Elsa Sullivan Lanchester (28 October 1902 – 26 December 1986) was a British actress with a long career in theatre, film and television.Obituary '' Variety'', 31 December 1986. Lanchester studied dance as a child and after the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

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 Anne of Cleves (; 28 June or 22 September 1515 – 16 July 1557) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 6 January to 12 July 1540 as the Wives of Henry VIII, fourth wife of Henry VIII. Little is known about Anne before 1527, ...

with Laughton in '' The Private Life of Henry VIII'' (1933). Her success in American films resulted in the couple moving to Hollywood, where Lanchester played small film roles. Her role as the title character in ''

Bride of Frankenstein ''Bride of Frankenstein'' is a 1935 American Gothic science fiction horror film, and the first sequel to Universal Pictures' 1931 film ''Frankenstein''. As with the first film, ''Bride of Frankenstein'' was directed by James Whale starring ...

'' (1935) brought her recognition. She played the lead in '' Passport to Destiny'' (1944) and supporting roles through the 1940s and 1950s. She was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 9th Academy Awards to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performanc ...

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 The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

films as ''

Mary Poppins Mary Poppins may refer to: * Mary Poppins (character), a nanny with magical powers * Mary Poppins (franchise), based on the fictional nanny ** Mary Poppins (book series), ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fanta ...

'' (1964), '' Pajama Party'' (1964), ''

That Darn Cat! ''That Darn Cat!'' is a 1965 American thriller (genre), thriller comedy film directed by Robert Stevenson (director), Robert Stevenson and starring Hayley Mills and Dean Jones (actor), Dean Jones in a story about bank robbers, a kidnapping and ...

'' (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).

Early life

Elsa Sullivan Lanchester was born in

Lewisham Lewisham ( ) is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in ...

, London. Her parents, James " Séamus" Sullivan (1872–1945) and Edith "Biddy" Lanchester (1871–1966), were Bohemians, and refused to marry in a religious or legal way as a rebellion against

Edwardian era In the United Kingdom, the Edwardian era was a period in the early 20th century that spanned the reign of King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. It is commonly extended to the start of the First World War in 1914, during the early reign of King Ge ...

society. Sullivan and Lanchester were both

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

s, according to Lanchester's 1970 interview with

Dick Cavett Richard Alva Cavett (; born November 19, 1936) is an American television personality and former talk show host. He appeared regularly on nationally broadcast television in the United States from the 1960s through the 2000s. In later years, Cave ...

. Elsa's older brother, Waldo Sullivan Lanchester, born five years earlier, was a

puppeteer A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object called a puppet to create the illusion that the puppet is alive. The puppet is often shaped like a human, animal, or legendary creature. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from the ...

, with his own

marionette A marionette ( ; ) is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a marionettist. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed to an audience by ...

company based in Malvern,

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

, and later in

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon (district), Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of Engl ...

. Elsa studied dance in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

under Isadora Duncan, whom she disliked. When the school was discontinued due to outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, she returned to the UK. At that point (she was about twelve years of age) she began teaching dance in the Duncan style and gave classes to children in her

south London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

district, through which she earned some welcome extra income for her household.

Career

After World War I, Lanchester started the Children's Theatre, and later the Cave of Harmony, a nightclub at which modern plays and cabaret turns were performed. She revived old Victorian songs and ballads, many of which she retained for her performances in another revue entitled ''Riverside Nights''. Her first film performance came in 1924 in the amateur production ''The Scarlet Woman'', which was written by

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...

who also appeared in two roles himself. She became sufficiently famous for Columbia to invite her into the recording studio to make 78 rpm discs of four of the numbers she sang in these revues, with piano arrangement and accompaniment by Kay Henderson: "Please Sell No More Drink to My Father" and "He Didn't Oughter" were on one disc (recorded in 1926) and "Don't Tell My Mother I'm Living in Sin" and "The Ladies Bar" were on the other (recorded 1930).Maltin 1994, p. 494. Her cabaret and nightclub appearances led to more serious stage work and it was in a play by

