Lydia Bilbrook
Encyclopedia
Lydia Bilbrook was an English actress whose stage and film career spanned four decades. It is claimed that she was an illegitimate daughter of the actor Herbert Beerbohm Tree
. Bilbrook appeared in twenty-three films between 1916 and 1949.
The daughter of Lydia and Robert Walker Macbeth
, Bilbrook was born Phillis Macbeth in Somerset
.
In 1908 she appeared at the Comedy Theatre as Nellie Sellenger to the Mrs Dot of Marie Tempest
in Somerset Maugham's play Mrs Dot. The drama critic of The Times
judged Bilbrook's performance to be "flirtingly pleasant". In 1911 she appeared at the Savoy Theatre
in Where the Rainbow Ends with Charles Hawtrey and a young Noël Coward
, and in 1913 she played in The Great Adventure at the Kingsway Theatre. She created the role of Alice Hobson in the London production of Hobson’s Choice: A Lancashire Comedy in 1916 at the Apollo Theatre
.
Bilbrook married the actor Reginald Owen
in 1908; they divorced in 1923.
She appeared in the silent film
s A Place in the Sun (1916) and Smith (1917). In 1923 she toured America with Cyril Maude
and Mabel Terry-Lewis
in If Winter Comes, playing at Chicago
in April and New York
in the autumn. She remained in America after this tour and went on to appear in various films, including Mexican Spitfire Out West (1940), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
(1941), Father Takes a Wife (1941), Mexican Spitfire's Baby (1941), Mexican Spitfire at Sea (1942), Mexican Spitfire's Elephant (1942), Mexican Spitfire's Blessed Event (1943), Pistol Packin' Mama
(1943), The Spider Woman (1944), Passport to Destiny
(1944), The Picture of Dorian Gray
(1945), The Brighton Strangler (1945), Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid
(1948), and All Over the Town
(1949).
Bilbrook died in 1990 in Suffolk
, aged 101.
Herbert Beerbohm Tree
Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree was an English actor and theatre manager.Tree began performing in the 1870s. By 1887, he was managing the Haymarket Theatre, winning praise for adventurous programming and lavish productions, and starring in many of its productions. In 1899, he helped fund the...
. Bilbrook appeared in twenty-three films between 1916 and 1949.
Life and career
Robert Walker Macbeth
Robert Walker Macbeth was a Scottish painter, etcher and watercolourist, specialising in pastoral landscape and the rustic genre...
, Bilbrook was born Phillis Macbeth in Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
.
In 1908 she appeared at the Comedy Theatre as Nellie Sellenger to the Mrs Dot of Marie Tempest
Marie Tempest
Dame Marie Tempest DBE was an English singer and actress known as the "queen of her profession".Tempest became the most famous soprano in late Victorian light opera and Edwardian musical comedies. Later, she became a leading comic actress and toured widely in North America and elsewhere...
in Somerset Maugham's play Mrs Dot. The drama critic of The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
judged Bilbrook's performance to be "flirtingly pleasant". In 1911 she appeared at the Savoy Theatre
Savoy Theatre
The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre located in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre opened on 10 October 1881 and was built by Richard D'Oyly Carte on the site of the old Savoy Palace as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan,...
in Where the Rainbow Ends with Charles Hawtrey and a young Noël Coward
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...
, and in 1913 she played in The Great Adventure at the Kingsway Theatre. She created the role of Alice Hobson in the London production of Hobson’s Choice: A Lancashire Comedy in 1916 at the Apollo Theatre
Apollo Theatre
The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster. Designed by architect Lewin Sharp for owner Henry Lowenfield, and the fourth legitimate theatre to be constructed on the street, its doors opened on 21 February 1901 with the American...
.
Bilbrook married the actor Reginald Owen
Reginald Owen
John Reginald Owen was a British character actor. He was known for his many roles in British and American movies and later in television programs.-Personal:...
in 1908; they divorced in 1923.
She appeared in the silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
s A Place in the Sun (1916) and Smith (1917). In 1923 she toured America with Cyril Maude
Cyril Maude
Cyril Francis Maude was an English actor-manager.-Biography:Maude was born in London and educated at the Charterhouse School. In 1881, he was sent to Adelaide, South Australia, on the clipper ship City of Adelaide to regain his health...
and Mabel Terry-Lewis
Mabel Terry-Lewis
Mabel Gwynedd Terry-Lewis was a British actress and a member of the Terry-Gielgud dynasty of actors of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries....
in If Winter Comes, playing at Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
in April and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in the autumn. She remained in America after this tour and went on to appear in various films, including Mexican Spitfire Out West (1940), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941 film)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a 1941 horror film starring Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman and Lana Turner. Rather than being a new film version of the novel, it is a direct remake of the 1931 film of the same name, which differs greatly from the novel. The movie was based on Robert Louis Stevenson's...
(1941), Father Takes a Wife (1941), Mexican Spitfire's Baby (1941), Mexican Spitfire at Sea (1942), Mexican Spitfire's Elephant (1942), Mexican Spitfire's Blessed Event (1943), Pistol Packin' Mama
Pistol Packin' Mama
"Pistol Packin' Mama" is a 1943 song composed by Al Dexter. The song is notable in that it was the first number one on the Juke Box Folk Records chart, which would later be known as the Hot Country Songs chart...
(1943), The Spider Woman (1944), Passport to Destiny
Passport to Destiny
Passport to Destiny is a RKO Radio Pictures comedy adventure fantasy war film. It stars Elsa Lanchester in her only leading role as an English cleaning woman who, believing herself invulnerable by being protected by a magic eye amulet, single handedly travels to Nazi Germany to personally...
(1944), The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945 film)
The Picture of Dorian Gray is an American horror-drama film based on Oscar Wilde's 1891 novel of the same name. Released in March 1945 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the film is directed by Albert Lewin and stars George Sanders as Lord Henry Wotton and Hurd Hatfield as Dorian Gray...
(1945), The Brighton Strangler (1945), Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid
Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid
Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid is a 1948 fantasy film starring William Powell and Ann Blyth in the title roles. Irene Hervey played Mr. Peabody's wife.- Plot :...
(1948), and All Over the Town
All Over the Town
All Over the Town is a 1949 British comedy film directed by Derek N. Twist and starring Norman Wooland, Sarah Churchill and Cyril Cusack. A newspaper reporter in a small seaside town tries to use his paper to imrprove the community.-Cast:...
(1949).
Bilbrook died in 1990 in Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, aged 101.
External links
- Bilbrook on Complete Index to World Film
- Bilbrook on the National Portrait Gallery website
- http://iamachild.wordpress.com/2009/10/18/robert-walker-macbeth-1848-1910-scottish/Painting of Lydia Bilbrook with her mother by Robert Walker MacbethRobert Walker MacbethRobert Walker Macbeth was a Scottish painter, etcher and watercolourist, specialising in pastoral landscape and the rustic genre...
]