Elisabeth Risdon
Elisabeth Risdon was an English film actress. She appeared in more than 140 films from 1913 to 1952. A beauty in her youth, she usually played in society parts. In later years in films she switched to playing character parts.
Early life
Risdon was born in London as Daisy Cartwright Risdon, the daughter of John Jenkins Risdon and Martha Harrop Risdon. She graduated from the Royal Academy of Arts in 1918 with high honours.
Career
She attracted the attention of George Bernard Shaw and was cast as the lead in his biggest plays. Besides her performances for Shaw, she was leading lady for actors including George Arliss, Otis Skinner, and William Faversham. She was also under contract with the Theatre Guild for many years.
Risdon's film debut came in England, where she made 13 silent films. She came to the United States in 1912, and her first film with sound was Guard That Girl.
Her Broadway credits include Laburnum Grove, Big Hearted Herbert, Uncle Tom's Cabin, For Services Rendered, We Never Learn, The Springboard, Right You Are If You Think You Are, The Silver Cord, A Proud Woman, Lovely Lady, The Enchanted April, Thrills, Artistic Temperament, Cock O' the Roost, The Lady, The Nightcap, Heartbreak House, Footloose, Dear Brutus, Humpty Dumpty, Muggins, Seven Days' Leave, Misalliance, The Morris Dance, The Poetasters of Ispahan, Beauty and the Jacobin, and Fanny's First Play.
Personal life
In 1916, she married silent film director George Loane Tucker, who died in 1921. In 1938, she married actor Brandon Evans, who died in April 1958.
Death
Risdon died in December 1958 in St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California from a cerebral hemorrhage.
Partial filmography
Maria Marten - Maria MartenThe Suicide Club - ZephyrineThe Loss of the Birkenhead - DeborahHer Luck in London - Nellie HarbourneThe Idol of Paris - Flare-FlareHoneymoon for Three - Molly Van DamGilbert Gets Tiger-It is - Mrs. GilbertFrom Shopgirl to Duchess - Sylvia GrayFlorence Nightingale - Florence NightingaleHer Nameless Child - Phyllis / Alice FordHome - Joan BicesterThe Christian - Gloria QuayleLove in a Wood - RosilandFine Feathers - Meg RobertsCharity Ann - Ann CharityA Will of Her Own - Isabel StantonMeg the Lady - Lady BrisbyEsther - EstherDriven - Katherine CrichtonThe Hypocrites - Rachel NeveThe Princess of Happy Chance - Princess Felicia / Lucidora EdenThe Manxman - Kate GregeenMother Love - MarySmith - SmithThe Mother of Dartmoor - Avesa PomeroyGuard That Girl - Aunt CatherineCrime and Punishment - Mrs. RaskolnikovLady of Secrets - Mrs. Emily WhittakerDon't Gamble with Love - GraceThe King Steps Out - Grand Duchess SofiaThe Final Hour - Fortune TellerCraig's Wife - Mrs. LandrethTheodora Goes Wild - Aunt MaryThe Woman I Love - Mme. HerbillionMountain Justice - Meg HarkinsMake Way for Tomorrow - Cora PayneThey Won't Forget - Mrs. HaleDead End - Mrs. ConnellMannequin - Mrs.CassidyMad About Music - Annette FusenotMy Bill - Aunt CarolineCowboy from Brooklyn - Mrs. JordanThe Affairs of Annabel - Mrs. FletcherGirls on Probation - Kate HeathTom Sawyer, Detective - Aunt SallyThe Great Man Votes - Phoebe AinsleeThe Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Widow DouglassThe Man Who Dared - Jessie CarterSorority House - Mrs. ScottThe Girl from Mexico - Aunt Della LindsayFive Came Back - Martha SpenglerThe Forgotten Woman - Margaret BurkeFull Confession - Norah O'KeefeDisputed Passage - Mrs. CunninghamThe Roaring Twenties - Mrs. ShermanMexican Spitfire - Aunt Della LindsayThe Man Who Wouldn't Talk - Jury MemberAbe Lincoln in Illinois - Sarah LincolnHoneymoon Deferred - Sarah FromeMa! He's Making Eyes at Me (film) - MinervaSaturday's Children - Mrs. HalevySing, Dance, Plenty Hot - AgathaThe Howards of Virginia - Aunt ClarissaSlightly Tempted - Ethelreda KnoxLet's Make Music - Malvina AdamsHigh Sierra - MaNice Girl? - Martha PeasleyMr. Dynamite - AchillesFootlight Fever - Aunt Hattie DrakeThe Mexican Spitfire's Baby - Aunt DellaParis Calling - Madame JennetierJail House Blues - Mrs. Alyosius McGonigle McGannThe Man Who Returned to Life - Minerva SundayThe Lady Is Willing - Mrs. CummingsMexican Spitfire at Sea - Aunt Della LindsayReap the Wild Wind - Mrs. ClaiborneAre Husbands Necessary? - Mrs. WestwoodI Live on Danger - Mrs. MorrellMexican Spitfire Sees a Ghost - Aunt Della LindsayMexican Spitfire's Elephant - Aunt Della LindsayJourney for Margaret - Mrs. BaileyRandom Harvest - Mrs. LloydThe Amazing Mrs. Holliday - Louise HollidayMexican Spitfire's Blessed Event - Aunt Della LindsayNever a Dull Moment - Mrs. Schuyler Manning IIIHigher and Higher - Mrs. Georgia KeatingWeird Woman - Grace GunnisonThe Canterville Ghost - Mrs. PolverdineIn the Meantime, Darling - Mrs. Helen CorkeryTall in the Saddle - Miss Elizabeth MartinBlonde Fever - Mrs. TalfordGrissly's Millions - Leona PalmorA Song for Miss Julie - Mrs. Ambrose CharterisThe Unseen - Mrs. NorrisMama Loves Papa - Jessie ToddThe Fighting Guardsman - Mme. de Montrevel They Made Me a Killer - 'Ma' ConleyThe Walls Came Tumbling Down - Catherine WalshLover Come Back - 'Ma' WilliamsRoll on Texas Moon - Cactus Kate TaylorThe Shocking Miss Pilgrim - Mrs. PrichardThe Egg and I - Birdie's MotherThe Romance of Rosy Ridge - Emily BaggettLife with Father - Mrs. WhiteheadMourning Becomes Electra - Mrs. HillsHigh Wall - Mrs. KenetThe Bride Goes Wild - Mrs. CarruthersBodyguard - Gene DysenSealed Verdict - Mrs. HocklandEvery Girl Should Be Married - Mary NolanDown Dakota Way - Dolly PaxtonGuilty of Treason - Mother MindszentyThe Secret Fury - Dr. TwiningSierra - Aunt SusanHills of Oklahoma - Kate CarneyBunco Squad - Jessica RoyceThe Milkman - Mrs. Laura CarterMy True Story - Mme. RousseauIn Old Amarillo - Granny AdamsBannerline - Mrs. Margaret TrimbleIt's a Big Country - Diner on Train Scaramouche - Isabelle de Valmorin