Lucile Watson (May 27, 1879 – June 24, 1962) was a Canadian stage and film actress, long based in the United States. She was "famous for her roles of formidable dowagers." She had a long and prosperous career, primarily on Broadway, with some notable film roles. She was married to fellow Canadian actor Rockliffe Fellowes whom she introduced to acting.
Biography
Watson was born in Quebec and raised in Ottawa, the daughter of an officer in the British Army. Despite his wishes, she traveled to New York City and studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
In 1903, she married Rockliffe Fellowes of Ottawa and the couple moved to New York City to pursue her acting career. With her encouragement, Fellowes also took up acting and became a successful actor.
Watson as Fanny Farrelly in the original Broadway production of Watch on the Rhine, 1941
Watson was primarily a stage actress, appearing in 39 Broadway plays.
In perhaps her most acclaimed performance, Watson portrayed Fanny Farrelly in playwright Lillian Hellman's antifascist dramatic stage play Watch on the Rhine on Broadway in 1941. Two years later in Hollywood, she and her co-star Paul Lukas reprised their stage roles in the film adaptation, for which Watson received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Watson and Fellowes divorced some time before 1928 and did not have any children. Watson married Louis Evan Shipman, who died in 1933. Fellowes died in 1950.Watson died on June 24, 1962.
↑"Obituaries". Variety. June 27, 1962. p.63. ProQuest1032424803. Perhaps her most highly praised performance was as Fanny Farrelly in Lillian Hellman's anti-Nazi play, 'Watch on the Rhine,' which starred Paul Lucas and opened in 1941.
Alistair, Rupert (2018). "Lucile Watson". The Name Below the Title: 65 Classic Movie Character Actors from Hollywood's Golden Age (softcover) (Firsted.). Great Britain: Independently published. pp.249–251. ISBN978-1-7200-3837-5.
