Cicely Courtneidge

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Cicely Courtneidge (1975)

Dame Esmeralda Cicely Courtneidge DBE (born April 1, 1893 in Sydney , Australia , † April 26, 1980 in London - Putney ) was a British stage, film and television actress.

Live and act

The daughter of an actor couple was born during a theater tour of her father Robert Courtneidge (1859-1939) in Australia. A year later (1894) the family returned to England. Cicely went to school there and in Switzerland before she made her debut on stage at the tender age of 14. The attempt to train as a pianist at the Royal Academy of Music at almost the same time was unsuccessful. Initially, the young woman was filled in the subject of the lively and naive. Robert Courtneidge vigorously promoted his daughter's career, so that she, still not of legal age, was given leading roles in the early 1910s. During these years she was regularly seen in performances with her father at the top of the cast list. In 1913 she took part in the musical pleasure game “ The Pearl Girl ” at the side of the young artist Jack Hulbert , who was to become her husband in 1916. The marriage lasted for 62 years, until Hulbert's death, and was considered extremely happy. Hulbert and Courtneidge worked together in a plethora of theater productions in the coming decades and also appeared together in front of the camera in numerous films, especially from the 1930s.

The couple celebrated successes especially in revues in which Courtneidge was able to demonstrate her show talent, while Hulbert was responsible for the humor. Her style of presentation was praised as "exuberant", as "effervescent", but Courtneidge also appeared in classical plays. After Hulbert and his wife had also conquered Broadway in New York in 1925, the press raved about their show and described it as "beguiling" and "seductive". The 1930s were heavily influenced by her and Hulbert's film activity, while Cicely Courtneidge concentrated entirely on theater work during the Second World War and increasingly participated in troop support programs. Music revues and comedies also determined their repertoire here. In the 1950s in particular, the artist was now involved in classical spoken theater, and Cicely Courtneidge was seen in performances of The Joy of Living (1955), The Star Maker , The Bride and the Bachelor (both 1956) and Fool's Paradise (1959 ).

In the following decade, Cicely Courtneidge, who had also appeared in television plays since 1949, returned sporadically to film cameras. As an aging lesbian Mavis in the film adaptation of the novel The Indiscreet Room , she received an excellent review in the Times in 1962. In 1967 the Courtneidge / Hulbert couple celebrated their farewell performance in London with the play Dear Octopus at the Haymarket Theater , but in 1970 they went on another stage tour to South Africa ( Cape Town ). Two years later, Jack Hulbert and Cicely Courtneidge appeared together for the last time in a film: In the comedy film Not Now, Darling , the two 80-year-olds played - of course - a married couple. During a royal performance in honor of the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession to the throne, Dame Cicely Courtneidge, who was raised to the nobility in 1972, ended her acting career after 70 years at the side of her famous colleagues Ingrid Bergman , Wendy Hiller and Flora Robson . It was in the Golders Green Crematorium in London cremated , where his ashes is located.

Filmography (selection)

  • 1930: Elstree Calling
  • 1931: The Ghost Train
  • 1932: Happy Ever After
  • 1932: Jack's the Boy
  • 1933: Falling for You
  • 1933: Soldiers of the King
  • 1933: Aunt Sally
  • 1934: Things Are Looking Up
  • 1935: Me and Marlborough
  • 1935: The Perfect Gentleman
  • 1936: Everybody Dance
  • 1937: Take My Tip
  • 1940: Under Your Hat
  • 1949: Under the Counter (TV movie)
  • 1949: Her Excellency (TV movie)
  • 1952: Gay's the Word
  • 1955: Miss Tulip Stays the Night
  • 1960: The Spider's Web
  • 1962: The indiscreet Room (The L-Shaped Room)
  • 1964: Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines (Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines)
  • 1964–65: Compact (TV series)
  • 1965: Last Greetings from Uncle Joe (The Wrong Box)
  • 1969: Nothing but Trouble in the Depot (On the Buses) (TV series)
  • 1973: Not Now Darling

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Peter Waymark: "70 years on stage for Cicely Courtneidge"; Reprinted in: The Times , September 3, 1971, p. 14
  2. ^ Ephraim Katz : The Film Encyclopedia, Fourth Edition. Revised by Fred Klein and Ronald Dean Nolen. New York 2001, p. 302
  3. ↑ REVIEW FROM LONDON PROVES beguiling; Cicely Courtneidge's Character Roles the Gems of 'By the Way' - Jack Hulbert Also Gifted. In: The New York Times, December 29, 1925 ( online at nytimes.com ).
  4. ↑ Waymark, p. 14

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Courtneidge, Cicely
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Courtneidge, Esmeralda Cicely (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British stage, film and television actress
DATE OF BIRTH April 1, 1893
PLACE OF BIRTH Sydney , Australia
DATE OF DEATH April 26, 1980
Place of death London - Putney , United Kingdom