Arnold Bennett Enoch Arnold Bennett (27 May 1867 – 27 March 1931) was an English author, best known as a novelist, who wrote prolifically. Between the 1890s and the 1930s he completed 34 novels, seven volumes of short stories, 13 plays (some in collaborati ...

called ''Mr Prohack'' (1927) that Lanchester first met another member of the cast, Charles Laughton. They were married two years later and continued to act together from time to time, both on stage and screen. She played his daughter in the stage play '' Payment Deferred'' (1931) though not in the subsequent Hollywood film version. Lanchester and Laughton appeared in the

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

season of 1933–34, playing Shakespeare, Chekhov and Wilde, and in 1936 she was

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical ...

to Laughton's Captain Hook in

J. M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succe ...

's play at the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in Soho. The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1910. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many wit ...

. Their last stage appearance together was in Jane Arden's '' The Party'' (1958) at the New Theatre, London. Bride gip

Lanchester made her film debut in ''The Scarlet Woman'' (1925) and in 1928 appeared in three silent shorts written for her by

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...

and directed by Ivor Montagu: ''Blue Bottles'', ''Daydreams'' and ''The Tonic''. Laughton made brief appearances in all of them. They also appeared together in a 1930 film revue entitled ''Comets'', featuring British stage, musical and variety acts, in which they sang in duet " The Ballad of Frankie and Johnnie". Lanchester appeared in several other early British talkies, including '' Potiphar's Wife'' (1931), a film starring

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

. She appeared opposite Laughton again as

in '' The Private Life of Henry VIII'' (1933), with Laughton in the title role. Laughton was by now making films in Hollywood, so Lanchester joined him there, making minor appearances in ''

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield''Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work; see is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from infancy to matur ...

'' (1935) and '' Naughty Marietta'' (1935). These and her appearances in British films helped her gain the

title role The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piëce. The title o ...

in ''

'' (1935), arguably the role with which she remains most identified. She and Laughton returned to Britain to appear together again in ''

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...

'' (1936) and later in '' Vessel of Wrath'' (US: ''The Beachcomber''. 1938). They both returned to Hollywood, where he made '' The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' (1939) although Lanchester didn't appear in another film until '' Ladies in Retirement'' (1941). She and Laughton played husband and wife (their characters were named Charles and Elsa Smith) in '' Tales of Manhattan'' (1942) and they both appeared again in the all-star, mostly British cast of '' Forever and a Day'' (1943). She received top billing in '' Passport to Destiny'' (1944) for the only time in her Hollywood career.Jewell and Harbin 1982, p. 193. ELSA-L

Lanchester played supporting roles in '' The Spiral Staircase'' and '' The Razor's Edge'' (both 1946). She appeared as the housekeeper in ''

The Bishop's Wife ''The Bishop's Wife'' (also known as ''Cary and the Bishop's Wife'') is a 1947 American Christmas Romance film, romantic Fantasy film, fantasy comedy film directed by Henry Koster, starring Cary Grant, Loretta Young and David Niven. The plot is ...

'' (1947) with David Niven playing the bishop,

Loretta Young Loretta Young (born Gretchen Michaela Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1989. She received numerous honors including an Academy Awards ...

his wife, and

Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English and American actor. Known for his blended British and American accent, debonair demeanor, lighthearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing, he ...

an angel. Lanchester played a comical role as an artist in the thriller, '' The Big Clock'' (1948), in which Laughton starred as a megalomaniacal press tycoon. She had a part as a painter specialising in nativity scenes in '' Come to the Stable'' (1949), for which she was nominated for the

(1949). During the late 1940s and 1950s she appeared in small but highly varied supporting roles in a number of films while simultaneously appearing on stage at the '' Turnabout Theatre'' in Hollywood. Here she performed her solo vaudeville act in conjunction with a marionette show, singing somewhat off-colour songs which she later recorded for a couple of LPs. Onscreen, she appeared alongside

Danny Kaye Danny Kaye (born David Daniel Kaminsky; ; January 18, 1911 – March 3, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, singer, and dancer. His performances featured physical comedy, idiosyncratic pantomimes, and rapid-fire novelty songs. Kaye starred ...

in '' The Inspector General'' (1949), played a blackmailing landlady in '' Mystery Street'' (1950), and was

Shelley Winters Shelley Winters (born Shirley Schrift; August 18, 1920 – January 14, 2006) was an American film actress whose career spanned seven decades. She won Academy Awards for ''The Diary of Anne Frank (1959 film), The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1959) and ' ...

