Elisabeth Risdon | |
|---|---|
 Risdon in G. B. Shaw's Heartbreak House (1920) | |
| Born | Daisy Cartwright Risdon 26 April 1887 London, England |
| Died | 20 December 1958 (aged 71) Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1913–1956 |
| Spouses | |
Elisabeth Risdon (born Daisy Cartwright Risdon; 26 April 1887 – 20 December 1958) was an English film actress. She appeared in more than 140 films from 1913 to 1952. A beauty in her youth, she usually played in society parts. In later years in films she switched to playing character parts.[1]
Born in London as Daisy Cartwright Risdon, the daughter of John Jenkins Risdon and Martha Harrop Risdon,[2] she graduated from the Royal Academy of Arts in 1918 with high honours.[citation needed]
She attracted the attention of George Bernard Shaw and was cast as the lead in his biggest plays. Besides her performances for Shaw, she was leading lady for actors including George Arliss, Otis Skinner,[3] and William Faversham. She was also under contract with the Theatre Guild for many years.[citation needed]
Risdon's film debut came in England, where she made 13 silent films. She came to the United States in 1912,[3] and her first film with sound was Guard That Girl (1935).[2]
Her Broadway credits include Laburnum Grove (1935), Big Hearted Herbert (1934), Uncle Tom's Cabin (1933), For Services Rendered (1933), We Never Learn (1928), The Springboard (1927), Right You Are If You Think You Are (1927), The Silver Cord (1926), A Proud Woman (1926), Lovely Lady (1925), The Enchanted April (1925), Thrills (1925), Artistic Temperament (1924), Cock O' the Roost (1924), The Lady (1923), The Nightcap (1921), Heartbreak House (1920), Footloose (1920), Dear Brutus (1918), Humpty Dumpty (1918), Muggins (1918), Seven Days' Leave (1918), Misalliance (1917), The Morris Dance (1917), The Poetasters of Ispahan (1912), Beauty and the Jacobin (1912), and Fanny's First Play (1912).[4]
In 1916, she married silent film director George Loane Tucker, who died in 1921. In 1938, she married actor Brandon Evans, who died in April 1958.[3]
Risdon died in December 1958 in St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California from a cerebral hemorrhage.[citation needed]
