Helen Westley

Helen Westley
Born	Henrietta Remsen Meserole Manney March 28, 1875(1875-03-28) Brooklyn, New York, USA
Died	December 12, 1942 (aged 67) Middlebush, New Jersey, USA
Occupation	Actress
Spouse(s)	John Westley (1900-?) (divorced)

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

[edit] 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.

Persondata
NAME	Westley, Helen
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Manney, Henrietta Remsen Meserole
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Actress
DATE OF BIRTH	1875-03-28
PLACE OF BIRTH	Brooklyn, New York, USA
DATE OF DEATH	1942-12-12
PLACE OF DEATH	Middlebush, New Jersey, USA