Auriol Lee
Encyclopedia
Auriol Lee was a popular British stage actress who became a successful West End
and Broadway
theatrical producer and director.
. Auriol was educated both in England and at schools in Europe where she also received her training for the stage at La Monnaie
in Brussels before making her London debut at around the age of twenty.
Auriol made her Broadway debut in November, 1903 with the Forbes-Robertson Company
in Kipling’s
The Light that Failed
. The previous month, while her troupe was in Boston, she played a round of golf with Alec Campbell, the golf pro at a prestigious Country Club in Brookline
. Campbell later told the press that he was forced to play his best game to compensate for the handicap
he had allowed her.
She remained active on Broadway as a performer until 1930 while dividing her time between America and Europe appearing in a mix of classical and modern plays. Towards the end of the 1920s Auriol began to transition away from acting to producing and directing plays.
Over the remainder of her career she had a close working relationship with British playwright John Van Druten, directing all his Broadway productions that fell between 1931 and her death some ten years later. Their most successful collaborations over this time were, There's Always Juliet (1932), The Distaff Side (1935), and Old Acquaintance
(1940/41). The highlight of her career came with her staging the London production of Merton Hodge’s
The Wind and the Rain which closed in 1935 after a near three year run.
Auriol was married to British film actor Frederick Lloyd
for ten years before divorcing in 1922. Around this time she took an interest in aviation and became the first woman pilot to cross the Equator while flying over Africa. She was also once awarded a prize for flying 1,000 miles across the Mediterranean Sea
film Suspicion
and pay Van Druten a visit at his Southern California ranch. She had once told Van Druten that she wanted to be buried where she died and as she wished was interred at Fairlawn Burial Park in Hutchinson. At the time of Auriol’s death her only close relatives were a sister and a niece, actress Virginia Field
West End of London
The West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings, and entertainment . Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...
and Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
theatrical producer and director.
Biography
She was born in London’s St, George district, the daughter of Robert and Katie Lee. Auriol Lee’s father was a medical doctor who, according to her New York Times obituary, was a distant relative of Robert E. LeeRobert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
. Auriol was educated both in England and at schools in Europe where she also received her training for the stage at La Monnaie
La Monnaie
Le Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie , or the Koninklijke Muntschouwburg is a theatre in Brussels, Belgium....
in Brussels before making her London debut at around the age of twenty.
Auriol made her Broadway debut in November, 1903 with the Forbes-Robertson Company
Johnston Forbes-Robertson
Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson was an English actor and theatre manager. He was considered the finest Hamlet of the nineteenth century and one of the finest actors of his time, despite his dislike of the job and his lifelong belief that he was temperamentally unsuited to acting.-Early life:Born in...
in Kipling’s
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
The Light that Failed
The Light that Failed
The Light That Failed is a novel by Rudyard Kipling that was first published in 1890 in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine. Most of the novel is set in London, but many important events throughout the story occur in Sudan or India. The Light that Failed follows the life of Dick Heldar, a painter who...
. The previous month, while her troupe was in Boston, she played a round of golf with Alec Campbell, the golf pro at a prestigious Country Club in Brookline
Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, which borders on the cities of Boston and Newton. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 58,732.-Etymology:...
. Campbell later told the press that he was forced to play his best game to compensate for the handicap
Golf handicap
A handicap is a numerical measure of an amateur golfer's playing ability based on the tees played for a given course. It is used to calculate a net score from the number of strokes actually played, thus allowing players of different proficiency to play against each other on somewhat equal terms...
he had allowed her.
She remained active on Broadway as a performer until 1930 while dividing her time between America and Europe appearing in a mix of classical and modern plays. Towards the end of the 1920s Auriol began to transition away from acting to producing and directing plays.
Over the remainder of her career she had a close working relationship with British playwright John Van Druten, directing all his Broadway productions that fell between 1931 and her death some ten years later. Their most successful collaborations over this time were, There's Always Juliet (1932), The Distaff Side (1935), and Old Acquaintance
Old Acquaintance
Old Acquaintance is a 1943 film drama made by Warner Bros. It was directed by Vincent Sherman and produced by Henry Blanke with Jack L. Warner as executive producer from a screenplay by John Van Druten, Lenore Coffee and Edmund Goulding based on Van Druten's play.The film starred Bette Davis and...
(1940/41). The highlight of her career came with her staging the London production of Merton Hodge’s
Merton Hodge
Merton Emerton Hodge was a playwright, actor and medical practitioner.Born in Taruheru, Poverty Bay, New Zealand, he studied at Kings College in Auckland, Otago Medical School in 1925, graduated in 1928 , completed post-graduate studies at Edinburgh University.As well as continuing his medical...
The Wind and the Rain which closed in 1935 after a near three year run.
Auriol was married to British film actor Frederick Lloyd
Frederick Lloyd
Frederick Lloyd was a British film actor. He appeared as Doctor Watson in the 1932 film The Hound of the Baskervilles.Lloyd was married to actress Auriol Lee from 1911 to 1922...
for ten years before divorcing in 1922. Around this time she took an interest in aviation and became the first woman pilot to cross the Equator while flying over Africa. She was also once awarded a prize for flying 1,000 miles across the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
Death
Auriol Lee was killed in a automobile accident in or near Hutchinson, Kansas on July 2, 1941. She was returning to New York from Hollywood where she had gone to play Isobel Sedbusk in Alfred Hitchcock'sAlfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
film Suspicion
Suspicion (film)
Suspicion is a romantic psychological thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring Cary Grant and Joan Fontaine as a married couple. It also stars Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Nigel Bruce, Dame May Whitty, Isabel Jeans, Heather Angel, and Leo G...
and pay Van Druten a visit at his Southern California ranch. She had once told Van Druten that she wanted to be buried where she died and as she wished was interred at Fairlawn Burial Park in Hutchinson. At the time of Auriol’s death her only close relatives were a sister and a niece, actress Virginia Field
Virginia Field
Virginia Field was a British-born film actress.Born Margaret Cynthia Field in London, her father was the judge of England's Leicester County Court Circuit. Her mother was a cousin of Robert E...