Faith Celli (27 November 1888 – 16 December 1942), born Dorothy Faith Standing, was an English actress, particularly associated with the plays of

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 ...

and

A. A. Milne Alan Alexander Milne (; 18 January 1882 – 31 January 1956) was an English writer best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh, as well as children's poetry. Milne was primarily a playwright before the huge success of Winnie-th ...

. She had a 20-year career from 1907, after which she retired from the stage.

Life and career

Celli was born in

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

, London, on 27 November 1888, the daughter of the opera singer Francis Standing, known professionally as Frank Celli."Obituary", ''The Times'', 18 December 1942, p. 7 She was educated in Belgium and at St Michael's College, St Albans. She became a pupil at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...

, where she was a prize-winner in 1907, her last year there."Academy of Dramatic Art", ''The Times'', 23 December 1907, p. 8 She was singled out from the students by

, who cast her in her first professional appearance, playing Tootles in ''

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 ...

'' at the

Duke of York's Theatre The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by ...

in December, 1907.

Lawrence Grossmith Lawrence Randall Grossmith (29 March 1877 – 21 February 1944 (aged 66)) was an English actor, the son of the Gilbert and Sullivan performer George Grossmith and the brother of the actor-manager George Grossmith Jr. After establishing his ca ...

selected Celli for his company at the

Savoy Theatre The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre was designed by C. J. Phipps for Richard D'Oyly Carte and opened on 10 October 1881 on a site previously occupied by the Savoy ...

in 1913, playing a comedy by

Herbert Westbrook Herbert Wotton Westbrook, also referred to as Herbert Wetton Westbrook (?? – 22 March 1959), was an author best known for having been an early collaborator of P.G. Wodehouse, including becoming his assistant in writing the “By the Way” column ...

and

P. G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse ( ; 15 October 1881 – 14 February 1975) was an English writer and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Je ...

. In 1915 she married Lieutenant Reginald Phipps Lamb, with whom she had one son. In October 1917, at

Wyndham's Theatre Wyndham's Theatre is a West End theatre, one of two opened by actor/manager Charles Wyndham (the other is the Criterion Theatre). Located on Charing Cross Road in the City of Westminster, it was designed c. 1898 by W. G. R. Sprague, the arch ...

, she made what ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' later considered to be her greatest success as Margaret, the "dream daughter" in

's ''

Dear Brutus ''Dear Brutus'' is a 1917 fantasy play by J. M. Barrie, depicting alternative realities for its characters and their eventual return to real life. The title is a reference to a line from William Shakespeare, Shakespeare's ''Julius Caesar (play), J ...

''. Barrie said it was Celli who made the play the great success it was, and Margaret was her favourite part. She reprised the role in a 1922 revival. In 1918 she returned to ''Peter Pan'', this time in the title role, and, according to ''The Times'', "she succeeded in recapturing the mystic winsomeness associated with Miss

Nina Boucicault Nina Boucicault (27 February 1867 – 2 August 1950) was an English-born actress, daughter of the Irish playwright Dion Boucicault, and the actress Agnes Kelly Robertson. She had three brothers, Dion William (1855–1876), Dion Boucicault Jr ...

's acting in the original production". Celli was regarded as a versatile actress and she appeared in a wide range of roles, including Clara Eynsford-Hill in '' Pygmalion'' at the

Aldwych Aldwych (pronounced ) is a street and the name of the List of areas of London, area immediately surrounding it, in the City of Westminster, part of Greater London, and is part of the West End of London, West End West End Theatre, Theatreland. T ...

(1920); Emmeline in a stage version of '' The BIue Lagoon'' (1920); and Septima in ''

The Truth About Blayds ''The Truth About Blayds'' is a three-act comedy by A. A. Milne, first performed in London in December 1921. It depicts the turmoil into which the family of a revered poet, Oliver Blayds, is plunged when it emerges immediately after his death tha ...

'' (1921). She made an appearance in a silent comedy film, ''The Bump'', written by

for her and C. Aubrey Smith (1922). The following year she appeared in another Milne play, ''The Great Broxoff'' at the

St Martin's Theatre St Martin's Theatre is a West End theatre which has staged the production of '' The Mousetrap'' since March 1974, making it the longest continuous run of any show in the world. The theatre is located in West Street, near Shaftesbury Avenue, i ...

, with

Edmund Gwenn Edmund Gwenn (born Edmund John Kellaway; 26 September 1877 – 6 September 1959) was an English actor. On film, he is best remembered for his role as Kris Kringle in the Christmas film ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (1947), for which he won t ...

Mary Jerrold Mary Jerrold (4 December 1877 – 3 March 1955) was an English actress. She was married to actor Hubert Harben, and mother of actress Joan Harben and celebrity chef Philip Harben. She made her London stage debut as Prudence Dering in ''Mary Pen ...

and Ian Hunter. This was followed by another Milne role, Angela in ''To Have the Honour'' (1924). In 1926 she played Isabella Trench in

Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...

's ''Caroline'' (1926), a role created by

Marie Lohr Marie Kate Wouldes Lohr (28 July 1890 – 21 January 1975) was an Australian-born actress, active on stage and in film in Britain. During a career of more than 60 years she created roles in plays by, among others, Bernard Shaw, J. M. Barrie, ...

, to whom Celli was quite favourably compared. After this she retired from the stage. She later said that although she loved the theatre she had never enjoyed acting and preferred to be in the stalls rather than on stage."News and Features for Women", ''The Gazette'' (Montreal), 4 November 1938, p. 7 Lamb and Celli divorced in 1930 and the following year she married Colonel the Hon

Arthur Murray Arthur Murray (born Moses Teichman; April 4, 1895 – March 3, 1991) was an American ballroom dancer and businessman, whose name is most often associated with the dance studio chain that bears his name. Early life and start in dance Arthur Mur ...

, later the 3rd Viscount Elibank. There were no children of the marriage."Dorothy Faith Standing"
Ancestry.co.uk. Retrieved 24 April 2021 Celli died in

Ascot Ascot, Ascott or Askot may refer to: Places Australia * Ascot, Queensland, suburb of Brisbane * Ascot, Queensland (Toowoomba Region), a locality * Ascot Park, South Australia, suburb of Adelaide * Ascot (Ballarat), town near Ballarat in Victoria ...

, Berkshire, on 16 December 1942, aged 54, after a short illness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Celli, Faith 1888 births 1942 deaths 20th-century English actresses Actresses from London English stage actresses