Lucile Watson | |
|---|---|
 Watson in 1953 | |
| Born | May 27, 1879 Quebec City, Quebec, Canada |
| Died | June 24, 1962 (aged 83) New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1902–1954 |
Lucile Watson (May 27, 1879 – June 24, 1962) was a Canadian actress, long based in the United States. She was "famous for her roles of formidable dowagers."[1]
Watson was born in Quebec and raised in Ottawa, the daughter of an officer in the British Army. Despite his wishes, she traveled to New York City and enrolled in a dramatic school.[2]
Watson was primarily a stage actress, appearing in 39 Broadway plays.[3] She starred in plays such as Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines, Heartbreak House, Ghosts, The Importance of Being Earnest, and Pride and Prejudice.
Watson's first film role was in the 1916 silent film The Girl with Green Eyes, a film version of the Clyde Fitch play she had performed on Broadway in 1902. She did not appear in another movie until 1930 when she had an uncredited role in The Royal Family of Broadway. In 1939, she portrayed Norma Shearer's wise mother in the cultural comedy/drama from the Clare Booth Luce play The Women.
In perhaps her most acclaimed performance, Watson portrayed Fanny Farrelly in playwright Lillian Hellman's anti-fascist dramatic stage play Watch on the Rhine on Broadway in 1941, starring Paul Lukas.[4] Two years later in Hollywood, she and Lukas reprised their roles in the film adaptation,[5] for which Watson received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.[6]
Lucile Watson played Aunt March in the 1949 film version of Little Women, whose stars included Elizabeth Taylor as Amy. The following year, she was cast along with her famous The Women co-star Joan Crawford in the melodrama Harriet Craig.
Watson died on June 24, 1962.[7]
