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
Movie | Charmed Lives: A Family Romance | Self (archive footage) | 2023-07-19 |
Movie | Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood | Self (archive footage) | 2018-07-27 |
Movie | Monster Madness: The Golden Age of the Horror Film | Mary Shelley / The Monster's Mate (archive footage) | 2014-08-01 |
Movie | Cinema's Exiles: From Hitler to Hollywood | Self (archive footage) | 2009-01-01 |
Movie | Famous Monster: Forrest J Ackerman | Self (archive footage) | 2007-05-16 |
Movie | The American Nightmare | Self | 2000-09-11 |
Movie | Universal Horror | (archive footage) | 1998-10-08 |
Movie | Turnabout: The Story of the Yale Puppeteers | Self | 1993-10-25 |
Movie | Commercial Entertainment Product | The Monster's Bride | 1992-11-24 |
Movie | Frankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook | Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley / The Monster's Mate | 1991-01-01 |
Movie | Terror in the Aisles | The Monster's Mate (Archive Footage) | 1984-10-26 |
Movie | Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage | Self (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1983-02-25 |
Movie | Die Laughing | Sophie | 1980-04-01 |
Movie | Murder by Death | Jessica Marbles | 1976-06-23 |
Movie | Terror in the Wax Museum | Julia Hawthorn | 1973-05-02 |
Movie | Arnold | Hester | 1973-11-16 |
Movie | Willard | Henrietta Stiles | 1971-07-30 |
Series | Nanny and the Professor | Aunt Henrietta | 1970-01-21 |
Series | Night Gallery | Unknown | 1970-12-16 |
Movie | Me, Natalie | Miss Dennison | 1969-07-13 |
Movie | Rascal | Mrs. Satterfield | 1969-06-11 |
Series | The Bill Cosby Show | Mrs. Wochuk | 1969-09-14 |
Movie | In Name Only | Gertrude Caruso | 1969-11-25 |
Series | Then Came Bronson | Unknown | 1969-09-17 |
Movie | My Dog the Thief | Mrs. Formby | 1969-09-21 |
Movie | Blackbeard's Ghost | Emily Stowecroft | 1968-02-08 |
Series | Here's Lucy | Mumsie Westcott | 1968-09-23 |
Series | The Dick Cavett Show | Self - Guest | 1968-06-06 |
Movie | Easy Come, Easy Go | Madame Neherina | 1967-05-28 |
Series | Mannix | Portia Penhaven | 1967-09-16 |
Series | The John Forsythe Show | Margaret Culver | 1965-09-13 |
Movie | That Darn Cat! | Mrs. MacDougall | 1965-12-02 |
Movie | Honeymoon Hotel | Chambermaid | 1964-06-03 |
Movie | Pajama Party | Aunt Wendy | 1964-11-11 |
Movie | Mary Poppins | Katie Nanna | 1964-12-17 |
Series | Burke's Law | Bessie Mopes | 1963-09-20 |
Movie | The Flood | Noah's wife | 1962-05-05 |
Series | The Merv Griffin Show | Self | 1962-10-01 |
Series | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | Aggie McGregor | 1962-09-20 |
Series | Follow the Sun | Unknown | 1961-09-17 |
Series | Ben Casey | Unknown | 1961-10-02 |
Series | Adventures in Paradise | Miss Creshaw | 1959-10-05 |
Movie | Bell, Book and Candle | Aunt Queenie Holroyd | 1958-12-25 |
Movie | Witness for the Prosecution | Miss Plimsoll | 1957-12-17 |
Series | The Dinah Shore Chevy Show | Self | 1956-10-05 |
Movie | The Glass Slipper | Widow Sonder | 1955-03-24 |
Series | The 20th Century Fox Hour | Unknown | 1955-10-05 |
Movie | Alice in Wonderland | Red Queen | 1955-10-22 |
