Elsa Lanchester
Acting
Born October 28, 1902, Lewisham, London, England, UK
Elsa Sullivan Lanchester (October 28, 1902 – December 26, 1986) was a British actress with a long career in theatre, film and television and former dancer. Lanchester studied dance as a child and after the First World War 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). Laughton's success in American films resulted in the couple moving to Hollywood, where Lanchester played small film roles. Her role as the bride in Bride of Frankenstein (1935), brought her recognition, and came to be one of the roles most closely associated with her throughout her life. Lanchester 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). Description above from the Wikipedia article Elsa Lanchester, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia
Filmography
- 2014Monster Madness: The Golden Age of the Horror Film — Mary Shelley / The Monster's Mate (archive footage)
- 1998Universal Horror — (archive footage)
- 1992Commercial Entertainment Product — The Monster's Bride
- 1991Frankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook — Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley / The Monster's Mate
- 1988Hollywood Scandals and Tragedies — (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1980Die Laughing — Sophie
- 1976Murder by Death — Jessica Marbles
- 1973Arnold — Hester
- 1973Terror in the Wax Museum — Julia Hawthorn
- 1971Willard — Henrietta Stiles
- Nanny and the Professor — Aunt Henrietta
- Night Gallery
- 1969In Name Only — Gertrude Caruso
- 1969Me, Natalie — Miss Dennison
- 1969My Dog, the Thief — Mrs. Formby
- 1969Rascal — Mrs. Satterfield
- The Bill Cosby Show — Mrs. Wochuk
- Then Came Bronson — Hattie Calter
- 1968Blackbeard's Ghost — Emily Stowecroft
- Here's Lucy — Mumsie Westcott
- 1967Easy Come, Easy Go — Madame Neherina
- Mannix — Portia Penhaven, Edna Barrington
- 1967Mondo Hollywood
- 1965That Darn Cat! — Mrs. MacDougall
- The John Forsythe Show — Margaret Culver
- 1964Honeymoon Hotel — Chambermaid
- 1964Mary Poppins — Katie Nanna
- 1964Pajama Party — Aunt Wendy
- The Man from U.N.C.L.E. — Dr. Agnes Dabree
- Burke's Law — Mrs. Ormsby, Bessie Mopes
- 1962Noah and the Flood — Noah's wife
- The Alfred Hitchcock Hour — Aggie McGregor
- Ben Casey
- Follow the Sun
- Adventures in Paradise — Miss Creshaw
- 1958Bell, Book and Candle — Aunt Queenie Holroyd
- Shirley Temple's Storybook — Mother Goose
- 1957Witness for the Prosecution — Miss Plimsoll
- 1955Alice in Wonderland — Red Queen
- 1955Heidi — Fräulein Rottenmeier
- The 20th Century Fox Hour
- 1955The Glass Slipper — Widow Sonder
- 19543 Ring Circus — The Bearded Lady
- 1954Hell's Half Acre — Lida O'Reilly
- The Wonderful World of Disney — Mrs. Formby
- General Electric Theater — Hanna Winters
- 1953The Girls of Pleasure Island — Thelma
- 1952Androcles and the Lion — Megaera
- 1952Dreamboat — Mathilda Coffey
- 1952Les Miserables — Madame Magloire
- Omnibus
- The Ford Television Theatre — Rosie Bowker
- Hallmark Hall of Fame — Red Queen
- I Love Lucy — Edna Grundy
- Schlitz Playhouse of Stars — Betsey Monk, the Widow
- 1950Buccaneer's Girl — Madame Brizar
- 1950Frenchie — Countess
- Lux Video Theatre — Emily, Miss Mabel
- 1950Mystery Street — Mrs. Smerrling
- Robert Montgomery Presents
- 1950The Petty Girl — Dr. Crutcher
- 1949Come to the Stable — Amelia Potts
- 1949The Inspector General — Maria
- 1949The Secret Garden — Martha
- Studio One — Jenny Pratt
- 1948The Big Clock — Louise Patterson
- 1947Northwest Outpost — Princess 'Tanya' Tatiana
- 1947The Bishop's Wife — Matilda
- 1946The Razor's Edge — Miss Keith
- 1946The Spiral Staircase — Mrs. Oates
- 1944Passport to Destiny — Ella Muggins
- 1943Forever and a Day — Mamie
- 1943Lassie Come Home — Mrs. Helen Carraclough
- 1943Thumbs Up — Emily "Emmy" Ffinch
- 1942Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake — Bristol Isabel
- 1942Tales of Manhattan — Mrs. Smith
- 1941Ladies in Retirement — Emily Creed
- 1938Vessel of Wrath — Martha Jones
- 1936Rembrandt — Hendrickje Stoffels
- 1935Bride of Frankenstein — Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley / The Monster's Mate
- 1935David Copperfield — Clickett
- 1935Naughty Marietta — Madame d'Annard
- 1935The Ghost Goes West — Miss Shepperton
- 1933The Private Life of Henry VIII — Anne of Cleves
- 1931Potiphar's Wife — Thérèse
- 1931The Love Habit — Matilde
- 1931The Officers' Mess — Cora Melville
- 1931The Stronger Sex — Thompson
- 1930Ashes — Girl
- 1929Mr. Smith Wakes Up — Their Daughter
- 1928Blue Bottles — Elsa
- 1928Daydreams — Elsa / Heroine in Dream Sequence
- 1928The Constant Nymph — Lady
- 1928The Tonic — Elsa
- 1927One of the Best — Kitty
- 1924The Scarlet Woman: An Ecclesiastical Melodrama — Beatrice de Carolle
Appearances as themselves (17)
- 2028Charmed Lives: A Family Romance — Self (archive footage)
- 2018Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood — Self (archive footage)
- 2007Famous Monster: Forrest J Ackerman — Self (archive footage)
- 2000The American Nightmare — Self
- 1993Turnabout: The Story of the Yale Puppeteers — Self
- 1983Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage — Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
- The Dick Cavett Show — Self - Guest
- The Merv Griffin Show — Self
- The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson — Self
- Startime — Self
- Tonight Starring Jack Paar — Self
- The Dinah Shore Chevy Show — Self
- The Ed Wynn Show — Self
- The Ed Sullivan Show — Self
- Golden Globe Awards — Self - Presenter
- 1940Cavalcade of the Academy Awards — Self
- 1930Comets — Herself