's travelling companion in '' Frenchie'' (1950). More supporting roles followed in the early 1950s, including a 2-minute cameo as the Bearded Lady in '' 3 Ring Circus'' (1954), about to be shaved by

Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian, with a career spanning seven decades in film, stage, television and radio. Famously nicknamed as "Th ...

. She had another substantial and memorable part when she appeared again with her husband in '' Witness for the Prosecution'' (1957) a screen version of

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...

's 1953 play for which both received

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

nominations – she for the second time as Best Supporting Actress, and Laughton for the third time for Best Actor. Neither won. However she did win the

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

for Best Supporting Actress for the film. Lanchester played the role of Aunt Queenie, a witch in '' Bell, Book and Candle'' (1958), and appeared in such films as ''

'' (1964), in which her husband's goddaughter Karen Dotrice also starred, ''

'' (1965), and '' Blackbeard's Ghost'' (1968). She appeared on 9 April 1959, on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

's '' The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford''. She performed in two episodes of NBC's '' The Wonderful World of Disney''. Additionally, she had memorable guest roles in an episode of ''

I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes spanning six seasons. The series starred Lucille Ball and her husband Desi Arnaz, along with Vivian ...

'' in 1956 and in episodes of NBC's '' The Eleventh Hour'' (1964) and '' The Man From U.N.C.L.E.'' (1965).Favell, Jack
"A Fan Tribute to Elsa Lanchester"
Turner Classic Movies; retrieved 19 May 2013. Lanchester continued to make occasional film appearances, singing a duet with

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

in '' Easy Come, Easy Go'' (1967), and playing the mother in the original version of '' Willard'' (1971), alongside

Bruce Davison Bruce Allen Davison (born June 28, 1946) is an American actor who has appeared in more than 270 films, television and stage productions since his debut in 1968. His breakthrough role was as Willard Stiles in the 1971 cult horror film '' Willard' ...

and

Ernest Borgnine Ernest Borgnine ( ; born Ermes Effron Borgnino; January 24, 1917 – July 8, 2012) was an American actor whose career spanned over six decades. He was noted for his gruff but relaxed voice and gap-toothed Cheshire Cat grin. A popular perf ...

, which scored well at the box office. She was Jessica Marbles, a sleuth based on

's Jane Marple, in the 1976 murder mystery spoof '' Murder by Death'', and she made her last film in 1980 as Sophie in '' Die Laughing''. She released three LP albums in the 1950s. Two (referred to above) were entitled ''Songs for a Shuttered Parlour'' and ''Songs for a Smoke-Filled Room'', and were vaguely lewd and danced around their true purpose, such as the song about her husband's "clock" not working. Laughton provided the spoken introductions to each number and even joined Lanchester in the singing of " She Was Poor but She Was Honest". Her third LP was entitled ''Cockney London'', a selection of old London songs for which Laughton wrote the sleeve-notes.

Personal life

Lanchester married Charles Laughton in 1929. In 1938 she published a book about her relationship with Laughton, ''Charles Laughton and I''. In March 1983, she released an autobiography, titled ''Elsa Lanchester Herself''. In that book, she writes that she and Laughton never had children because he was homosexual. However, Laughton's friend and co-star Maureen O'Hara denied this was the reason for the couple's childlessness. She claimed Laughton had told her that the reason he and his wife never had children was because of a botched abortion Lanchester had early in her career when performing burlesque. Lanchester admitted in her autobiography that she had two abortions in her youth (one being Laughton's), but it is not clear if the second left her incapable of becoming pregnant again. According to biographer Charles Higham, the reason she did not have children was that she did not want any. Lanchester was an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

. She was a Democrat and she and Laughton were supportive of

Adlai Stevenson Adlai Stevenson may refer to: * Adlai Stevenson I Adlai Ewing Stevenson (October 23, 1835 – June 14, 1914) was an American politician and diplomat who served as the 23rd vice president of the United States from 1893 to 1897 under President Gr ...

