Mavis Villiers

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mavis Villiers
Press photo 1966
Spouse	Donald Everett Miller
Born	1911 Neutral Bay, Sydney, Australia
Died	March 1976 Paddington, London

Mavis Villiers, born Mavis Clare Cooney (18 January 1911, Sydney, Australia — died March 1976, Paddington, London, England), was a British actress of stage, film and television. Her brother was Cecil Cooney, a camera operator and cinematographer.^[1] Her stage name, Villiers, was taken from her maternal grandfather.^[2] She began her career as a child film actress in Australia, but no specific credits or references can be found.^[3]

Life and career

Mavis emigrated to the United States with her family in 1921, aged 11.^[1] The family settled in Hollywood, where her father became a technician at a film company.^[4]^[5] Both Mavis and her brother Cecil began their careers in the silent era; her first accredited film role was as 'the Girl' in a 1927 short comedy, The Bum's Rush, featuring expat Australian star Snub Pollard. Following her parents' divorce, Mavis and her mother Clara migrated to London, England, in 1933.^[6] Her brother Cecil followed at some stage; her father remained in California where he died at Ventura in 1960.^[7]

Her stage roles included that of Mrs Van Mier in the 1962 London production of Noël Coward's Sail Away at the Savoy Theatre.^[8] She was also in the cast of the 1957 West End production of Damn Yankees at the London Coliseum; this production featured Australian actor Bill Kerr as Mr. Applegate.^[9] Her sole appearance on the American Broadway stage, was in the role of Aunt Lizzy Sweeney, in the first Broadway production of Brian Friel's Philadelphia Here I Come! at the Helen Hayes Theatre in 1966;^[10]^[11] she also played the same role in the 1975 film version of that play, her last role before her death.^[12]

She had appeared in films from 1927 to 1975. Some of her more prominent film roles, that best showcase her talent, were in: The Bum's Rush (1927) starring Snub Pollard; Saloon Bar (1940) starring Gordon Harker; South American George (1941) starring George Formby; One Exciting Night (1944) starring Vera Lynn; Suddenly, Last Summer (1959) (based on Tennessee Williams' play) starring Katharine Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift; Victim (1961) starring Dirk Bogarde; and Philadelphia, Here I Come! (1975).^[13]

Her television appearances between 1938 and 1972, include roles in various productions, series and episodes. They include the BBC's Sunday Night Theatre, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Presents, The Vise, The Twilight Zone, The Saint (TV series), From a Bird's Eye View and Night Gallery.

Family and death

Mavis met her future husband, Captain Donald E. Miller, at the American Eagle Club in Charing Cross Road, London, in 1941. The club was one not dissimilar to that depicted in her film One Exciting Night; and Mavis was working at the club at that time. Donald was a Pilot Officer in the American Eagle Squadrons attached to the Royal Air Force. He was subsequently shot down over Germany and taken prisoner for two years until released on VE day in 1945. The couple were married in London on 16 June 1945 and planned to settle in the United States after Mavis had completed a contractual obligation to appear in a French film, Le Battalion du ciel (1946).^[3] Before they could be reunited, Donald, now working for Pan-American Airways in San Francisco, died from injuries sustained in a car accident on 4 April 1946, nine months after their marriage.^[14] The union was childless and Mavis never remarried. Mavis died from pneumonia at her Paddington flat in 1976, aged 65.^[15]

Selected filmography

External links

Mavis Villiers at the Internet Movie Database
IBDb.com
BFI.org
TCM.com

Footnotes

Authority control	VIAF: 101509884

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.