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IMDbPro

Ethel Griffies(1878-1975)

  • Actress
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Ethel Griffies
The daughter of actor-manager Samuel Rupert Woods and actress Lillie Roberts, Ethel Griffies began her own stage career at the age of 3. She was 21 when she finally made her London debut in 1899, and 46 when she made her first Broadway appearance in "Havoc" (1924). Discounting a tentative stab at filmmaking in 1917, she made her movie bow in 1930, repeating her stage role in Old English (1930). Habitually cast as a crotchety old lady with the proverbial golden heart, she alternated between bits and prominently featured roles for the next 35 years. Her larger parts included Grace Poole in both the 1934 (Jane Eyre (1934)) and 1943 (Jane Eyre (1943)) versions of "Jane Eyre" and "Mrs. Bundy", the amateur ornithologist in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963). Every so often she'd take a sabbatical from film work to concentrate on the stage; she made her last Broadway appearance in 1967, at which time she was England's oldest working actress. Presumably at the invitation of fellow Briton Arthur Treacher, Ethel was a frequent guest on TV's The Merv Griffin Show (1962), never failing to bring down the house with her wickedly witty comments on her 80 years in show business.
BornApril 26, 1878
DiedSeptember 9, 1975(97)
BornApril 26, 1878
DiedSeptember 9, 1975(97)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank

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Known for

Alfred Hitchcock and Tippi Hedren in The Birds (1963)
The Birds
7.6
  • Mrs. Bundy
  • 1963
Maureen O'Hara, Roddy McDowall, Sara Allgood, Donald Crisp, John Loder, Walter Pidgeon, and Evan S. Evans in How Green Was My Valley (1941)
How Green Was My Valley
7.7
  • Mrs. Nicholas
  • 1941
Brian Aherne and Carole Lombard in Vigil in the Night (1940)
Vigil in the Night
6.7
  • Matron East
  • 1940
Mystery of Edwin Drood (1935)
Mystery of Edwin Drood
6.4
  • Miss Twinkleton
  • 1935

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actress



  • Peter Falk in The Trials of O'Brien (1965)
    The Trials of O'Brien
    7.8
    TV Series
    • Gypsy Woman
    • 1966
  • Ann-Margret and Michael Parks in Bus Riley's Back in Town (1965)
    Bus Riley's Back in Town
    6.0
    • Mrs. Spencer
    • 1965
  • Zina Bethune and Shirl Conway in The Doctors and the Nurses (1962)
    The Doctors and the Nurses
    7.4
    TV Series
    • Mrs. Jameson Pierce
    • 1965
  • Alfred Hitchcock in The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962)
    The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
    8.5
    TV Series
    • Lulu
    • 1964
  • Billy Liar (1963)
    Billy Liar
    7.2
    • Grandma Florence
    • 1963
  • Kraft Theatre (1947)
    The United States Steel Hour
    7.8
    TV Series
    • Mrs. McEwan
    • 1963
  • Alfred Hitchcock and Tippi Hedren in The Birds (1963)
    The Birds
    7.6
    • Mrs. Bundy
    • 1963
  • The Bun House Wedding
    TV Movie
    • Miss Butterworth
    • 1961
  • ITV Play of the Week (1955)
    ITV Play of the Week
    6.7
    TV Series
    • Mrs. Mary Ellis
    • Lady Margaret
    • 1959–1960
  • Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and Rod Serling in Suspense (1949)
    Suspense
    7.3
    TV Series
    • 1950
  • Mady Christians in The Clock (1949)
    The Clock
    7.3
    TV Series
    • 1950
  • Kraft Theatre (1947)
    Kraft Theatre
    7.9
    TV Series
    • 1948–1950
  • Kraft Theatre (1947)
    The Philco Television Playhouse
    7.4
    TV Series
    • Grandmother
    • Mrs. White
    • 1949–1950
  • Lights Out (1946)
    Lights Out
    6.8
    TV Series
    • 1950
  • The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre (1948)
    The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre
    7.8
    TV Series
    • 1948–1949

Soundtrack



  • Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald, and Elizabeth Patterson in Love Me Tonight (1932)
    Love Me Tonight
    7.5
    • performer: "Mimi" (1932), "The Son of a Gun Is Nothing But a Tailor" (1932) (uncredited)
    • 1932

Personal details

Edit
  • Height
    • 5′ 6″ (1.68 m)
  • Born
    • April 26, 1878
    • Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, UK
  • Died
    • September 9, 1975
    • London, England, UK(stroke)
  • Spouses
      Edward Cooper1917 - July 15, 1956 (his death)
  • Other works
    Stage: Appeared (as "Alice Derring"; Broadway debut) in "Havoc" on Broadway. Written by Harry Wall. Directed by Leo G. Carroll. Maxine Elliott's Theatre: 1 Sep 1924-Oct 1924 (closing date unknown/48 performances). Cast: Claud Allister (as "Capt. Taylor"; Broadway debut), Joyce Barbour (as "Violet Derring"; Broadway debut), Cosmo Kyrle Bellew (as "Mr. Stephens"), Richard Bird (as "The Babe"), Leo G. Carroll (as "Roddy Dunton"), Jack Esmond (as "Hospital Orderly"), Ralph Forbes (as "Dick Chappell"; Broadway debut), Gurney, Denis (as "Pvt. Jones"), Forrester Harvey (as "Biddie"), Vincent Holman (as "Sgt. Maj. Paley"), Mollie Johnson (as "Tessie Dunton"), William Kershaw (as "Smithy"), Donovan Maule (as "Lance-Cpl. Higgins"), Ruth Raymonde (as "Bennett"). Produced by Lee Shubert and J.J. Shubert.
  • Publicity listings
    • 4 Articles

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    At the time of her death she was the oldest working actress in English Theatre. Her career began as a baby in 1881 when she was carried onstage by her acting parents.
  • Quotes
    They get to know your face too well out there in Hollywood, and you're finished.

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