Lilian Greuze (18901950) was a French

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, and actress of the stage and screen. She was from

Paris, France 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 ...

Theater ingenue (stock character)

She was a

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Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard; 22 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including by Alexandre Dumas fils, ...

and performed at the French Theater on West 44th Street in Manhattan (New York). Her first New York appearance came during the 1915 theatrical season. Greuze was one of many French notables who were recruited by Lucien Laurent Bonheur, director of the French Theater. She acted in a humorous sketch entitled ''English School'' in her first American stage performance. She was paired with George Ranavant. An observer remarked about her skill in speaking, ''So perfect was her enunciation and the modulation of her voice that every syllable could be heard distinctly in the rear of the auditorium.'' In December 1915 she played with Paul Gavault at the French Theatre in ''Mademoiselle Josette Ma Femme''. As ''Josette'', Greuze portrayed the character which made

Billie Burke Mary William Ethelbert Appleton "Billie" Burke (August 7, 1884 – May 14, 1970) was an American actress who was famous on Broadway and radio, and in silent and sound films. She is best known to modern audiences as Glinda the Good Witch of t ...

famous. A reviewer commented favorably about her playful acting quality, citing her ''diverting gaminerie''.

Film actress

Greuze appeared as ''Marian Somerset'' in ''The Recoil'' (1917), with William Courtenay. The

melodrama A melodrama is a Drama, dramatic work in which plot, typically sensationalized for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodrama is "an exaggerated version of drama". Melodramas typically concentrate on ...

is a quickly paced story about trying to save an innocent man from being electrocuted by intervening with the governor. The

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has preserved an incomplete copy of this film. Reel one is missing. Her acting career continued in France, Germany, and Italy until the 1930s. Greuze's

filmography A filmography is a list of films related by some criteria. For example, an actor's career filmography is the list of films they have appeared in; a director's comedy filmography is the list of comedy films directed by a particular Film director, ...

following ''The Recoil'' includes roles in ''Hier et aujord'hui'' (1918), ''Simone'' (1918), ''Tragedia senza lagrime'' (1919), ''Maître Bolbec et son mari'' (1934), ''Fanatisme'' (1934), and ''

Bux the Clown ''Bux the Clown'' (French: ''Le clown Bux'') is a 1935 French drama film directed by Jacques Natanson and starring Henri Rollan, Pierre Larquey and Suzy Vernon.Crisp p.403 It was based on the novel ''Bux '' by Hans Mahner-Mons, later adapted for ...

'' (1935).

Philanthropy

In November 1915 she was paid $200 for a kiss on the French liner Rochambeau. The ship was en route to New York and Greuze was passing a collection bag for charity. She overheard a man remark that he would donate the sum in return for a kiss from her. The money was contributed for the benefit of orphans of French dressmakers who were killed at the

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in the war. During World War I Greuze worked with the

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at the French front in 1917. She was a nurse in a hospital at

Neuilly Neuilly-sur-Seine (; 'Neuilly-on-Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is an urban commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department just west of Paris in France. Immediately adjacent to the city, north of the Bois de Boulogne, the area is composed of ...

from the beginning of the war. The hospital was conducted by

Princess Henriette, Duchess of Vendôme and Alençon Princess Henriette of Belgium (30 November 1870 – 28 March 1948), was the daughter of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, and Princess Marie of Hohenzollern. She was the younger twin sister of Princess Joséphine Marie of Belgium, who died at the ...

References

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Greuze, Lillian French stage actresses French film actresses French silent film actresses French vaudeville performers French female models French women nurses French nurses Female wartime nurses 20th-century French actresses Female nurses in World War I World War I nurses French women in World War I 1890 births 1950 deaths Health professionals from Paris