- Meggie Albanesi
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Meggie Albanesi (1899–1923) was a British stage and film actress.[1] She was born Margherita Albanesi in London on 8 October 1899. Her mother was Effie Adelaide Rowlands, a writer, and her father was Chevalier Carlo Albanesi, an Italian violinist. She attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and made her film debut in 1919. She enjoyed a successful theatre career, starring in plays such as John Galsworthy's The First and the Last opposite Owen Nares. She was soon being hailed by critics as one of the brightest prospects in British acting.[2] However after making just six films Albanesi died at the age of 23 in Broadstairs, Kent on 9 December 1923.
Albanesi had a relationship with the theatre and film producer Basil Dean who continued to be obsessed with her after her death.[3] Dean was first attracted to his wife the actress Victoria Hopper because of her physical resemblance to Albanesi and cast her in a number of his productions. His final film as a director 21 Days was based on a play The First and the Last on which he had worked with Albanesi before her death.[4]
Contents
Filmography
- The Better 'ole (1919)
- Mr. Wu (1919)
- Darby and Joan (1919)
- The Skin Game (1921)
- The Great Day (1921)
- Det omringade huset, aka The House Surrounded (1922)
References
- ^ http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/66849
- ^ Chambers p.15
- ^ Sweet p.117
- ^ Sweet p.142-143
Bibliography
- Chambers, Colin. Continuum Companion to Twentieth Century Theatre. Continuun, 2002.
- Sweet, Matthew. Shepperton Babylon: The Lost Worlds of British Cinema. Faber and Faber, 2005.
External links
Categories:- 1899 births
- 1923 deaths
- British film actors
- British stage actors
- People from London
- English people of Italian descent
- Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
- British film actor stubs
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