Background

Ethnicity: Elsa's mother was of English ancestry, while her father was from Ireland.

Elsa Lanchester was born on October 28, 1902, in Lewisham, London, United Kingdom. She was the daughter of James "Shamus" Sullivan and Edith "Biddy" Lanchester, both of whom were considered Bohemian. Elsa's parents were very active members of the Social Democratic Federation (SDF) in a rather broad sense and did not believe in the institution of marriage and being tied to any conventions of legality for that matter.

Lanchester had a brother, Waldo Sullivan Lanchester, a puppeteer, who owned marionette company, first in Malvern, Worcestershire, and then in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Education

In her early years, namely in 1913, Elsa entered Isadora Duncan's School of Dance in Paris. However, she didn't like her mentor. Elsa didn't graduate from the school due to the start of World War I. She was sent back to the United Kingdom.

Career

Lanchester began her career as a college dance teacher in 1914. In 1918, she was appointed as a dance teacher at the Margaret Morris School. The same year, in 1918, Elsa helped create the Children's Theater in London and gave lessons for some years. Also, Elsa was part of a group of artists, "Cave of Harmony", performing many songs and short sketches in cabarets.

Elsa made her film debut in the film "The Scarlet Woman" in 1925. In addition, Lanchester starred with her husband, Charles Laughton, in such films, as "The Private Life of Henry VIII" (1933), "Rembrandt" (1936), "Vessel of Wrath" (1938), "Tales of Manhattan" (1942) and "Forever and a Day" (1943). In 1944, she appeared as an English charwoman in the fantasy war film "Passport to Destiny".

In 1946, Elsa assumed supporting roles in "The Spiral Staircase" and "The Razor's Edge". The following year, she appeared as the housekeeper in "The Bishop's Wife" with David Niven, Loretta Young and Cary Grant. In 1948's film, "The Big Clock", Lanchester assumed a comical role as an artist.

It's worth noting, that during the late 1940's and 1950's, Elsa appeared in small, but highly varied supporting roles in a number of films, while simultaneously appearing on stage at the Turnabout Theatre in Hollywood. She performed her solo vaudeville act in conjunction with a marionette show, singing somewhat off-colour songs.

In 1950, Lanchester played a blackmailing landlady in the film "Mystery Street" and, the same year, was Shelley Winters's travelling companion in the film "Frenchie". Lanchester appeared again with her husband in "Witness for the Prosecution" (1957), a screen version of Agatha Christie's 1953 play. Later, she starred as a witch in the film "Bell, Book and Candle" (1958) and also appeared in such films, as "Mary Poppins" (1964), "That Darn Cat!" (1965) and "Blackbeard's Ghost" (1968).

In 1965-1966, Elsa was a regular on John Forsythe's sitcom "The John Forsythe Show", 1965-1966, in the role of Miss Culver, the principal of a private girls' academy in San Francisco. Lanchester continued television work into the early 1970's, appearing as a recurring character in "Nanny and the Professor". Also, she sang a duet with Elvis Presley in the musical film comedy "Easy Come, Easy Go" (1967) and played Henrietta Stiles in the original version of "Willard" (1971).

Elsa made her last film in 1980's "Die Laughing".

It's also worth mentioning, that, in addition to her acting career, Elsa released three LP albums in the 1950's, including "Songs for a Shuttered Parlour", "Songs for a Smoke-Filled Room" and "Cockney London".

Achievements

• Elsa Lanchester was a famous actress, best known for her lead role in the sci-fi horror film "Bride of Frankenstein" (1935). It was a sequel to the hit film "Frankenstein" (1931), which was based on the popular novel of the same name by Mary Shelley.
  
  In 1938, Elsa received the National Board of Review Award for Best Acting in the film "Vessel Of Wrath". Later, in 1958, she attained the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in the film "Witness for the Prosecution".
  
  It's also worth mentioning, that, in 1950 and 1958, Elsa was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in such films, as "Come to the Stable" (1949) and "Witness for the Prosecution" (1957). Besides, it was in 1966, that the actress was nominated for the Golden Laurel Award for Supporting Performance, Female, in the film, titled "That Darn Cat!" (1965).

Works

More photos

• book

  • Elsa Lanchester Herself

    (The independent, iconoclastic actress reminisces about he...)

    1983
  • Charles Laughton and I 1938

• movie

  • Arnold

    (Upon his death, Arnold marries his lover, Karen, in spite...)

    1973
  • Naughty Marietta

    (In order to avoid a prearranged marriage, a rebellious Fr...)

    1935
  • Come to the Stable

    (Two nuns arrive unannounced in the small New England town...)

    1949
  • Pajama Party

    (Sent to Earth to prepare for an invasion, a Martian scout...)

    1964
  • Bell, Book and Candle

    (A modern-day witch likes her neighbor, but despises his f...)

    1958
  • Ladies in Retirement

    (The housekeeper to a retired actress tries at the same ti...)

