Beatrice Lillie(1894-1989)
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Dubbed "the funniest woman in the world", comedienne Beatrice Lillie
was born the daughter of a Canadian government official and grew up in
Toronto. She sang in a family trio act with her mother, Lucy, and her
piano-playing older sister, Muriel. Times were hard and the ambitious
mother eventually took the girls to England to test the waters. In
1914, Bea made her solo debut in London's West End and was an immediate
hit with audiences. A valuable marquee player as a droll revue and
stage artiste, she skillfully interwove sketches, songs and monologues
with parody and witty satire. In 1924, she returned to America and was
an instant success on Broadway, thus becoming the toast of two
continents. For the next decade, she worked with the top stage
headliners of her day, including
Gertrude Lawrence,
Bert Lahr and
Jack Haley.
Noël Coward and
Cole Porter wrote songs and even shows for
her. A top radio and comedy recording artist to boot, Bea's success in
films was surprisingly limited, although she did achieve some
recognition in such productions as
Exit Smiling (1926) and
Doctor Rhythm (1938). During the Second
World War, Bea became a favourite performer with the troops and, in her
post-war years, toured with her own show "An Evening with Beatrice
Lillie". Her rather eccentric persona worked beautifully on Broadway
and, in 1958, she replaced
Rosalind Russell in "Auntie Mame". In
1964, she took on the role of "Madame Arcati" in the musical version of
"Blithe Spirit", entitled "High Spirits". This was to be her last
staged musical. Sadly, her style grew passé and outdated in the Vietnam
era, and she quickly faded from view after a movie appearance in
Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967).
At this point, she had already begun to show early signs of Alzheimer's
disease, although she managed to publish her biography in 1973. A year
later, Bea suffered the first of two strokes and lived the next decade
and a half in virtual seclusion. She died in 1989 at age 94.
