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{{short description|British actress}}
{{short description|British actress (1893–1981)}}
{{refimprove|date=March 2013}}
{{more citations needed|date=March 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2012}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2012}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name = Isobel Elsom
| name = Isobel Elsom
| image = Isobel Elsom postcard crop.jpg
| image = Isobel Elsom postcard crop.jpg
| caption =
| caption = Elsom photographed by [[Lallie Charles]]
| birth_name = Isabelle Reed
| birth_name = Isabelle Reed
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1893|3|16|df=yes}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1893|3|16|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Chesterton, Cambridge|Chesterton]], Cambridge, England
| birth_place = [[Chesterton, Cambridge|Chesterton]], Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1981|1|12|1893|3|16|df=yes}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1981|1|12|1893|3|16|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Woodland Hills, Los Angeles]], California, U.S.
| death_place = [[Woodland Hills, Los Angeles]], California, U.S.
| restingplace = [[Cremains]] scattered into the Pacific Ocean
| restingplace =
| occupation = Actress
| occupation = Actress
| yearsactive = 1915–1964
| yearsactive = 1915–1964
| spouse = {{plainlist|
| spouse = [[Maurice Elvey]]<br>({{abbr|m.|married}} 1923; {{abbr|div.|divorced}} 19??)<br>{{marriage|[[Carl Harbord]]|1942|1958|end=died}}
* [[Maurice Elvey]]<br>({{abbr|m.|married}} 1923; {{abbr|div.|divorced}} 19??)
* {{marriage|[[Carl Harbord]]|1942|1958|end=died}}
}}
}}
}}


'''Isobel Elsom''' (born '''Isabelle Reed''', 16 March 1893&nbsp;– 12 January 1981) was an English film, theatre, and television actress.
'''Isobel Elsom''' (born '''Isabelle Reed'''; 16 March 1893&nbsp;– 12 January 1981) was an English film, theatre, and television actress. She was often cast as aristocrats or upper-class women.


== Early years ==
== Early years ==
Born in [[Chesterton, Cambridge|Chesterton]], Cambridge, Elsom attended Howard College, Bedford England.<ref>''Who Was Who in the Theatre: 1912-1976'' vol.2 D-H p.756-757, originally published annually by John Parker; this final 1976 edition published by Gale Research Company</ref>
Born in [[Chesterton, Cambridge|Chesterton]], Cambridge, Elsom attended Howard College, Bedford, England.<ref>''Who Was Who in the Theatre: 1912-1976'' vol.2 D-H pp. 756-757, originally published annually by John Parker; this final 1976 edition published by Gale Research Company</ref>


==Career==
==Career==
She debuted on stage in London as a member of the chorus of ''The Quaker Girl'' (1911).<ref name="obit" /> [[Gilbert Miller]] promoted her to stardom in ''The Outsider''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Isobel Elsom, Coming in 'Ghosts', Stated Career as Chorus Girl |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63141324/isobel-elsom/ |access-date=13 November 2020 |work=The Gazette |date=6 March 1946 |location=Canada, Montreal |page=3|via = [[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>
Elsom usually was cast as an aristocratic lady of the upper class.

She debuted on stage in London as a member of the chorus of ''The Quaker Girl'' (1911).<ref name="obit" /> [[Gilbert Miller]] promoted her to stardom in ''The Outsider''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Isobel Elsom, Coming in 'Ghosts', Stated Career as Chorus Girl |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63141324/isobel-elsom/ |access-date=November 13, 2020 |work=The Gazette |date=March 6, 1946 |location=Canada, Montreal |page=3|via = [[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>


