Zeffie Tilbury
Tilbury in 1913
Born
Zeffie Agnes Lydia Tilbury

(1863-11-20)20 November 1863
Died24 July 1950(1950-07-24) (aged 86)
Resting placeChapel of the Pines Crematory
OccupationActress
Years active1881–1942
Spouses
  • Arthur Frederick Lewis (m. 1887; div. 19??)
L. E. Woodthorpe
(m. 1904; died 1915)
RelativesClara T. Bracy(aunt)
Sidney Bracey(cousin)

Zeffie Agnes Lydia Tilbury (20 November 1863 – 24 July 1950) was an English-American actress.[1][2]

Early years

Born in Paddington, Middlesex, 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.[3][4][5] Her father died aged 26 in 1864; having borrowed an inexperienced horse, "All Fours", to participate in the South Essex Steeplechase at Brentwood, Essex, 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.[6][7]

Career

Cigarette card from the 1880s

Tilbury was known first on the London stage and on Broadway in New York City.[8] In 1881, she debuted on stage in Nine Points of the Law at the Theatre Royal, Brighton, England.[3]

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 Our Gang 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 film The Bohemian Girl.

Personal life

Tilbury was married twice. First to Arthur Frederick Lewis in West Derby in June 1887,[9] and later to L.E. Woodthorpe in 1904, who died on 8 April 1915.

In 1899 Zeffie had a painful accident:

Playgoers will be glad to learn that Miss Zeffie Tilbury is rapidly recovering from the severe burns she suffered from the bursting of a spirit lamp while devotedly nursing her mother, Miss Lydia Thompson.[10]

Death

She died in Los Angeles, California in 1950 at the age of 86.

Stage performances

This list was created from a search of advertisements and reviews in British newspapers.[11]

Year Play Role Genre Theatre
1881Nine Points of the LawTheatre Royal, Brighton
1884The Private SecretaryEva WebsterFarceGlobe
1885Ruth's RomanceComediettaOlympic
1886Turned UpSabinaMelodramatic Farcical ComedyComedy
CuriosityMrs Daisy BangerpushFarcical ComedyVaudeville
1887Pygmalion and GalateaCyniscaMythological ComedyTheatre Royal, Sheffield
Fazio; or The Italian Wife's RevengeAldabellaTragedyAlexandra, Liverpool
The Winter's TaleMopsaLyceum
1890[Title not known]Valerie De VauxMilitary ComedyAcademy of Music, Halifax, Nova Scotia
1893The Crust of SocietyGrand Opera House, Toronto
1894The IdlerSchiller, Chicago
1898Love Wisely; or The Setting of the Sun LucyOne-act PlayThe Avenue, London
She Stoops to ConquerMiss NevilleFarceTerry's
The School for ScandalLady SneerwellComedy of MannersTerry's
1899Counsel's OpinionMrs LovelaceA Legal Episode in One ActLyceum
1900The MeetingConstanceDuologueSt Martin's Town Hall
Henry VIsabel, Queen of FranceHistory PlayLyceum
1901Twelfth NightMariaHer Majesty's
MacaireAlineMelodramatic FarceHer Majesty's
The Red LampFeliseMelodramaGrand Theatre, Fulham
The Last of the DandiesLady CarrollbyFour-act PlayHer Majesty's
1902The Merry Wives of WindsorMistress QuicklyFarceHer Majesty's
1903The Merry Wives of WindsorMistress QuicklyFarceTouring America
1909The Passion FlowerSocial Life in New YorkTouring America
1911Everywoman and AnymanThe WomanVaudeville SketchWinter Garden, New York

