Zeffie Tilbury

Zeffie Tilbury

1863-11-18 – 1950-07-24 (age 86) Paddington, London, England, UK
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Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Zeffie Agnes Lydia Tilbury (November 20, 1863 – July 24, 1950) was an English actress.

Tilbury was known first on the London stage and on Broadway in New York City. In 1881, she debuted on stage in Nine Points of the Law at the Theatre Royal, Brighton, England.

She is today best known for playing wise or evil older characters in films, such as the distinguished lady gambler at dinner with Garbo in The Single Standard, as the pitiful Grandma Joad in The Grapes of Wrath and Grandma Lester in Tobacco Road.

She appeared in over 70 films. Her earliest surviving silent film is the Valentino / Nazimova 1921 production of Camille. Tilbury is probably best remembered as the old lady who is befriended by Spanky and his friends on her birthday and, as a result, is transformed from a lonely, disagreeable recluse to a happy and loving carefree soul in the 1936 Hal Roach Our Gang comedy Second Childhood. In the same year she also portrayed the Gypsy Queen in the Laurel and Hardy film The Bohemian Girl.

Tilbury was married twice. First to Arthur Frederick Lewis in June, 1887, and later to L. E. Woodthorpe, who died on April 8, 1915. She died in Los Angeles, California in 1950 at the age of 86.

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Known For

The Grapes of Wrath
The Grapes of Wrath

1940

as Grandma Joad

Camille
Camille

1936

as Old Duchess Bidding 3750 Francs

Tobacco Road
Tobacco Road

1941

as Grandma Lester

Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette

1938

as Dowager at Birth of Dauphin (uncredited)

Boy Trouble
Boy Trouble

1939

as Mrs. Jepson

Parnell
Parnell

1937

as Old Lady

Bachelor Bait
Bachelor Bait

1934

as Miss Turner (uncredited)

Emergency Squad
Emergency Squad

1940

as Mrs. Cobb

Stranded
Stranded

1935

as Old Hag (uncredited)

Anthony Adverse
Anthony Adverse

1936

as Old Woman at Chalet

Alice Adams
Alice Adams

1935

as Mrs. Dresser (uncredited)

Werewolf of London
Werewolf of London

1935

as Mrs. Moncaster

Bulldog Drummond Escapes
Bulldog Drummond Escapes

1937

as Drunk in Jail Cell

The Last Days of Pompeii
The Last Days of Pompeii

1935

as The Wise Woman (uncredited)

Desire
Desire

1936

as Aunt Olga

Camille
Camille

1921

as Prudence

Bad Boy
Bad Boy

1935

as Deaf Woman

After the Thin Man
After the Thin Man

1936

as Aunt Lucy (uncredited)

Hideaway
Hideaway

1937

as Mrs. Beamish

Charlie Chan Carries On
Charlie Chan Carries On

1931

as Mrs. Luce