Over the course of three decades, she appeared in 17 Broadway productions,<ref>{{cite web |title=Isobel Elsom |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/isobel-elsom-39532 |website=Internet Broadway Database |publisher=The Broadway League |access-date=November 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://archive.vn/K4xrJ |archive-date=24 October 2016}}</ref> beginning with ''The Ghost Train'' (1926).<ref name=obit/> Her best-known stage role was the wealthy murder victim in ''[[Ladies in Retirement]]'' (1939), a role she repeated in the 1941 film version. Her other theatre credits included ''[[The Innocents (play)|The Innocents]]'' and ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]''. Elsom made her first screen appearance during the [[silent film]] era (she frequently co-starred with [[Owen Nares]]) and appeared in nearly 100 films throughout her career.
Over the course of three decades, she appeared in 17 Broadway productions,<ref>{{cite web |title=Isobel Elsom |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/isobel-elsom-39532 |website=Internet Broadway Database |publisher=The Broadway League |access-date=13 November 2020 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20161024225908/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/isobel-elsom-39532 |archive-date=24 October 2016}}</ref> beginning with ''The Ghost Train'' (1926).<ref name=obit/> Her best-known stage role was the wealthy murder victim in ''[[Ladies in Retirement]]'' (1939), a role she repeated in the 1941 film version. Her other theatre credits included ''[[The Innocents (play)|The Innocents]]'' and ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]''. Elsom made her first screen appearance during the [[silent film]] era (she frequently co-starred with [[Owen Nares]]) and appeared in nearly 100 films throughout her career.


She met her first husband,<ref>This is probably the wrong film for their first meeting. More likely 1923. See ''Maurice Elvey''</ref> director [[Maurice Elvey]], when he cast her in his 1919 film ''[[Quinneys (1919 film)|Quinneys]]''. He directed her in eight more films before they divorced. Elsom's other screen credits included ''[[The White Cliffs of Dover (1944 film)|The White Cliffs of Dover]]'' (1944), ''[[The Unseen (1945 film)|The Unseen]]'' (1945), ''[[Of Human Bondage (1946 film)|Of Human Bondage]]'' (1946), ''[[The Ghost and Mrs. Muir]]'', ''[[Monsieur Verdoux]]'', ''[[The Paradine Case]]'', and ''[[The Two Mrs. Carrolls]]'' (all 1947), ''[[The Secret Garden (1949 film)|The Secret Garden]]'' (1949), ''[[Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (film)|Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing]]'' (1955), ''[[Lust for Life (1956 film)|Lust for Life]]'' and ''[[23 Paces to Baker Street]]'' (both 1956), and ''[[The Pleasure Seekers (1964 film)|The Pleasure Seekers]]'' and ''[[My Fair Lady (film)|My Fair Lady]]'' (both 1964).
Elsom appeared as the leading lady for the [[Elitch Theatre]] summer season of 1928. At Elitch, she appeared in the role she created in the play ''[[The Outsider (play)|The Outsider]]'' earlier that year on Broadway. A Denver reviewer of the play wrote:<blockquote>If there is anybody in this man's town who doubts that Isobel Elsom, leading woman at the Elitch Gardens Theatre, is an actress of the highest rank, let that doubting Thomas see her work in ''The Outsider'' ... She not only is scoring a brilliant personal triumph, but is demonstrating to local playgoers exactly why she was one of the most popular actresses London ever knew!<ref>{{Cite book|last=Borrillo|first=Theodore A.|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/823177622|title=Denver's historic Elitch Theatre : a nostalgic journey (a history of its times)|date=2012|publisher=[publisher not identified]|isbn=978-0-9744331-4-1|pages=155|oclc=823177622}}</ref></blockquote>She met her first husband,<ref>This is probably the wrong film for their first meeting. More likely 1923. See ''Maurice Elvey''</ref> director [[Maurice Elvey]], when he cast her in his 1919 film ''[[Quinneys (1919 film)|Quinneys]]''. He directed her in eight more films before they divorced. Elsom's other screen credits included ''[[The White Cliffs of Dover (1944 film)|The White Cliffs of Dover]]'' (1944), ''[[The Unseen (1945 film)|The Unseen]]'' (1945), ''[[Of Human Bondage (1946 film)|Of Human Bondage]]'' (1946), ''[[The Ghost and Mrs. Muir]]'', ''[[Monsieur Verdoux]]'', ''[[The Paradine Case]]'', and ''[[The Two Mrs. Carrolls]]'' (all 1947), ''[[The Secret Garden (1949 film)|The Secret Garden]]'' (1949), ''[[Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (film)|Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing]]'' (1955), ''[[Lust for Life (1956 film)|Lust for Life]]'' and ''[[23 Paces to Baker Street]]'' (both 1956), and ''[[The Pleasure Seekers (1964 film)|The Pleasure Seekers]]'' and ''[[My Fair Lady (film)|My Fair Lady]]'' (both 1964).


