Elsa Lanchester
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- October 28, 1902
- Died
- December 26, 1986 (aged 84)
- Birthplace
- Lewisham, London, England, UK
Biography
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
Known For
Photos
Filmography
Charmed Lives: A Family Romance
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Monster Madness: The Golden Age of the Horror Film
Movie · as Mary Shelley / The Monster's Mate (archive footage)
Famous Monster: Forrest J Ackerman
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
The American Nightmare
Movie · as Self
Universal Horror
Movie · as (archive footage)
Turnabout: The Story of the Yale Puppeteers
Movie · as Self
Commercial Entertainment Product
Movie · as The Monster's Bride
Frankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook
Movie · as Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley / The Monster's Mate
Hollywood Scandals and Tragedies
Movie · as (archive footage) (uncredited)
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Movie · as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Die Laughing
Movie · as Sophie
Murder by Death
Movie · as Jessica Marbles
Arnold
Movie · as Hester
Terror in the Wax Museum
Movie · as Julia Hawthorn
Willard
Movie · as Henrietta Stiles
Night Gallery
TV · 1 ep
Nanny and the Professor
TV · as Aunt Henrietta · 3 eps
My Dog, the Thief
Movie · as Mrs. Formby
Rascal
Movie · as Mrs. Satterfield
Me, Natalie
Movie · as Miss Dennison
In Name Only
Movie · as Gertrude Caruso
The Bill Cosby Show
TV · as Mrs. Wochuk · 2 eps
Then Came Bronson
TV · as Hattie Calter · 1 ep
Blackbeard's Ghost
Movie · as Emily Stowecroft
Here's Lucy
TV · as Mumsie Westcott · 1 ep
The Dick Cavett Show
TV · as Self - Guest · 2 eps
Easy Come, Easy Go
Movie · as Madame Neherina
Mondo Hollywood
Movie
Mannix
TV · as Portia Penhaven, Edna Barrington · 1 ep
That Darn Cat!
Movie · as Mrs. MacDougall
The John Forsythe Show
TV · as Margaret Culver · 29 eps
Mary Poppins
Movie · as Katie Nanna
Pajama Party
Movie · as Aunt Wendy
Honeymoon Hotel
Movie · as Chambermaid
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
TV · as Dr. Agnes Dabree · 1 ep
Burke's Law
TV · as Mrs. Ormsby, Bessie Mopes · 1 ep
Noah and the Flood
Movie · as Noah's wife
The Merv Griffin Show
TV · as Self · 3 eps
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
TV · as Aggie McGregor · 1 ep
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
TV · as Self · 2 eps
Ben Casey
TV · 1 ep
Follow the Sun
TV · 1 ep
Adventures in Paradise
TV · as Miss Creshaw · 1 ep
Startime
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Bell, Book and Candle
Movie · as Aunt Queenie Holroyd
Shirley Temple's Storybook
TV · as Mother Goose · 1 ep
Witness for the Prosecution
Movie · as Miss Plimsoll
Tonight Starring Jack Paar
TV · as Self · 1 ep
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
The Glass Slipper
Movie · as Widow Sonder
Alice in Wonderland
Movie · as Red Queen
Heidi
Movie · as Fräulein Rottenmeier
The 20th Century Fox Hour
TV · 1 ep
Hell's Half Acre
Movie · as Lida O'Reilly
3 Ring Circus
Movie · as The Bearded Lady
The Wonderful World of Disney
TV · as Mrs. Formby · 1 ep
The Girls of Pleasure Island
Movie · as Thelma
General Electric Theater
TV · as Hanna Winters · 1 ep
Androcles and the Lion
Movie · as Megaera
Dreamboat
Movie · as Mathilda Coffey
Les Miserables
Movie · as Madame Magloire
The Ford Television Theatre
TV · as Rosie Bowker · 1 ep
Omnibus
TV · 1 ep
I Love Lucy
TV · as Edna Grundy · 1 ep
Hallmark Hall of Fame
TV · as Red Queen · 1 ep
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
TV · as Betsey Monk, the Widow · 1 ep
Buccaneer's Girl
Movie · as Madame Brizar
Mystery Street
Movie · as Mrs. Smerrling
The Petty Girl
Movie · as Dr. Crutcher
Frenchie
Movie · as Countess
Lux Video Theatre
TV · as Emily, Miss Mabel · 1 ep
Robert Montgomery Presents
TV · 1 ep
The Inspector General
Movie · as Maria
The Secret Garden
Movie · as Martha
Come to the Stable
Movie · as Amelia Potts
The Ed Wynn Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
The Big Clock
Movie · as Louise Patterson
The Ed Sullivan Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Studio One
TV · as Jenny Pratt · 1 ep
The Bishop's Wife
Movie · as Matilda
Northwest Outpost
Movie · as Princess 'Tanya' Tatiana
The Spiral Staircase
Movie · as Mrs. Oates
The Razor's Edge
Movie · as Miss Keith
Passport to Destiny
Movie · as Ella Muggins
Golden Globe Awards
TV · as Self - Presenter · 1 ep
Lassie Come Home
Movie · as Mrs. Helen Carraclough
Thumbs Up
Movie · as Emily "Emmy" Ffinch
Forever and a Day
Movie · as Mamie
Tales of Manhattan
Movie · as Mrs. Smith
Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake
Movie · as Bristol Isabel
Ladies in Retirement
Movie · as Emily Creed
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
Movie · as Self
Vessel of Wrath
Movie · as Martha Jones
Rembrandt
Movie · as Hendrickje Stoffels
Bride of Frankenstein
Movie · as Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley / The Monster's Mate
Naughty Marietta
Movie · as Madame d'Annard
The Ghost Goes West
Movie · as Miss Shepperton
David Copperfield
Movie · as Clickett
The Private Life of Henry VIII
Movie · as Anne of Cleves
The Love Habit
Movie · as Matilde
Potiphar's Wife
Movie · as Thérèse
The Stronger Sex
Movie · as Thompson
The Officers' Mess
Movie · as Cora Melville
Ashes
Movie · as Girl
Comets
Movie · as Herself
Mr. Smith Wakes Up
Movie · as Their Daughter
Blue Bottles
Movie · as Elsa
The Constant Nymph
Movie · as Lady
Daydreams
Movie · as Elsa / Heroine in Dream Sequence
The Tonic
Movie · as Elsa
One of the Best
Movie · as Kitty
The Scarlet Woman: An Ecclesiastical Melodrama
Movie · as Beatrice de Carolle