1878-09-24 London, England, UK
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Nora Cecil (September 20, 1878 – May 1, 1951) was a British-American character actress whose 30-year career spanned both the silent and sound film eras. Cecil's career began on the stage, where she appeared in a single Broadway production, The Sleeping Beauty and the Beast, which ran for more than 240 performances at the Broadway Theatre in 1901-02. (A 1930 newspaper article says that Cecil "made her debut, three decades ago, on the London stage.") Cecil appeared in well over 100 feature films and film shorts. In 1915, she moved from the stage into films, her first appearance being in a starring role in The Arrival of Perpetua, directed by Émile Chautard. She often played "thin-lipped, stern-visaged dowagers and forbidding mothers-in-law" and "welfare workers, landladies, schoolmistresses and maiden aunts". One of the most significant roles was in the W.C. Fields vehicle, The Old Fashioned Way in 1934. Some of the other notable films in which Cecil appeared include: Ernst Lubitsch's historical romance, The Merry Widow, starring Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald; the 1939 version of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, starring Mickey Rooney; the John Ford classic, Stagecoach, with John Wayne. Her final acting performance was in a featured role in Mourning Becomes Electra in 1947, starring Rosalind Russell.
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The Big Parade of Comedy | Actress in 'Hollywood Party' (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1964-09-02 |
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The Sea of Grass | Mrs. Ryan - Nurse (uncredited) | 1947-04-25 |
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Mourning Becomes Electra | Louisa Ames | 1947-11-19 |
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Two Sisters from Boston | Mrs. Mulberry - Recital Guest (uncredited) | 1946-06-06 |
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Big Town | Miss Lovelace (uncredited) | 1946-08-23 |
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The Missing Lady | Miss Millie | 1946-08-17 |
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Lady on a Train | 1945-08-03 | |
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The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek | Hospital Nurse (uncredited) | 1944-09-18 |
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Hail the Conquering Hero | Train Ticket Clerk (uncredited) | 1944-08-09 |
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The Thin Man Goes Home | Miss Peavy | 1944-12-24 |
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The Unknown Guest | Martha Williams | 1943-10-22 |
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I Married a Witch | Harriet Wooley (uncredited) | 1942-10-30 |
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Obliging Young Lady | Miss Hollyrod - Bird Lover (uncredited) | 1942-04-01 |
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Apache Trail | Passenger (uncredited) | 1942-09-01 |
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The Wife Takes a Flyer | Miss Updike | 1942-04-28 |
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A Girl, a Guy, and a Gob | Charwoman | 1941-03-14 |
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Three Girls About Town | Casket Customer | 1941-10-23 |
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Those Were the Days! | Mrs. Moffett | 1940-07-14 |
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Young People | Righteous Old Lady | 1940-08-30 |
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Lucky Partners | Women's Club President (uncredited) | 1940-08-02 |
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Little Men | Head of Orphanage | 1940-11-29 |
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The Bank Dick | Lompoc Ladies Auxiliary (uncredited) | 1940-11-29 |
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Some Like It Hot | Mrs. Beckett (uncredited) | 1939-05-19 |
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Stagecoach | Boone's Landlady (uncredited) | 1939-03-02 |
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn | Mrs. Shackleford (uncredited) | 1939-02-10 |
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What a Life | Miss Eggleston | 1939-10-05 |
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The Story of Alexander Graham Bell | Miss Jenkins | 1939-04-04 |
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Union Pacific | Snoring Woman on Train (uncredited) | 1939-05-05 |
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International Settlement | English Woman | 1938-02-04 |
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Mr. Boggs Steps Out | Widow Peddie | 1938-02-18 |
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Night of Mystery | 1937-05-21 | |
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Three Smart Boys | Miss Witherspoon, Superintendent | 1937-05-13 |
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Easy Living | Miss Swerf | 1937-07-16 |
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Night Must Fall | 1937-04-30 | |
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Borrowing Trouble | Dressmaker | 1937-12-10 |
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The Mighty Treve | Old Maid at Dog Show | 1937-01-17 |