She appeared opposite [[Jerry Lewis]] in four of his late 1950s/early 1960s films. Elsom's television credits included ''[[Armstrong Circle Theatre]]'', ''[[Hallmark Hall of Fame]]'', ''[[Lux Video Theatre]]'', ''[[My Three Sons]]'', ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]'' (at least four appearances), ''[[Playhouse 90]]'', ''[[Hawaiian Eye]]'', ''[[Straightaway (TV series)|Straightaway]]'', and ''[[Dr. Kildare#Television|Dr. Kildare]]''.
She appeared opposite [[Jerry Lewis]] in four of his late 1950s/early 1960s films. Elsom's television credits included ''[[Armstrong Circle Theatre]]'', ''[[Hallmark Hall of Fame]]'', ''[[Lux Video Theatre]]'', ''[[My Three Sons]]'', ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]'' (at least four appearances), ''[[Playhouse 90]]'', ''[[Hawaiian Eye]]'', ''[[Straightaway (TV series)|Straightaway]]'', and ''[[Dr. Kildare (TV series)|Dr. Kildare]]''.


==Personal life==
==Personal life==
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==Death==
==Death==
Elsom died of heart failure at the [[Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital|Motion Picture & Television Hospital]] in Woodland Hills, California, aged 87.<ref name="obit">{{cite news |title=Isobel Elsom, 87, Dead; Stage and Film Actress |url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/121532425 |access-date=November 12, 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=January 16, 1981 |page=D 17|via = [[ProQuest]]}}</ref>
Elsom died of heart failure at the [[Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital|Motion Picture & Television Hospital]] in Woodland Hills, California, aged 87.<ref name="obit">{{cite news |title=Isobel Elsom, 87, Dead; Stage and Film Actress |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/121532425 |access-date=12 November 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=16 January 1981 |page=D 17|id={{ProQuest|121532425}} |via = [[ProQuest]]}}</ref>


