 1890 philosophical fiction and Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish writer Oscar Wilde. A shorter novella-length version was published in the July 1890 issue of the American period ...

'' (1945). In 1949 she appeared in a British film, ''

All Over the Town ''All Over the Town'' is a 1949 British comedy film directed by Derek N. Twist and starring Norman Wooland, Sarah Churchill and Cyril Cusack. It was written by Michael Gordon and Twist based on the 1947 novel by R. F. Delderfield. Plot ...

'', in the role of Mrs Vane. Bilbrook died at Bromham Hall, Bromham, Bedfordshire on 4 January 1990 aged 101."BROWN Phillis Lydia HARRISON- of Bromham Hall Bromham Bedford died 4 January 1990… not exceeding £100000" in ''Wills and Administrations 1991 (England and Wales)'' (1992), p. 1135

References

Sources

* * *

External links

*
Bilbrook
on the National Portrait Gallery website
Painting of Lydia Bilbrook with her mother
by Robert Walker Macbeth {{DEFAULTSORT:Bilbrook, Lydia 1888 births 1990 deaths 20th-century English actresses Actresses from Somerset English film actresses English stage actresses English women centenarians Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art