Frieda Inescort
Encyclopedia
Frieda Inescort was a Scottish-born actress best known for creating the role of Sorel Bliss in Noel Coward
's play Hay Fever
.
(1936), The Letter (1940), The Trial of Mary Dugan
(1941), You'll Never Get Rich
(1941) and A Place in the Sun (1951).
She appeared with Laurence Olivier
and Greer Garson
as the conniving Caroline Bingley in the 1940 film version of Pride and Prejudice
.
at the age of 65. He had been working as a writer for the Saturday Review and was also involved in the translation of Europe
an classics into English
.
in the 1930s. Her disease accelerated after her husband's death, and she was using a wheelchair by the mid 1960s. On July 7, 1964, her estranged mother, British actress Elaine Inescourt, died in Brighton, England, aged 87.
Frieda Inescort worked as much as possible for the multiple sclerosis association. Often seen in the Hollywood area seated in her wheelchair, she collected donations outside supermarkets and in malls.
, aged 74, a disease she had battled since 1932.
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
's play Hay Fever
Hay Fever
Hay Fever is a comic play written by Noël Coward in 1924 and first produced in 1925 with Marie Tempest as the first Judith Bliss. Laura Hope Crews played the role in New York...
.
Hollywood
She moved to Hollywood and made her film debut in The Dark Angel (1935). Her other films include Mary of ScotlandMary of Scotland (film)
Mary of Scotland is a 1936 RKO film starring Katharine Hepburn as the 16th century ruler, Mary, Queen of Scots. Directed by John Ford, it is an adaptation of the 1933 Maxwell Anderson play by Dudley Nichols. The play starred Helen Hayes as Mary...
(1936), The Letter (1940), The Trial of Mary Dugan
The Trial of Mary Dugan
The Trial of Mary Dugan is a play written by Bayard Veiller.The melodrama concerns a sensational courtroom trial of a showgirl accused of killing of her millionaire lover. Her defense attorney is her brother, Jimmy Dugan. It was first presented on Broadway in 1927, with Ann Harding in the title...
(1941), You'll Never Get Rich
You'll Never Get Rich
You'll Never Get Rich is a 1941 Hollywood musical comedy film with a wartime theme starring Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, Robert Benchley, Cliff Nazarro, with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The film was directed by Sidney Lanfield...
(1941) and A Place in the Sun (1951).
She appeared with Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
and Greer Garson
Greer Garson
Greer Garson, CBE was a British-born actress who was very popular during World War II, being listed by the Motion Picture Herald as one of America's top ten box office draws in 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, and 1946. As one of MGM's major stars of the 1940s, Garson received seven Academy Award...
as the conniving Caroline Bingley in the 1940 film version of Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice (1940 film)
Pride and Prejudice is a 1940 film adaptation of Jane Austen's novel of the same name. Robert Z. Leonard directed, and Aldous Huxley served as one of the screenwriters of the film. It is adapted specifically from the stage adaptation by Helen Jerome in addition to Jane Austen's novel...
.
Husband's death
On August 2, 1961, she and her husband since 1926, Ben Ray Redman, dined out. Redman had been despondent for some time. Returning home, he went upstairs to bed. He then called Frieda, informing her that he was depressed over the state of the world and had taken pills. By the time the paramedics arrived, he had died, a suicideSuicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
at the age of 65. He had been working as a writer for the Saturday Review and was also involved in the translation of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an classics into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
.
Illness
Inescort had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosisMultiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...
in the 1930s. Her disease accelerated after her husband's death, and she was using a wheelchair by the mid 1960s. On July 7, 1964, her estranged mother, British actress Elaine Inescourt, died in Brighton, England, aged 87.
Frieda Inescort worked as much as possible for the multiple sclerosis association. Often seen in the Hollywood area seated in her wheelchair, she collected donations outside supermarkets and in malls.
Death
Frieda Inescort died in Woodland Hills, California, from multiple sclerosisMultiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...
, aged 74, a disease she had battled since 1932.