Movie | Hell's Half Acre | Lida O'Reilly | 1954-06-01 |
Series | The Wonderful World of Disney | Mrs. Formby | 1954-10-27 |
Movie | 3 Ring Circus | The Bearded Lady | 1954-12-22 |
Series | General Electric Theater | Hanna Winters | 1953-02-01 |
Movie | The Girls of Pleasure Island | Thelma | 1953-04-01 |
Movie | Androcles and the Lion | Megaera | 1952-12-01 |
Movie | Dreamboat | Mathilda Coffey | 1952-07-26 |
Movie | Les Miserables | Madame Magloire | 1952-08-14 |
Series | The Ford Television Theatre | Rosie Bowker | 1952-10-02 |
Series | Schlitz Playhouse of Stars | Betsey Monk, the Widow | 1951-10-05 |
Series | Hallmark Hall of Fame | Red Queen | 1951-12-24 |
Series | I Love Lucy | Edna Grundy | 1951-10-15 |
Movie | Mystery Street | Mrs. Smerrling | 1950-06-23 |
Movie | The Petty Girl | Dr. Crutcher | 1950-08-17 |
Series | Robert Montgomery Presents | Unknown | 1950-01-30 |
Movie | Buccaneer's Girl | Madame Brizar | 1950-03-01 |
Series | Star Time | Self | 1950-09-02 |
Series | Lux Video Theatre | Miss Mabel | 1950-10-02 |
Movie | Frenchie | Countess | 1950-12-25 |
Movie | The Secret Garden | Martha | 1949-04-30 |
Movie | The Inspector General | Maria | 1949-12-31 |
Movie | Come to the Stable | Amelia Potts | 1949-07-27 |
Movie | The Big Clock | Louise Patterson | 1948-03-18 |
Series | The Ed Sullivan Show | Self - Guest | 1948-06-20 |
Series | Studio One | Jenny Pratt | 1948-11-07 |
Movie | Northwest Outpost | Princess 'Tanya' Tatiana | 1947-06-25 |
Movie | The Bishop's Wife | Matilda | 1947-12-25 |
Movie | The Spiral Staircase | Mrs. Oates | 1946-02-06 |
Movie | The Razor's Edge | Miss Keith | 1946-11-19 |
Movie | Passport to Destiny | Ella Muggins | 1944-01-31 |
Movie | Forever and a Day | Mamie | 1943-01-21 |
Movie | Lassie Come Home | Mrs. Helen Carraclough | 1943-12-01 |
Movie | Thumbs Up | Emily "Emmy" Ffinch | 1943-07-05 |
Movie | Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake | Bristol Isabel | 1942-01-29 |
Movie | Tales of Manhattan | Elsa (Mrs Charles) Smith | 1942-08-05 |
Movie | Ladies in Retirement | Emily Creed | 1941-09-09 |
Movie | Cavalcade of the Academy Awards | Self | 1940-07-31 |
Movie | Vessel of Wrath | Martha Jones | 1938-03-04 |
Movie | Rembrandt | Hendrickje Stoffels | 1936-11-06 |
Movie | David Copperfield | Clickett | 1935-01-18 |
Movie | Naughty Marietta | Madame d'Annard | 1935-03-29 |
Movie | Bride of Frankenstein | Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley / The Monster's Bride | 1935-04-20 |
Movie | The Ghost Goes West | Miss Shepperton | 1935-12-17 |
Movie | The Private Life of Henry VIII | Anne of Cleves | 1933-08-17 |
Movie | The Love Habit | Matilde | 1931-01-16 |
Movie | The Stronger Sex | Thompson | 1931-02-26 |
Movie | Potiphar's Wife | Thérèse | 1931-03-28 |
Movie | The Officers' Mess | Cora Melville | 1931-05-08 |
Movie | Comets | Herself | 1930-09-19 |
Movie | Ashes | Unknown | 1930-12-31 |
Movie | The Constant Nymph | Lady | 1928-02-20 |
Movie | The Tonic | Elsa | 1928-05-01 |
Movie | Daydreams | Elsa / Heroine in Dream Sequence | 1928-05-01 |
Movie | Blue Bottles | Elsa | 1928-05-05 |
Movie | One of the Best | Kitty | 1927-11-01 |
Movie | The Scarlet Woman: An Ecclesiastical Melodrama | Beatrice de Carolle | 1924-01-01 |