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Champagne Waltz | Train Passenger | 1937-02-05 |
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Nothing Sacred | Schoolteacher (uncredited) | 1937-11-25 |
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Blossoms On Broadway | Leader of Committee (uncredited) | 1937-11-19 |
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Partners in Crime | Housekeeper | 1937-10-08 |
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She Asked for It | Elderly lady (uncredited) | 1937-09-17 |
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Let's Make a Million | 1936-09-01 | |
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Girl of the Ozarks | Miss Trent | 1936-06-12 |
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The Big Broadcast of 1937 | Home Economics Woman | 1936-10-05 |
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Collegiate | Miss Curtiss | 1936-01-22 |
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Laughing at Trouble | Mrs. Wigby - Townswoman | 1936-12-11 |
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Fury | Albert's Mother (uncredited) | 1936-06-05 |
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Under Your Spell | School Teacher (uncredited) | 1936-11-06 |
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Two in the Dark | Mrs. Potter, Landlady (uncredited) | 1936-01-10 |
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College Holiday | Miss Elkins (uncredited) | 1936-12-19 |
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Little Miss Nobody | Mrs. Robinson | 1936-06-05 |
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Dancing Pirate | Landlady (uncredited) | 1936-05-22 |
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Biography of a Bachelor Girl | Ship's Matron (uncredited) | 1935-01-04 |
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Way Down East | Townswoman at Party | 1935-10-25 |
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Vagabond Lady | Miss Perkins (uncredited) | 1935-05-03 |
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Slightly Static | Beauty Products Announcer (uncredited) | 1935-09-07 |
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Car 99 | Granny Adams | 1935-03-02 |
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Gold Diggers of 1935 | Housekeeper (uncredited) | 1935-03-15 |
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Memories and Melodies | Customer (uncredited) | 1935-02-16 |
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The Merry Widow | Animal Woman (uncredited) | 1934-11-02 |
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Chained | Edith (uncredited) | 1934-08-31 |
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Laughing Boy | Schoolteacher | 1934-04-13 |
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Search for Beauty | Miss Pettigrew | 1934-02-02 |
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The Spectacle Maker | Duchess | 1934-09-20 |
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Upperworld | Housekeeper (uncredited) | 1934-04-28 |
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You're Telling Me! | Mrs. Price | 1934-04-06 |
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Opened by Mistake | Head Nurse | 1934-10-05 |
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Mixed Nuts | Mrs. Twitchett | 1934-02-16 |
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One-Horse Farmers | Subway Passenger (uncredited) | 1934-08-01 |
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Once to Every Woman | Miss Baxter’s Sister (uncredited) | 1934-03-24 |
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The Old-Fashioned Way | Mrs. Wendelschaffer | 1934-07-13 |
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Bachelor Bait | Mrs. Trutmanner (uncredited) | 1934-07-27 |
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Nature in the Wrong | Muriel's mother | 1933-03-18 |
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Meet the Baron | Professor Winterbottom (uncredited) | 1933-10-20 |
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Doctor Bull | Aunt Emily Banning | 1933-09-22 |
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Peg o' My Heart | Smythe (maid) | 1933-05-26 |
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Design for Living | Tom's Secretary (uncredited) | 1933-12-29 |
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Fast Workers | Tall Window-Shopper (Uncredited) | 1933-03-10 |
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Going Hollywood | Briarcroft's Teacher | 1933-12-22 |
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Stage Mother | Miss Gilford, Kitty's Music Store Boss (uncredited) | 1933-09-29 |
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Asleep in the Feet | Female Police Officer | 1933-01-21 |
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Hold Your Man | Miss Campbell (uncredited) | 1933-06-30 |
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Wreckety Wrecks | Miss Winterbottom | 1933-02-18 |
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King of the Jungle | Spinster in park (uncredited) | 1933-03-10 |
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Young Bride | Landlady (uncredited) | 1932-04-08 |
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The Bitter Tea of General Yen | Missionary | 1932-12-25 |
