| Zeffie Tilbury | |
|---|---|
| Born | Zeffie Agnes Lydia Tilbury November 20, 1863 Paddington, Middlesex, England |
| Died | July 24, 1950 (aged 86) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Years active | 1917–1942 |
| Spouse | L. E. Woodthorpe (?-1915) (his death) Arthur Frederick Lewis (1887-?) |
Zeffie Agnes Lydia Tilbury (20 November 1863 - 24 July 1950) was an English actress[1][2]
Contents |
Born in Paddington, Middlesex, England Tilbury was known first on the London stage[3] and later for playing wise or evil older characters in films, such as the distinguished lady gambler at dinner with Garbo in The Single Standard, as Grandma Joad in The Grapes of Wrath and Grandma Lester in Tobacco Road.
She appeared in over 70 films.[4] 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.
Tilbury died in Los Angeles, California in 1950 at the age of 86.[4]
Tilbury was the daughter of the variety performer Lydia Thompson and John Christian Tilbury, a riding-master, who died in a steeplechasing accident in 1864, when he was rolled on by his horse.[5]
Tilbury was married twice. First to Arthur Frederick Lewis in June, 1887, and later to L. E. Woodthorpe, who died on April 8, 1915.