    1941
  • The Spiral Staircase

    (In 1916, a shadowy serial killer is targeting women with ...)

    1946
  • Mystery Street

    (A small town policeman is assisted by a Harvard professor...)

    1950
  • Forever and a Day

    (During World War II, an American travels to Britain to se...)

    1943
  • The Beachcomber

    (In the Dutch islands, the sister of a pious missionary at...)

    1938
  • Rascal

    (A young boy's summer vacation is brightened by a special ...)

    1969
  • Witness For The Prosecution

    (A veteran British barrister must defend his client in a m...)

    1957
  • The Private Life of Henry VIII

    (King Henry VIII marries five more times after his divorce...)

    1933
  • Blackbeard's Ghost

    (A coach buys an antique bed warmer and inherits Blackbear...)

    1968
  • That Darn Cat!

    (After a kidnapped bank teller uses a neighbor's wandering...)

    1965
  • The Bride of Frankenstein

    (Mary Shelley reveals the main characters of her novel sur...)

    1935
  • 3 Ring Circus

    (Jerry and Pete are two friends with no money, looking for...)

    1954
  • Honeymoon Hotel

    (Jay Menlow is jilted at the altar by his fiancée, Cynthia...)

    1964
  • Rembrandt

    (The story of the famous painter at the height of his fame...)

    1936
  • The Private Life Of Don Juan

    (Don Juan is aging. He's arrived secretly in Seville after...)

    1934

• music

  • Sings Bawdy Cockney Songs 1968
  • Songs For A Smoke-Filled Room 1957

Religion

Elsa was an atheist.

Politics

It's known, that Elsa was a lifelong liberal Democratic Socialist like both of her parents. Together with her husband, Charles Laughton, she supported Adlai Stevenson's campaign during the 1952 presidential election.

Views

Quotations: "There is no such thing as a person, that nothing has happened to, and each person's story is as different as his fingertips."

"She looked as though butter wouldn't melt in her mouth - or anywhere else."

"Keep each person separate in your heart. Don't have two sex patterns, going at the same time. And don't ever join a conversation about something you know nothing about."

"I don't like acting and I never have liked acting and I never wanted to be an actress."

"Comedians on the stage are invariably suicidal, when they get home."

Personality

Elsa came to the United States and naturalized in 1950.

During the 2018 Halloween season, an image of Elsa, dressed in her famed Bride of Frankenstein costume, had been featured on the front cover of a set of individual Halloween cards, that were sold exclusively at Target stores throughout the United States.

Physical Characteristics: Shortly after the release of her autobiography, "Elsa Lanchester Herself" (1983), Elsa's health deteriorated. Within 30 months, she suffered two strokes, becoming totally incapacitated. She required constant care and was confined to bedrest.

Bronchopneumonia was the cause of Elsa's death.

Connections

It was in 1929, that Elsa married actor Charles Laughton. According to her own autobiography, Charles was homosexual. Reportedly, Charles's homosexuality wasn't the reason for the couple's childlessness. According to Maureen O'Hara, Laughton's co-star and friend, the reason he and his wife never had children was a botched abortion Elsa had early in her career of performing burlesque. Elsa, in her turn, admitted in her autobiography the fact, that she had two abortions in her early years. However, it's unknown, whether the second left her incapable of becoming pregnant again. Charles Higham, Elsa's biographer, claimed, that the couple just didn't want to have kids.

Father:

James "Shamus" Sullivan

James "Shamus" Sullivan was an Irish factory worker and an avid socialist.

Mother:

Edith "Biddy" Lanchester

Edith "Biddy" Lanchester was a British socialist, feminist and suffragette. She became well-known in 1895, when her family had her incarcerated in an asylum for planning to live with her lover, who was an Irish, working-class labourer. Lanchester later became secretary to Eleanor Marx.

husband:

Charles Laughton

Charles Laughton was a British stage and film actor.

Brother:

Waldo Sullivan Lanchester

Waldo Sullivan Lanchester was a British puppeteer, who founded the Lanchester Marionettes (1935-1962), a puppet theatre, that was based in Malvern and later in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Friend:

Maureen O'Hara

Maureen O'Hara was an Irish-American actress and singer.

mentor:

Isadora Duncan

Isadora Duncan was an American dancer, who performed to great acclaim throughout Europe.

References

• The Name Below the Title: 65 Classic Movie Character Actors From Hollywood's Golden Age This work features 65 of the best and most fun examples of the Hollywood character actor during Hollywood's most famous era from the 1930's through the 1950's.
  2018
• Real Reel Fast: A Vougue Look At Elsa Lanchester This is the second installment of a series, titled "Real Reel Fast". It is a thumb nail, birds eye view of the Stars of Hollywood, both past and present and presently what is to come.
  2016
• Elsa Lanchester's Official Website The site includes career/biographical information, photos, sounds and a monthly listing of Elsa's movies, showing on the United States cable stations.