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Pack Up Your Troubles | Welfare Association Officer (uncredited) | 1932-09-16 |
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Amateur Daddy | Saleslady | 1932-04-10 |
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The Millionaire Cat | Aunt Mathilda | 1932-10-21 |
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Hot Saturday | Gossip on Telephone (Uncredited) | 1932-10-28 |
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Girl Grief | Miss Tuttle, Principal | 1932-10-08 |
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Mr. Bride | Mrs. Cecil | 1932-12-24 |
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East Lynne | Charity Bazaar Committee | 1931-03-01 |
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Street Scene | Alice Simpson - Welfare Worker | 1931-09-05 |
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Everything’s Rosie | Hotel Proprietress | 1931-05-22 |
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Millie | Helen and Angie's Landlady (uncredited) | 1931-02-06 |
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Arrowsmith | Nurse (uncredited) | 1931-12-07 |
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The Ruling Voice | Malcom's Nurse (uncredited) | 1931-09-10 |
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Seven Days Leave | Amelia Twymley | 1930-01-24 |
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Only Saps Work | Mrs. Partridge (uncredited) | 1930-12-05 |
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Hell's Angels | Helen's Maid (uncredited) | 1930-11-15 |
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The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu | 1930-05-02 | |
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Little Accident | Dr. Zernecke | 1930-08-03 |
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Footlights and Fools | (uncredited) | 1929-11-08 |
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Seven Footprints to Satan | Old Witch | 1929-01-27 |
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A Trick of Hearts | The Mayor | 1928-03-18 |
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Driftwood | Mrs. Prouty | 1928-10-15 |
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The Cavalier | Lucia's Aunt | 1928-11-01 |
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The Baby Cyclone | Mrs. Crandall | 1928-09-26 |
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Too Many Crooks | (uncredited) | 1927-04-02 |
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Sensation Seekers | Mrs. Lodge | 1927-03-21 |
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The Silent Rider | Mrs. Randall | 1927-01-02 |
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Born to Battle | Ma Cowan | 1927-09-11 |
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The Fortune Hunter | Betty Carpenter | 1927-01-18 |
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Girls | Matron Helen Hunt | 1927-03-27 |
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The Demi-Bride | School Teacher | 1927-02-19 |
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The Devil Dancer | Julia | 1927-11-03 |
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Midnight Faces | Mrs. Hart | 1926-03-24 |
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Chip of the Flying U | Dr. Cecil Grantham | 1926-03-14 |
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His Majesty, Bunker Bean | Countess Casanova | 1925-09-14 |
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The Deadwood Coach | Matilda Shields - in play | 1924-12-07 |
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Timothy's Quest | Townswoman | 1922-09-16 |
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Manslaughter | Lydia's Chaperone (uncredited) | 1922-09-24 |
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Footfalls | 1921-09-08 | |
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Red Foam | 1920-10-01 | |
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The Daughter Pays | 1920-11-10 | |
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An Amateur Widow | 1919-05-26 | |
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Woman, Woman! | Mrs. Lindsay | 1919-10-21 |
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Prunella | 1918-01-01 | |
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By Hook or Crook | Aunt Marie | 1918-09-09 |
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The Love Net | Miss Prudence Tilly | 1918-12-23 |
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American Buds | Emily | 1918-02-24 |
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Tillie Wakes Up | Gossip in Ice Cream Parlor / Woman Having Picture Taken | 1917-01-29 |
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A Royal Romance | Miss McPherson | 1917-04-30 |
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The Wild Girl | Undetermined Role (uncredited) | 1917-09-01 |
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The Poor Little Rich Girl | One of Gwendolyn's Teachers (uncredited) | 1917-03-05 |
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The Social Secretary | Spinster (uncredited) | 1916-09-16 |
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A Model Husband | Mrs Gossip | 1916-03-29 |
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The Arrival of Perpetua | Abigail Majendrie | 1915-03-29 |
