Elsa Lanchester

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Birth Name: Elizabeth Lanchester Sullivan

Born: 28 October 1902 Died: 26 December 1986

Country of origin: United Kingdom

Height: 5' 5"

Relationship Status: Married

Partner: Charles Laughton

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Elsa Lanchester sings "Don't Tell My Mother I'm Living in Sin"

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Description: Elsa Sullivan Lanchester (28 October 1902 – 26 December 1986) was an English-American character actress with a long career in theatre, film and television. Lanchester studied dance as a child and after World War I began performing in theatre and cabaret, where she established her career over the following decade. She met the actor Charles Laughton in 1927, and they were married two years later. She began playing small roles in British films, including the role of Anne of Cleves with Laughton in The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933). His success in American films resulted in the couple moving to Hollywood, where Lanchester p Elsa Sullivan Lanchester (28 October 1902 – 26 December 1986) was an English-American character actress with a long career in theatre, film and television.

Lanchester studied dance as a child and after World War I began performing in theatre and cabaret, where she established her career over the following decade. She met the actor Charles Laughton in 1927, and they were married two years later. She began playing small roles in British films, including the role of Anne of Cleves with Laughton in The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933). His success in American films resulted in the couple moving to Hollywood, where Lanchester played small film roles.

Her role as the title character in Bride of Frankenstein (1935) brought her recognition. She played supporting roles through the 1940s and 1950s. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Come to the Stable (1949) and Witness for the Prosecution (1957), the last of twelve films in which she appeared with Laughton. Following Laughton's death in 1962, Lanchester resumed her career with appearances in such Disney films as Mary Poppins (1964), That Darn Cat! (1965) and Blackbeard's Ghost (1968). The horror film Willard (1971) was highly successful, and one of her last roles was in Murder By Death (1976).

In March 1983, Lanchester released her autobiography, entitled Elsa Lanchester Herself. In the book she alleges that she and Charles Laughton never had children because Laughton was homosexual. Maureen O'Hara, a friend and co-star of Laughton, denied this was the reason for the couple's childlessness. She claimed Laughton had told her that the reason he and his wife never had children was because of a botched abortion Lanchester had early in her career while performing burlesque. Lanchester admitted in her autobiography that she had had two abortions in her youth (one of whom was sired by Laughton), but it is not clear if these left her incapable of becoming pregnant again. The two women did not like each other. Lanchester once said of O'Hara, "She looks as though butter wouldn't melt in her mouth, or anywhere else."

Not long after the release of her autobiography, Lanchester's health took a turn for the worse. Within 30 months, she suffered two strokes, becoming totally incapacitated and requiring constant care. She was confined to bed. In March 1986, the Motion Picture and Television Fund filed to become conservator of Lanchester and her estate which was valued at $900,000.

Lanchester died in Woodland Hills, California on 26 December 1986, aged 84, at the Motion Picture Hospital from bronchopneumonia. Her body was cremated on 5 January 1987, at the Chapel of the Pines in Los Angeles and her ashes scattered over the Pacific Ocean. ... (more)

Tags: English (3), Born 1902 (3), Actress (3), British (3), Died 1986 (2), 1950s (1), 1960s (1), 1970s (1), 1930s (1), 1940s (1), American (1), Female (1), Deceased (1), Tv Actress (1), Supporting Actress (1), Stage Actress (1), Died Aged 84 (1), Oscar Nominated Actress (1)

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The Nice Guys (1976) (7 movies items)

"Judith Kuttner!"

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Oscars 1936 Winners (My Version) (20 movies items)

"Best Supporting Actress! Winner: Elsa Lanchester, The Bride of Frankenstein! Nominees: Alice Brady - Gold Diggers of 1935 Olivia de Havilland - Captain Blood Margot Grahame - The Informer Merle Oberon - The Scarlet Pimpernel"


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