's campaign during the 1952 presidential election. In 1984, Lanchester's health took a turn for the worse. Within 30 months, she had suffered two strokes, becoming totally incapacitated. She required constant care and was confined to bedrest. In March 1986, the Motion Picture and Television Fund filed to become conservator of Lanchester and her estate, which was valued at $900,000.

Death

Lanchester died in

Woodland Hills, Los Angeles Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California, United States. History The area was inhabited for around 8,000 years by Native Americans in the United States, ...

, California, on 26 December 1986, aged 84, at the Motion Picture Hospital from bronchial pneumonia. Her body was cremated on 5 January 1987, at the Chapel of the Pines in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and her ashes scattered over the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

Filmography

Film roles

* ''The Scarlet Woman: An Ecclesiastical Melodrama'' (1925 short) as Beatrice de Carolle * '' One of the Best'' (1927) as Kitty * '' The Constant Nymph'' (1928) as Lady * ''The Tonic'' (1928, Short) as Elsa * ''Daydreams'' (1928, Short) as Elsa / Heroine in Dream Sequence * ''Blue Bottles'' (1928, Short) as Elsa * ''Mr. Smith Wakes Up'' (1929, Short) * ''Comets'' (1930) as Herself * ''Ashes'' (1930, Short) as Girl * '' The Love Habit'' (1931) as Mathilde * '' The Officers' Mess'' (1931) as Cora Melville * '' The Stronger Sex'' (1931) as Thompson * '' Potiphar's Wife'' (1931) as Therese * '' The Private Life of Henry VIII'' (1933) as Anne of Cleves, the Fourth Wife * ''

'' (1935) as Clickett * '' Naughty Marietta'' (1935) as Madame d'Annard * ''

'' (1935) as

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...

/The Monster's Mate * '' The Ghost Goes West'' (1935) as Miss Shepperton * ''

'' (1936) as Hendrickje Stoffels * ''Miss Bracegirdle Does Her Duty'' (1936 unreleased short) as Millicent Bracegirdle * '' Vessel of Wrath'' (1938) as Martha Jones * '' Ladies in Retirement'' (1941) as Emily Creed * '' Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake'' (1942) as Bristol Isabel * '' Tales of Manhattan'' (1942) as Elsa (Mrs Charles) Smith * '' Forever and a Day'' (1943) as Mamie * '' Thumbs Up'' (1943) as Emma Finch * '' Lassie Come Home'' (1943) as Mrs. Carraclough * '' Passport to Destiny'' (1944) as Ella Muggins * '' The Spiral Staircase'' (1945) as Mrs. Oates * '' The Razor's Edge'' (1946) as Miss Keith * '' Northwest Outpost'' (1947) as Princess "Tanya" Tatiana * ''

'' (1947) as Matilda * '' The Big Clock'' (1948) as Louise Patterson * ''

The Secret Garden ''The Secret Garden'' is a children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett first published in book form in 1911, after serialisation in ''The American Magazine'' (November 1910 – August 1911). Set in England, it is seen as a classic of English c ...

