Lillian Fontaine

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Lillian Fontaine (born June 11, 1886 in Reading , Berkshire , United Kingdom as Lilian Augusta Ruse , † February 20, 1975 in Santa Barbara , California ) was a British actress and the mother of actresses Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine .

Life

Lillian Fontaine was born Lilian Augusta Ruse on June 11, 1886 in Reading, England. At the age of 13 she received a music scholarship from Reading College and later attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London .

In 1914 she married the British patent attorney Walter Augustus de Havilland (1872–1968), who worked in Japan . Their daughter Olivia de Havilland was born in Tokyo on July 1, 1916, and their second daughter, Joan Fontaine , was born on October 22, 1917 . In 1919 Lillian moved with her daughters to Saratoga, California . The de Havillands marriage was marked by affairs and divorced in 1925. Shortly afterwards, Lillian married department store manager George M. Fontaine.

Fontaine began her film career in the mid-1940s, when her two daughters were movie stars in Hollywood, and starred in Billy Wilder's drama The Lost Weekend (1945) and The Unruly Wife (1947) , among others . In Ivy (1947) and The Man with Two Women (1953) she was seen with her daughter Joan Fontaine. In the 1950s Fontaine had a few appearances in television series before she withdrew completely from the film business in 1957.

Lillian Fontaine died on February 20, 1975 in Santa Barbara.

Filmography

  • 1945: The Lost Weekend (The Lost Weekend)
  • 1946: The Locket
  • 1947: The Unruly Wife (Suddenly It's Spring)
  • 1947: Time Out of Mind
  • 1947: The Imperfect Lady
  • 1947: Ivy
  • 1953: The Man with the Two Women (The Bigamist)
  • 1954: Waterfront (TV series)
  • 1955: Studio 57 (TV series)
  • 1955: Schlitz Playhouse (TV series)
  • 1956: Passport to Danger (TV series)
  • 1957: Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans (TV series)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The Pittsburgh Press, February 22, 1975, accessed December 22, 2013.
  2. ↑ Actress from the 1940s dies at 96 The Washington Post, accessed December 22, 2013.
  3. ^ Joan Fontaine dies at 96 The New York Times, accessed December 22, 2013.
personal data
SURNAME Fontaine, Lillian
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ruse, Lilian Augusta (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British actress
DATE OF BIRTH June 11, 1886
PLACE OF BIRTH Reading , Berkshire , United Kingdom
DATE OF DEATH 20th February 1975
Place of death Santa Barbara , California