==National Portrait Gallery==
==National Portrait Gallery==
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* ''[[Linked by Fate (film)|Linked by Fate]]'' (1919) - Nina Vernon
* ''[[Linked by Fate (film)|Linked by Fate]]'' (1919) - Nina Vernon
* ''Hope'' (1919) - Jenny Northcote
* ''Hope'' (1919) - Jenny Northcote
* ''Edge o' Beyond'' (1919) - Joyce Grey
* ''[[Edge O' Beyond]]'' (1919) - Joyce Grey
* ''[[A Member of Tattersall's]]'' (1919) - Mary Wilmott
* ''[[A Member of Tattersall's]]'' (1919) - Mary Wilmott
* ''[[The Elder Miss Blossom]]'' (1919) - Sophie Blossom
* ''[[The Elder Miss Blossom]]'' (1919) - Sophie Blossom
Line 63: Line 64:
* ''[[The Game of Life (1922 film)|The Game of Life]]'' (1922) - Alice Fletcher
* ''[[The Game of Life (1922 film)|The Game of Life]]'' (1922) - Alice Fletcher
* ''[[Dick Turpin's Ride to York]]'' (1922) - Esther Bevis
* ''[[Dick Turpin's Ride to York]]'' (1922) - Esther Bevis
* ''[[A Debt of Honour]]'' (1922) - Hope Carteret
* ''[[A Debt of Honour (1922 film)|A Debt of Honour]]'' (1922) - Hope Carteret
* ''[[The Harbour Lights (1923 film)|The Harbour Lights]]'' (1923) - Dora Nelson
* ''[[The Harbour Lights (1923 film)|The Harbour Lights]]'' (1923) - Dora Nelson
* ''[[The Wandering Jew (1923 film)|The Wandering Jew]]'' (1923) - Olalla Quintane
* ''[[The Wandering Jew (1923 film)|The Wandering Jew]]'' (1923) - Olalla Quintane
* ''[[The Sign of Four (1923 film)|The Sign of Four]]'' (1923) - Mary Morstan
* ''[[The Sign of Four (1923 film)|The Sign of Four]]'' (1923) - Mary Morstan
* ''[[The Love Story of Aliette Brunton]]'' (1924) - Aliette Brunton
* ''[[The Love Story of Aliette Brunton (film)|The Love Story of Aliette Brunton]]'' (1924) - Aliette Brunton
* ''[[Who Is the Man?]]'' (1924) - Genevieve Arnault
* ''[[Who Is the Man?]]'' (1924) - Genevieve Arnault
* ''[[The Last Witness (1925 film)|The Last Witness]]'' (1925) - Letitia Brand
* ''[[The Last Witness (1925 film)|The Last Witness]]'' (1925) - Letitia Brand
Line 107: Line 108:
* ''[[The King's Thief]]'' (1955) - Mrs. Bennett
* ''[[The King's Thief]]'' (1955) - Mrs. Bennett
* ''[[Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (film)|Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing]]'' (1955) - Adeline Palmer-Jones
* ''[[Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (film)|Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing]]'' (1955) - Adeline Palmer-Jones
* ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]'' (1956) (Season 1 Episode 23: "Back for Christmas") - Hermione Carpenter
* ''[[Over-Exposed]]'' (1956) - Mrs. Payton Grange
* ''[[Over-Exposed]]'' (1956) - Mrs. Payton Grange
* ''[[23 Paces to Baker Street]]'' (1956) - Lady Syrett
* ''[[23 Paces to Baker Street]]'' (1956) - Lady Syrett
* ''[[Lust for Life (1956 film)|Lust for Life]]'' (1956) - Mrs. Stricker
* ''[[Lust for Life (1956 film)|Lust for Life]]'' (1956) - Mrs. Stricker
* ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]'' (1957) (Season 2 Episode 30: "The Three Dreams of Mr. Findlater") - Minnie Findlater
* ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]'' (1957) (Season 3 Episode 10: "The Diplomatic Corpse") - Mrs. Tait
* ''[[The Guns of Fort Petticoat]]'' (1957) - Mrs. Charlotte Ogden
* ''[[The Guns of Fort Petticoat]]'' (1957) - Mrs. Charlotte Ogden
* ''[[Rock-A-Bye Baby (film)|Rock-A-Bye Baby]]'' (1958) - Mrs. Van Cleeve
* ''[[Rock-A-Bye Baby (film)|Rock-A-Bye Baby]]'' (1958) - Mrs. Van Cleeve
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* ''[[The Bellboy]]'' (1960) - Hotel Guest (uncredited)
* ''[[The Bellboy]]'' (1960) - Hotel Guest (uncredited)
* ''[[The Errand Boy]]'' (1961) - Irma Paramutual
* ''[[The Errand Boy]]'' (1961) - Irma Paramutual
* ''[[The Second Time Around (film)|The Second Time Around]]'' (1961) - Mrs. Rogers
* ''[[The Second Time Around (1961 film)|The Second Time Around]]'' (1961) - Mrs. Rogers
* ''[[The Alfred Hitchcock Hour]]'' (1962) (Season 1 Episode 6: "Final Vow") - Reverend Mother
* ''[[The Alfred Hitchcock Hour]]'' (1963) (Season 1 Episode 29: "The Dark Pool") - Sister Marie Therese
* ''[[Who's Minding the Store?]]'' (1963) - Hazel, a Dowager
* ''[[Who's Minding the Store?]]'' (1963) - Hazel, a Dowager
* ''[[My Fair Lady (film)|My Fair Lady]]'' (1964) - Mrs. Eynsford-Hill
* ''[[My Fair Lady (film)|My Fair Lady]]'' (1964) - Mrs. Eynsford-Hill
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*{{IMDb name|0255695}}
*{{IMDb name|0255695}}
*{{IBDB name}}
*{{IBDB name}}
*{{Find a Grave|15362203}}


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:English television actresses]]
[[Category:English television actresses]]
[[Category:People from Chesterton, Cambridge]]
[[Category:People from Chesterton, Cambridge]]
[[Category:British expatriate actresses in the United States]]
[[Category:English expatriate actresses in the United States]]
[[Category:Disease-related deaths in California]]
[[Category:20th-century English actresses]]
[[Category:20th-century English actresses]]
[[Category:Actresses from Cambridgeshire]]
[[Category:Actresses from Cambridge]]