'' (1949) as Martha * '' Come to the Stable'' (1949) as Amelia Potts **

nomination for Best Supporting Actress * '' The Inspector General'' (1949) as Maria * '' Buccaneer's Girl'' (1949) as Mme. Brizar * '' Mystery Street'' (1950) as Mrs. Smerrling * '' The Petty Girl'' (1950) as Dr. Crutcher * '' Frenchie'' (1950) as Countess * '' Dreamboat'' (1952) as Dr. Mathilda Coffey * ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

'' (1952) as Madame Magloire * '' Androcles and the Lion'' (1952) as Megaera * '' The Girls of Pleasure Island'' (1953) as Thelma * '' Hell's Half Acre'' (1954) as Lida O'Reilly * '' 3 Ring Circus'' (1954) as the Bearded Lady * '' The Glass Slipper'' (1955) as Widow Sonder * ''Alice in Wonderland'' (1955 TV movie) as the Red Queen * '' Witness for the Prosecution'' (1957) as Miss Plimsoll **

nomination for Best Supporting Actress **

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...

winner for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture * '' Bell, Book and Candle'' (1958) as Aunt Queenie Holroyd * ''The Flood'' (1962 TV movie) as Noah's Wife (voice) * '' Honeymoon Hotel'' (1964) as Chambermaid * ''

'' (1964) as Katie Nanna * '' Pajama Party'' (1964) as Aunt Wendy * ''

'' (1965) as Mrs. MacDougall * '' Easy Come, Easy Go'' (1967) as Madame Neherina * '' Blackbeard's Ghost'' (1968) as Emily Stowecroft * '' Rascal'' (1969) as Mrs. Satterfield * '' Me, Natalie'' (1969) as Miss Dennison * ''In Name Only'' (1969, TV Movie) as Gertrude Caruso * '' Willard'' (1971) as Henrietta Stiles * '' Terror in the Wax Museum'' (1973) as Julia Hawthorn * '' Arnold'' (1973) as Hester * '' Murder by Death'' (1976) as Jessica Marbles * ''Where's Poppa?'' (1979, TV Movie) as Momma Hocheiser * '' Die Laughing'' (1980) as Sophie (final film role)

Partial television credits

* ''

'' (1956) as Mrs Edna Grundy, episode "Off to Florida" * '' Alfred Hitchcock Hour'' (1964) "The McGregor Affair" as Aggie McGregor * '' The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' (1965) as Dr. Agnes Dabree, episode "The Brain-Killer Affair" * ''

Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color The Walt Disney Company has produced an anthology series, anthology television series since 1954 under several titles and formats. The program's current title, ''The Wonderful World of Disney'', was used from 1969 to 1979 and again from 1991 onwa ...

'' (1969) as Mrs. Formby, episodes "My Dog, the Thief", parts 1 and 2 * '' The Bill Cosby Show'' (1970) as Mrs. Wochuk, episode "The Elevator Doesn't Stop Here Anymore" * '' Nanny and the Professor'' (1971) as Aunt Henrietta (3 episodes) * ''

Night Gallery ''Night Gallery'' is an American anthology television series that aired on NBC from December 16, 1970, to May 27, 1973, featuring stories of horror and the macabre. Rod Serling, who had gained fame from an earlier series, '' The Twilight Zon ...

'' (1972) as Lydia Bowen, episode " Green Fingers" * ''

Here's Lucy ''Here's Lucy'' is an American sitcom starring Lucille Ball. The series co-starred her long-time comedy partner Gale Gordon and her real-life children Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr. It was broadcast on CBS from 1968 to 1974. It was Ball's third ...

'' (1973) as Mumsie Westcott, episode "Lucy Goes to Prison" * ''

Mannix ''Mannix'' is an American detective television series that originally aired for eight seasons on CBS from September 16, 1967, to March 13, 1975. The show was created by Richard Levinson and William Link, and developed by executive producer ...

'' (1973) as Portia Penhaven, episode "A Matter of Principle" * '' Then Came Bronson''(1970) as Hattie Caulder episode 4 "The Circle Of Time"

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * *

External links

* * * * *
Cult Sirens: Elsa Lanchester

Elsa Lanchester
at Virtual History {{DEFAULTSORT:Lanchester, Elsa 1902 births 1986 deaths 20th-century English actresses Actresses from London American film actresses American television actresses American atheists English atheists English emigrants to the United States English film actresses English silent film actresses Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe (film) winners Deaths from pneumonia in California Actors from the London Borough of Lewisham Actresses from Kent Naturalized citizens of the United States California Democrats 20th-century American actresses