- Edith Evans
-
Not to be confused with Edith Corse Evans.
Dame Edith Evans
DBE
Born Edith Mary Evans
8 February 1888
London, EnglandDied 14 October 1976 (aged 88)
Kent, EnglandOccupation Actress Years active 1910–1976 Spouse George Booth (1925-1935) Dame Edith Mary Evans, DBE (8 February 1888 – 14 October 1976) was a British actress.[1] She was known for her work on the British stage. She also appeared in a number of films, for which she received three Academy Award nominations, plus a BAFTA and a Golden Globe award.
Evans was particularly effective at portraying haughty aristocratic ladies, as in two of her most famous roles: Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest (both on stage and in the 1952 film), and Miss Western in the 1963 film of Tom Jones. By contrast, she played a poverty-stricken old woman in one of her most acclaimed film roles, in The Whisperers (1967).
Contents
Theatre
Edith Evans was born in London, the daughter of Edward Evans, a civil servant, and his wife, Caroline Ellen Foster. She was educated at St Michael's Church of England School, Pimlico, before being apprenticed at the age of 15 in 1903 as a milliner.
Her first stage appearance was with Miss Massey's Shakespeare Players in the role of Viola in Twelfth Night in October 1910. In 1912 she was discovered by the noted producer William Poel and made her first professional appearance for Poel in August of that year, playing the role of Gautami in a sixth-century Hindu classic, Sakuntala. She received much attention with her performance as Cressida in Troilus and Cressida in London and subsequently at Stratford-upon-Avon.
Her career spanned sixty years during which she played over 150 different roles, in works by Shakespeare, Congreve, Ibsen, Wycherley, Wilde and dramatists of her era including George Bernard Shaw, Enid Bagnold, Christopher Fry, and Noël Coward. She created six of Shaw's characters: the Serpent, the Oracle, the She-Ancient, and the Ghost of the Serpent in Back to Methuselah (1923); Orinthia in The Apple Cart (1929); and Epifania in The Millionairess (1940). Other performances which many considered definitive were as Millamant in The Way of the World (1924), Rosalind in As You Like It (1926 and 1936), the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet (1932, 1934, 1935, and 1961), and, most notably, as Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest (1939), a role with which she became identified in the public's mind (in particular for her drippingly sarcastic delivery of the line: "A handbag?"). In 1964 she appeared as Judith Bliss in a revival of Hay Fever by Noël Coward, directed by the playwright himself, for the National Theatre Company at the Old Vic.
Film
Edith Evans had begun her film career in 1915, but was noted mostly for her stage work until she appeared in the 1949 films The Queen of Spades and The Last Days of Dolwyn. She was the Ghost of Christmas Past in the 1970 musical version of Scrooge starring Albert Finney. Edith Evans made her American television debut in 1961 in Jean Anouilh's comedy, Time Remembered with Christopher Plummer.
In 1925, Edith Evans married George (Guy) Booth. He died a decade later from a brain tumor. There were no children of this marriage, and Evans never remarried.
Portraits
Walter Sickert painted Edith Evans as Katharina, the lead character in Shakespeare's romantic comedy, The Taming of the Shrew.
A sculpted head of her was for many years on display at the Royal Court Theatre, London.
Edith Evans was created a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1946. She also received four honorary degrees from the universities of London (1950), Cambridge (1951), Oxford (1954) and Hull (1968).
Her ashes rest at St Paul's, Covent Garden, London. There is a blue plaque outside her house at 109 Ebury Street, London.
Theatre
- 1909-10: Bad Girl of the Family, The Grand Theatre, Southampton
- 1912-13: Elizabeth Cooper, Haymarket
- 1917-18: Manfred, Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
- 1919: Merchant of Venice, Royal Court Theatre
- 1920-21: Mother Eve, Ambassadors Theatre
- 1920-21: Witch of Edmonton,The Lyric, Hammersmith
- 1922-23: Rumour, The Globe Theatre
- 1923-24: Way of the World, The Lyric, Hammersmith
- 1923-24: Adding Machine, The Strand Theatre
- 1924: Midsummer Night’s Dream, Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
- 1924-25: Midsummer Night's Dream, Drury Lane
- 1925-26: Much Ado About Nothing, Old Vic
- 1925-26: She Stoops To Conquer Old Vic
- 1925-26: Julius Caesar, Old Vic
- 1925-26: As You Like It, Old Vic
- 1925-26: Romeo and Juliet, Old Vic
- 1925-26: Shoemaker's Holiday, Old Vic
- 1925-26: Taming of the Shrew,Old Vic
- 1925-26: Antony and Cleopatra, Old Vic
- 1925-26: Measure for Measure, Old Vic
- 1925-26: Child in Flanders,Old Vic
- 1925-26: Everyman, Old Vic
- 1925-26: Merchant of Venice,Old Vic
- 1925-26: Richard III, Old Vic
- 1925-26: Merry Wives of Windsor,Old Vic
- 1925-26: Shakespeare Birthday Festival, Old Vic
- 1926-27: Rosmersholm, Kingsway Theatre
- 1927: The Way of The World, Wyndham's Theatre
- 1927-28: Shakespeare Birthday Festival, Old Vic
- 1928-29: Apple Cart, The Malvern Theatre, Worcestershire
