Auriol Lee (13 September 1880 – 2 July 1941) was a popular British stage actress who became a successful West End and

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

theatrical producer and director.

Biography

She was born in Maddox Street in the London district of St George's Hanover Square, the daughter of Katie and Robert James Lee. Auriol Lee's father was a medical doctor who, according to her ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' obituary, was a distant relative of

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...

. Auriol was educated both in England and at schools in Europe, where she also received her training for the stage at

La Monnaie The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie (, ; , ; both translating as the "Royal Theatre of the Mint") is an opera house in central Brussels, Belgium. The National Opera of Belgium, a federal institution, takes the name of this theatre in which it is ho ...

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 Light That Failed'' is the first novel by the Nobel Prize-winning English author Rudyard Kipling, first published in ''Lippincott's Monthly Magazine'' in January 1891. Most of the novel is set in London, but many important events through ...

''. The previous month, while her troupe was in Boston, she played a round of golf with

Alec Campbell Alexander William Campbell (26 February 1899 – 16 May 2002) was the final surviving Australian participant of the Gallipoli campaign during the First World War.Shaw, John"Alec Campbell, Last Anzac at Gallipoli, Dies at 103" ''The New York T ...

, the golf pro at a prestigious Country Club in

Brookline Brookline may refer to: Places in the United States * Brookline, Massachusetts, a town near Boston * Brookline, Missouri, a village * Brookline, New Hampshire, a town * Brookline (Pittsburgh), a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania * Brookl ...

. Campbell later told the press that he was forced to play his best game to compensate for the handicap he had allowed her. Auriol Lee 2

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.Auriol Lee Internet Broadway Database (IBDb.com)
/ref> Over the remainder of her career, she had a close working relationship with British playwright

John Van Druten John William Van Druten (1 June 190119 December 1957) was an English playwright and theatre director. He began his career in London, and later moved to America, becoming a U.S. citizen. He was known for his plays of witty and urbane observations ...

, directing all his Broadway productions that fell between 1931 and her death some ten years later. This included '' Sea Fever'' at the New Theatre in 1931. Their most successful collaborations over this time were '' There's Always Juliet'' (1932), '' The Distaff Side'' (1935), and ''

Old Acquaintance ''Old Acquaintance'' is a 1943 American drama film released by Warner Bros. It was directed by Vincent Sherman and produced by Henry Blanke with Jack L. Warner as executive producer. The screenplay by John Van Druten, Lenore Coffee and Edmu ...

'' (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 nearing a 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 The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

Death

Auriol Lee was killed in an automobile accident in or near

Hutchinson, Kansas Hutchinson is the largest city in and the county seat of Reno County, Kansas, Reno County, Kansas, United States. The city is located on the Arkansas River. It has been home to salt mines since 1887 (thus its nickname of "Salt City") but locals ...

, on 2 July 1941. She was returning to New York from Hollywood where she had gone to play the writer Isobel Sedbusk in

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. 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 featu ...

's film '' Suspicion'' and pay Van Druten a visit at his Southern California ranch. She once reportedly told Van Druten that she wanted to be buried where she died, and as she wished, she 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 (born Margaret St. John Field (sometimes mis-transcribed Margaret Cynthia Field); 4 November 1917 – 2 January 1992) was a British-born film actress. Early years Virginia was an only child, born in London. Her father was Sir J ...

Filmography

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Auriol 1880 births 1941 deaths Actors from the City of Westminster English stage actresses English theatre directors British women theatre directors Road incident deaths in Kansas