Latest revision as of 18:32, 23 June 2024

Isobel Elsom
Elsom photographed by Lallie Charles
Born
Isabelle Reed

(1893-03-16)16 March 1893
Chesterton, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England
Died12 January 1981(1981-01-12) (aged 87)
Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1915–1964
Spouses
  • Maurice Elvey
    (m. 1923; div. 19??)
(m. 1942; died 1958)

Isobel Elsom (born Isabelle Reed; 16 March 1893 – 12 January 1981) was an English film, theatre, and television actress. She was often cast as aristocrats or upper-class women.

Early years

[edit]

Born in Chesterton, Cambridge, Elsom attended Howard College, Bedford, England.[1]

Career

[edit]

She debuted on stage in London as a member of the chorus of The Quaker Girl (1911).[2] Gilbert Miller promoted her to stardom in The Outsider.[3]

Over the course of three decades, she appeared in 17 Broadway productions,[4] beginning with The Ghost Train (1926).[2] Her best-known stage role was the wealthy murder victim in Ladies in Retirement (1939), a role she repeated in the 1941 film version. Her other theatre credits included The Innocents and Romeo and Juliet. Elsom made her first screen appearance during the silent film era (she frequently co-starred with Owen Nares) and appeared in nearly 100 films throughout her career.

Elsom appeared as the leading lady for the Elitch Theatre summer season of 1928. At Elitch, she appeared in the role she created in the play The Outsider earlier that year on Broadway. A Denver reviewer of the play wrote:

If there is anybody in this man's town who doubts that Isobel Elsom, leading woman at the Elitch Gardens Theatre, is an actress of the highest rank, let that doubting Thomas see her work in The Outsider ... She not only is scoring a brilliant personal triumph, but is demonstrating to local playgoers exactly why she was one of the most popular actresses London ever knew![5]

She met her first husband,[6] director Maurice Elvey, when he cast her in his 1919 film Quinneys. He directed her in eight more films before they divorced. Elsom's other screen credits included The White Cliffs of Dover (1944), The Unseen (1945), Of Human Bondage (1946), The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Monsieur Verdoux, The Paradine Case, and The Two Mrs. Carrolls (all 1947), The Secret Garden (1949), Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955), Lust for Life and 23 Paces to Baker Street (both 1956), and The Pleasure Seekers and My Fair Lady (both 1964).

She appeared opposite Jerry Lewis in four of his late 1950s/early 1960s films. Elsom's television credits included Armstrong Circle Theatre, Hallmark Hall of Fame, Lux Video Theatre, My Three Sons, Alfred Hitchcock Presents (at least four appearances), Playhouse 90, Hawaiian Eye, Straightaway, and Dr. Kildare.

Personal life

[edit]

Elsom's second husband was actor Carl Harbord, married from 1947 until his death in 1958.[2] She had no children.

Death

[edit]

Elsom died of heart failure at the Motion Picture & Television Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, aged 87.[2]

[edit]

Five portraits of Elsom are included in the Photographs Collection of the National Portrait Gallery in London.[7]

Partial filmography

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Who Was Who in the Theatre: 1912-1976 vol.2 D-H pp. 756-757, originally published annually by John Parker; this final 1976 edition published by Gale Research Company
  2. ^ a b c d "Isobel Elsom, 87, Dead; Stage and Film Actress". The New York Times. 16 January 1981. p. D 17. ProQuest 121532425. Retrieved 12 November 2020 – via ProQuest.
  3. ^ "Isobel Elsom, Coming in 'Ghosts', Stated Career as Chorus Girl". The Gazette. Canada, Montreal. 6 March 1946. p. 3. Retrieved 13 November 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Isobel Elsom". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on 24 October 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  5. ^ Borrillo, Theodore A. (2012). Denver's historic Elitch Theatre : a nostalgic journey (a history of its times). [publisher not identified]. p. 155. ISBN 978-0-9744331-4-1. OCLC 823177622.
  6. ^ This is probably the wrong film for their first meeting. More likely 1923. See Maurice Elvey
  7. ^ National Portraits Gallery website
[edit]