- 1929-30: Shakespeare Birthday Festival, Old Vic
- 1931: O.H.M.S., Arts Theatre, New Theatre
- 1931-32: Twelfth Night, Old Vic
- 1931-32: Shakespeare Birthday Festival, Old Vic
- 1931-32: Othello, Old Vic
- 1933: The Late Christopher Bean, St.James's Theatre
- 1935-36: Romeo and Juliet, New Theatre
- 1936-37: Taming of The Shrew, New Theatre
- 1936-37: Witch of Edmonton, Old Vic
- 1936-37: As You Like It, Old Vic; New Theatre
- 1936-37: Country Wife, Old Vic
- 1937: The Taming of The Shrew, New Theatre
- 1937-38: Robert's Wife, Globe Theatre
- 1938-39: Importance of Being Earnest, The Globe Theatre
- 1939-40: Importance of Being Earnest, The Prince's Theatre, Bristol
- 1946: Anthony and Cleopatra, Theatre Royal, Newcastle-upon-Tyne; Piccadilly Theatre
- 1949: Daphne Loreola, Wyndham's Theatre
- 1951: Waters of The Moon, Theatre Royal, Haymarket
- 1954: The Dark is Light Enough, Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon; Opera House, Manchester; Aldwych Theatre
- 1957: The Chalk Garden, Theatre Royal, Haymarket
- 1962 (4 March): Programme of Poetry and music, Aldwych
- 1963: Gentle Jack, Queen's Theatre
- 1964: Hay Fever, Old Vic National Theatre
- 1965: The Chinese Prime Minister by Enid Bagnold,Globe
- 1968 (Feb):Aerial Football and The Black Girl in Search of God, Mermaid Theatre
- 1974: Edith Evans …and Friends, Theatre Royal Haymarket
Filmography
Year Film Role Notes 1915 Honeymoon for Three A Welsh Singer Mrs. Pomfrey 1916 East Is East Aunt 1949 The Queen of Spades The Old Countess Ranevskaya The Last Days of Dolwyn Merri aka Women of Dolwyn 1952 The Importance of Being Earnest Lady Augusta Bracknell 1958 Look Back in Anger Mrs. Tanner 1959 The Nun's Story Rev. Mother Emmanuel (as Dame Edith Evans)
National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture1963 Tom Jones Miss Western Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best British Actress1964 The Chalk Garden Mrs. St. Maugham National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best British Actress1965 Young Cassidy Lady Gregory 1967 The Whisperers Mrs. Maggie Ross BAFTA Award for Best British Actress
Silver Bear for Best Actress (Berlin)[2]
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
National Board of Review Award for Best Actress
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress
Nominated — Academy Award for Best ActressFitzwilly Miss Victoria Woodworth 1968 Prudence and the Pill Lady Roberta Bates 1969 The Madwoman of Chaillot Josephine Crooks and Coronets Lady Sophie Fitzmore 1970 Scrooge Ghost of Christmas Past 1973 A Doll's House Anne-Marie El caballo torero 1974 Craze Aunt Louise 1976 The Slipper and the Rose Dowager Queen 1977 Nasty Habits Sister Hildegard Notes
- 1977 - Ned's Girl by Bryan Forbes, Elm Tree Books
References
- ^ Obituary Variety, October 20, 1976, page 205.
- ^ "Berlinale 1967: Prize Winners". berlinale.de. http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1967/03_preistr_ger_1967/03_Preistraeger_1967.html. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
External links
- Edith Evans at Find a Grave
- Edith Evans at the Internet Movie Database
- Edith Evans at the Internet Broadway Database
- Edith Evans biography and credits at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
- Performances by Edith Evans listed in The Theatre Collection, University of Bristol
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role (1960–1979) Rachel Roberts British & Shirley MacLaine Foreign (1960) · Dora Bryan British & Sophia Loren Foreign (1961) · Leslie Caron British & Anne Bancroft Foreign (1962) · Rachel Roberts British & Patricia Neal Foreign (1963) · Audrey Hepburn British & Anne Bancroft Foreign (1964) · Julie Christie British & Patricia Neal Foreign (1965) · Elizabeth Taylor British & Jeanne Moreau Foreign (1966) · Edith Evans British & Anouk Aimée Foreign (1967) · Katharine Hepburn (1968) · Maggie Smith (1969) · Katharine Ross (1970) · Glenda Jackson (1971) · Liza Minnelli (1972) · Stéphane Audran (1973) · Joanne Woodward (1974) · Ellen Burstyn (1975) · Louise Fletcher (1976) · Diane Keaton (1977) · Jane Fonda (1978) · Jane Fonda (1979)
Complete list · (1952–1959) · (1960–1979) · (1980–1999) · (2000–2019) Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama (1961–1980) Geraldine Page (1961) · Geraldine Page (1962) · Leslie Caron (1963) · Anne Bancroft (1964) · Samantha Eggar (1965) · Anouk Aimée (1966) · Edith Evans (1967) · Joanne Woodward (1968) · Geneviève Bujold (1969) · Ali MacGraw (1970) · Jane Fonda (1971) · Liv Ullmann (1972) · Marsha Mason (1973) · Gena Rowlands (1974) · Louise Fletcher (1975) · Faye Dunaway (1976) · Jane Fonda (1977) · Jane Fonda (1978) · Sally Field (1979) · Mary Tyler Moore (1980)
Complete List · (1943–1960) · (1961–1980) · (1981–2000) · (2001–2020) Categories:- Actresses awarded British damehoods
- BAFTA winners (people)
- Best Drama Actress Golden Globe (film) winners
- Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire
- English Christian Scientists
- English film actors
- English stage actors
- Actors from London
- Royal National Theatre Company members
- Shakespearean actors
- 1888 births
- 1976 deaths
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