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1917Blind Man's LuckMrs. Guerton
1919The AvalancheMrs. RuylerLost film
A Society ExileMrs. Stanley ShelbyLost film
1920Mothers of MenMrs. De La Motte
ClothesMrs. CathcartLost film
1921The Marriage of William AsheLady Tranmore
Big Game
CamillePrudence
1924Another ScandalBrownieLost film
1927The Night of LoveLady in WaitingUncredited
1929The Single StandardMrs. Handley
1930The Ship from ShanghaiLady Daley
1931Charlie Chan Carries OnMrs. LuceLost film
1933Made on BroadwayAunt AdaUncredited
Blind AdventureUncredited
1934Two AloneRogers' NeighborUncredited
Mystery LinerGranny Plimpton
Bachelor BaitMiss TurnerUncredited
1935Women Must DressPeg Martin
The Mystery of Edwin DroodThe Opium Woman
Werewolf of LondonMrs. Moncaster
Public Hero No. 1Deaf Woman in Scottsdale BarUncredited
StrandedOld HagUncredited
The Farmer Takes a WifeOld TownswomanUncredited
Alice AdamsMrs. DresserUncredited
Navy WifeBridge PlayerUncredited
The Last Days of PompeiiThe Wise Woman
Bad BoyDeaf WomanUncredited
1936The Bohemian GirlGypsy Queen
DesireAunt Olga
Second ChildhoodGrandmaShort
Parole!Molly SmithUncredited
The White AngelWoman Donating SheetsUncredited
Anthony AdverseOld Woman at ChaletUncredited
The Gorgeous HussyMrs. Daniel Beall
Give Me Your HeartEsther Warren
Old HutchElderly Woman in BankUncredited
CamilleOld Duchess Bidding 3750 FrancsUncredited
After the Thin ManAunt LucyUncredited
1937Under Cover of NightMrs. Nash
Bulldog Drummond EscapesJail Cell DrunkUncredited
Maid of SalemGoody Rogers
Midnight TaxiMrs. LaneUncredited
ParnellOld LadyUncredited
Rhythm in the CloudsMaggie Conway - the Duchess de Lovely
HideawayMrs. BeamishUncredited
Fit for a KingDuchess Louise - Reception GuestUncredited
Bulldog Drummond Comes BackEffie
It Happened in HollywoodMiss Gordon
Federal BulletsMrs. Crippen
1938Bulldog Drummond's PerilMrs. Weevens
KidnappedOld WomanUncredited
Hunted MenFlower WomanUncredited
Woman Against WomanGrandma
Marie AntoinetteDowager at Birth of DauphinUncredited
Block-HeadsDowager Seated Near Stairs(scenes deleted)
Arrest Bulldog DrummondAunt Meg
1939Boy TroubleMrs. Jepson
The Story of Alexander Graham BellMrs. Sanders
Tell No TalesMiss Mary
Lady of the TropicsWoman Congratulating ManonUncredited
BalalaikaPrincess Natalya Petrovna
1940Emergency SquadMrs. CobbUncredited
The Earl of ChicagoMiss NanaUncredited
The Grapes of WrathGrandma Joad
Comin' Round the MountainGranny Stokes
She Couldn't Say NoMa Hawkins
1941Tobacco RoadGrandma Lester
Sheriff of TombstoneGranny Carson
1942Flying with MusicFortune TellerUncredited, (final film role)

References

  1. Zeffie Tilbury profile at Probert Encyclopedia
  2. Zeffie Tilbury profile at Cinemorgue. Archived 2020-01-22 at the Wayback Machine
  3. 1 2 Nissen, Axel (2016). Accustomed to Her Face: Thirty-Five Character Actresses of Golden Age Hollywood. McFarland. p. 192. ISBN 9781476626062. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  4. Lydia Thompson: Queen of Burlesque, Kurt Ganzl, Routledge, 2002, p. 54
  5. My Life: Sixty Years' Recollections of Bohemian London, George R. Sims, Eveleigh Nash Co., 1917, p. 275
  6. Gänzl, Kurt. Lydia Thompson in Encyclopaedia of the Musical Theatre, Blackwell/Schirmer (1994)
  7. Lydia Thompson: Queen of Burlesque, Kurt Ganzl, Routledge, 2002, p. 59
  8. "Classical Plays: Souvenirs and Portraits", Rob Wilton Theatricalia
  9. GRO Marriage Index
  10. "Behind the Scenes". The People. London. 15 October 1899.
  11. "Search page". The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
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