Lucile Watson

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."

Early years
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.

Career
Watson was primarily a stage actress, appearing in 39 Broadway plays. 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. Two years later in Hollywood, she and Lukas reprised their roles in the film adaptation, for which Watson received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

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.

Death
Watson died on June 24, 1962.

Broadway roles

 * No More Ladies (1934) as Mrs. Fanny Townsend
 * Watch on the Rhine (1941) as Fanny Farrelly

Partial filmography



 * The Royal Family of Broadway (1930) as Actress Backstage (uncredited)
 * What Every Woman Knows (1934) as La Contessa la Brierre
 * The Bishop Misbehaves (1935) as Lady Emily
 * The Garden of Allah (1936) as Mother Superior Josephine
 * A Woman Rebels (1936) as Betty Bumble
 * Three Smart Girls (1936) as Martha
 * The Young in Heart (1938) as Mrs. Jennings
 * Sweethearts (1938) as Mrs. Marlowe
 * Made for Each Other (1939) as Mrs. Harriet Mason
 * The Women (1939) as Mrs. Morehead
 * Waterloo Bridge (1940) as Lady Margaret Cronin
 * Florian (1940) as Countess
 * Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941) as Mrs. Custer
 * Rage in Heaven (1941) as Mrs. Monrell
 * Footsteps in the Dark (1941) as Mrs. Archer
 * The Great Lie (1941) as Aunt Ada
 * Model Wife (1941) as J.J. Benson
 * Watch on the Rhine (1943) as Fanny Farrelly
 * Uncertain Glory (1944) as Mme. Maret
 * Till We Meet Again (1944) as Mother Superior
 * The Thin Man Goes Home (1945) as Mrs. Charles
 * Tomorrow Is Forever (1946) as Aunt Jessica Hamilton
 * My Reputation (1946) as Mrs. Mary Kimball
 * Never Say Goodbye (1946) as Mrs. Hamilton
 * Song of the South (1946) as Grandmother
 * The Razor's Edge (1946) as Louisa Bradley
 * Ivy (1947) as Mrs. Gretorex
 * The Emperor Waltz (1948) as Princess Bitotska
 * Julia Misbehaves (1948) as Mrs. Packett
 * That Wonderful Urge (1948) as Aunt Cornelia Farley
 * Little Women (1949) as Aunt March
 * Everybody Does It (1949) as Mrs. Blair
 * Let's Dance (1950) as Serena Everett
 * Harriet Craig (1950) as Celia Fenwick
 * My Forbidden Past (1951) as Aunt Eula Beaurevel