Elsa Lanchester (born October 28, 1902), was an English-born American actress with a long career in theatre, film and television.
Birth Name: Elsa Sullivan Lanchester
Hair: Red
Eyes: Green
Height: 5' 4"
Quote: "There is no such thing as a person that nothing has happened to, and each person's story is as different as his fingerprints."
Lanchester studied dance as a child and after the First World War began performing in theatre and cabaret, where she established her career over the following decade.
She met the actor Charles Laughton in 1927, and they were married two years later. She began playing small roles in British films, including the role of Anne of Cleves with Laughton in The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933). His success in American films resulted in the couple moving to Hollywood, where Lanchester played small film roles.
Lanchester did only a few films up to 1935 and was disappointed enough with Hollywood's reception to return to London. She was quickly called back by old friend from London, James Whale, now the noted director of Frankenstein (1931) and The Invisible Man (1933). He wanted her for two parts in The Bride of Frankenstein (1935).
Lanchester was wrapped in yards of bandage and covered in heavy makeup. The stand-on-end hairdo was accomplished by combing it over a wire mesh cage. Her eyes were kept taped wide open for long takes - and it showed in her looks of horror. Her monster's screaming and hissing sounds (based on the sounds of Regents Park swans in London) were taped and then run backward to spook-up the effect. She was well received for this part , and her bride would become iconic. Many consider The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) the best of the golden age horror movies.
She played supporting roles through the 1940s and 1950s. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Come to the Stable (1949) and Witness for the Prosecution (1957), the last of twelve films in which she appeared with Laughton.
Following Laughton's death in 1962, Lanchester resumed her career with appearances in such Disney films as Mary Poppins (1964), That Darn Cat! (1965) and Blackbeard's Ghost (1968). The horror film Willard (1971) was highly successful, and one of her last roles was in Murder By Death (1976).
Elsa Lanchester died in Woodland Hills, California on December 26, 1986 aged 84, at the Motion Picture Hospital from bronchopneumonia.
Birth Name: Elsa Sullivan Lanchester
Hair: Red
Eyes: Green
Height: 5' 4"
Quote: "There is no such thing as a person that nothing has happened to, and each person's story is as different as his fingerprints."
Lanchester studied dance as a child and after the First World War began performing in theatre and cabaret, where she established her career over the following decade.
She met the actor Charles Laughton in 1927, and they were married two years later. She began playing small roles in British films, including the role of Anne of Cleves with Laughton in The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933). His success in American films resulted in the couple moving to Hollywood, where Lanchester played small film roles.
Lanchester did only a few films up to 1935 and was disappointed enough with Hollywood's reception to return to London. She was quickly called back by old friend from London, James Whale, now the noted director of Frankenstein (1931) and The Invisible Man (1933). He wanted her for two parts in The Bride of Frankenstein (1935).
Lanchester was wrapped in yards of bandage and covered in heavy makeup. The stand-on-end hairdo was accomplished by combing it over a wire mesh cage. Her eyes were kept taped wide open for long takes - and it showed in her looks of horror. Her monster's screaming and hissing sounds (based on the sounds of Regents Park swans in London) were taped and then run backward to spook-up the effect. She was well received for this part , and her bride would become iconic. Many consider The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) the best of the golden age horror movies.
She played supporting roles through the 1940s and 1950s. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Come to the Stable (1949) and Witness for the Prosecution (1957), the last of twelve films in which she appeared with Laughton.
Following Laughton's death in 1962, Lanchester resumed her career with appearances in such Disney films as Mary Poppins (1964), That Darn Cat! (1965) and Blackbeard's Ghost (1968). The horror film Willard (1971) was highly successful, and one of her last roles was in Murder By Death (1976).
Elsa Lanchester died in Woodland Hills, California on December 26, 1986 aged 84, at the Motion Picture Hospital from bronchopneumonia.
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