Helen Westley

Infobox actor
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name = Helen Westley


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birthname = Henrietta Remsen Meserole Manney
birthdate = birth date|1875|03|28
location = Brooklyn, New York, USA
deathdate = death date and age|1942|12|12|1875|03|28
deathplace = Middlebush, New Jersey, USA
occupation = Actress
spouse = John Westley (1900–?) (divorced)

Helen Westley (March 28, 1875 – December 12, 1942) was an American character actress.

Career

She was one of the members on the original board of the Theatre Guild, and appeared in many of their productions, among them "Peer Gynt", and some of their productions of plays by George Bernard Shaw—"Pygmalion", "Caesar and Cleopatra", "Heartbreak House", "Major Barbara", "The Doctor's Dilemma", and "The Apple Cart". She appeared in the original Broadway productions of two plays which, after her death, would be turned into classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals; they were "Green Grow The Lilacs", which became "Oklahoma!", and "Liliom", which became "Carousel". Westley played Aunt Eller in the former, and Mrs. Muskat (who became Mrs. Mullin in "Carousel") in the latter. She also appeared in the original Broadway production of Eugene O'Neill's marathon play, "Strange Interlude".

Westley played roles, both comic and dramatic, in many films. They included "Death Takes a Holiday", "All This and Heaven Too", four films opposite child star Shirley Temple (including "Dimples" and "Heidi"), the 1934 surprise hit "Anne of Green Gables", the 1935 film version of "Roberta", and the 1936 film version of "Show Boat", in which she replaced Edna May Oliver, when Ms. Oliver declined to repeat her stage role as Parthy Ann Hawks. She also appeared in "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm" in 1938 with Shirley Temple and Randolph Scott as Aunt Miranda. In 1936 she played in "Banjo on My Knee" with Barbara Stanwyck, Walter Brennan and Buddy Ebsen.

External links

*imdb name|id=0922818|name=Helen Westley

Persondata
NAME= Westley, Helen
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Manney, Henrietta Remsen Meserole
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Actress
DATE OF BIRTH= March 28, 1875
PLACE OF BIRTH= Brooklyn, New York, United States
DATE OF DEATH= December 12, 1942
PLACE OF DEATH= Middlebush, New Jersey, United States