Elisabeth Risdon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Elisabeth Risdon (born Daisy Cartwright Risdon; 26 April 1887 – 20 December 1958) was an English film actress. She appeared in over 140 films between 1913 and 1952. A beauty in her youth, she usually played in society parts. In later years in films she switched to playing character parts.
Born in London, England, Risdon graduated from the Royal Academy of Arts in 1918 with high honours. 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, and William Faversham. She was also under contract to the Theatre Guild for many years.
In later years, she taught drama to patients at a veterans administration hospital near her Brentwood home. She was married to the prolific silent film director George Loane Tucker who left her a widow in 1921. She later married actor Brandon Evans, who died in April 1958. She was the great-aunt of actress Wendy Barrie-Wilson.
Risdon died in December 1958 in St Johns Hospital in Santa Monica, California from a cerebral haemorrhage. Her body was donated to medical science.
Acting
Movie
High Sierra
as Ma
1941
Movie
The Roaring Twenties
as Mrs. Sherman
1939
Movie
Make Way for Tomorrow
as Cora Payne
1937
Movie
Dead End
as Mrs. Connell
1937
Movie
Random Harvest
as Mrs. Lloyd
1942
Movie
Scaramouche
as Isabelle de Valmorin
1952
Movie
Tall in the Saddle
as Miss Elizabeth Martin
1944
Movie
Life with Father
as Mrs. Whitehead
1947
Movie
Reap the Wild Wind
as Mrs. Claiborne
1942
Movie
Crime and Punishment
as Mrs. Raskolnikov
1935
Movie
Theodora Goes Wild
as Aunt Mary
1936
Movie
The Egg and I
as Betty's Mother
1947
Movie
The Canterville Ghost
as Mrs. Polverdine
1944
Movie
Five Came Back
as Martha Spengler
1939
Movie
Weird Woman
as Dean Grace Gunnison
1944
Movie
They Won't Forget
as Mrs. Hale (as Elizabeth Risdon)
1937
Movie
Bodyguard
as Gene Dysen
1948
Movie
High Wall
as Mrs. Kenet
1947
Movie
Every Girl Should Be Married
as Mary Nolan
1948
Movie
Abe Lincoln in Illinois
as Sarah Lincoln
1940
Movie
Mannequin
as Mrs. Cassidy (as Elizabeth Risdon)
1938
Movie
The Unseen
as Mrs. Norris
1945
Movie
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
as Widow Douglass
1939
Movie
Mourning Becomes Electra
as Mrs. Hills
1947