Odette Myrtil (born Odette Laure Clotilde Quignarde; June 28, 1898 – November 18, 1978) was a French-born American actress, singer, and violinist. She began her career as a violinist on the

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

stage in Paris at 14. She expanded into acting and singing and had her first major success at 18 on the London stage in the 1916 musical revue ''

The Bing Boys Are Here ''The Bing Boys Are Here'', styled "A Picture of London Life, in a Prologue and Six Panels," is the first of a series of revues which played at the Alhambra Theatre, London during the last two years of World War I. The series included ''The Bing ...

''. She was a staple in Broadway productions from 1924 to 1932, after which she returned only periodically to Broadway through 1960. She also appeared on the stages of Chicago, London, Los Angeles, and Paris several times during her career. From 1923 to 1972, Myrtil appeared as an actress in a total of 28 feature films, most of which were made from the mid-1930s through the mid-1950s. Not a leading lady on camera, she specialized in character roles and was often used for her gifts as a singer. She made only one television appearance during her career: in the Studio One in Hollywood 1953 episode "The Paris Feeling". She worked as a costume designer for nine motion pictures from 1944 to 1950.

Life and career

Odette Myrtil was born Odette Laure Clotilde Quignarde, although some sources cite Belza as her surname at birth, in Paris, the daughter of two stage actors. She studied the violin at a boarding school in Brussels and began performing the violin professionally at the age of 13. In 1915, aged 16, she came to the United States to join the

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' was a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934 and 1936. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as ''The Ziegfeld Follies of the Ai ...

on Broadway as one of the

Ziegfeld Girls Ziegfeld Girls were the chorus girls and showgirls from Florenz Ziegfeld's theatrical Broadway revue spectaculars known as the ''Ziegfeld Follies'' (1907–1931), in New York City, which were based on the Folies Bergère of Paris. Descripti ...

. The following year she came to London, where she was a major success in the West End show ''

''. She spent the next several years appearing successfully on the London stage and in vaudeville productions in major European cities. In 1923, she returned to New York City as a vaudeville entertainer at the

Palace Theatre Palace Theatre, or Palace Theater, is the name of many theatres in different countries, including: Australia * Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Victoria *Palace Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales Canada *Palace Theatre, housed in the Robillard Block, M ...

, where she had her first major success in America. She became a staple of the theatre scene in New York City into the early 1930s, often appearing in Broadway musicals that featured her singing and violinist abilities. She had a particular triumph as Odette in

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in ove ...

's 1931 musical '' The Cat and the Fiddle'', which was written specifically as a vehicle for her. after that, she only made a handful of appearances on Broadway, with her last show being the original production of

Harold Arlen Harold Arlen (born Hyman Arluck; February 15, 1905 – April 23, 1986) was an American composer of popular music, who composed over 500 songs, a number of which have become known worldwide. In addition to composing the songs for the 1939 film ' ...

and

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Glenn E. Wallic ...

's '' Saratoga'' in 1960. She spent several years in the early 1950s portraying Bloody Mary in the original run of

Rodgers and Hammerstein Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their popular ...

's ''

South Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

'', having succeeded Juanita Hall in the role. After 1935, her career shifted towards film, although she never left her stage roots. She had a fairly prolific career as a film actress, appearing in mainly mid-sized roles in 25 films from 1936 to 1952. Previously, she only appeared as a dancer in the 1923 film ''Squibs M.P.'' Her first speaking role was as Renée De Penable in '' Dodsworth'' (1936). Some of her other film credits are '' Kitty Foyle'' (1940), '' Out of the Fog'' (1941), '' I Married an Angel'' (1942), ''

Yankee Doodle Dandy ''Yankee Doodle Dandy'' is a 1942 American biographical musical film about George M. Cohan, known as "The Man Who Owned Broadway". It stars James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, and Richard Whorf, and features Irene Manning, George To ...

'' (1942), '' The Palm Beach Story'' (1942), '' Uncertain Glory'' (1944), '' Devotion'' (1946), '' The Fighting Kentuckian'' (1949), and as Madame Darville in

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

's '' Strangers on a Train'' (1951). She sang the title song on camera as herself in the 1954 film ''

The Last Time I Saw Paris ''The Last Time I Saw Paris'' is a 1954 American Technicolor romantic drama made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It is loosely based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story "Babylon Revisited." It was directed by Richard Brooks, produced by Jack Cummings ...

'' (1954) and again portrayed herself in her last film appearance in the film ''Hot Pants Holiday'' (1972).

Post-acting career

Myrtil resided in

New Hope, Pennsylvania New Hope is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The population was 2,612 at the 2020 census. New Hope is located approximately north of Philadelphia, and lies on the west bank of the Delaware River at its confluence with Aquetong Creek. ...

during most of her later life. From 1955 to 1958 she managed The Playhouse Inn, located next door to the

Bucks County Playhouse THE BUCKS COUNTRY PLAYHOUSE The Bucks County Playhouse is located in New Hope, Pennsylvania. When the ''Hope Mills'' burned in 1790, the grist mills were rebuilt as the ''New Hope Mills,'' by Benjamin Parry. The town was renamed for the mills. ...

. From 1961 to 1976 she operated the New Hope restaurant Chez Odette, which later became Odette's Restaurant, a different restaurant under newer ownership. During her life, Myrtil was married twice: for eight years to vaudeville performer Robert Adams and later to film director and producer Stanley Logan. She died in nearby

Doylestown, Pennsylvania Doylestown is a borough and the county seat of Bucks County in Pennsylvania, United States. It is located northwest of Trenton, north of Center City, Philadelphia, southeast of Allentown, and southwest of New York City. As of the 2020 ...

in 1978, aged 80.

Filmography

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Myrtil, Odette 1898 births 1978 deaths American film actresses American musical theatre actresses Actresses from Paris French emigrants to the United States Musicians from Paris 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American violinists 20th-century French musicians Women violinists People from New Hope, Pennsylvania 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers 20th-century French women