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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The Missing Lady | Miss Millie | 1946-08-17 |
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Big Town | Miss Lovelace (uncredited) | 1946-08-23 |
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Lady on a Train | 1945-08-03 | |
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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 Miracle of Morgan's Creek | Hospital Nurse (uncredited) | 1944-09-18 |
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The Unknown Guest | Martha Williams | 1943-10-22 |
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Apache Trail | Passenger (uncredited) | 1942-09-01 |
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I Married a Witch | Harriet Wooley (uncredited) | 1942-10-30 |
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The Wife Takes a Flyer | Miss Updike | 1942-04-28 |
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Obliging Young Lady | Miss Hollyrod - Bird Lover (uncredited) | 1942-04-01 |
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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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Young People | Righteous Old Lady | 1940-08-30 |
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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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Lucky Partners | Women's Club President (uncredited) | 1940-08-02 |
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Those Were the Days! | Mrs. Moffett | 1940-07-14 |
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn | Mrs. Shackleford (uncredited) | 1939-02-10 |
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Some Like It Hot | Mrs. Beckett (uncredited) | 1939-05-19 |
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What a Life | Miss Eggleston | 1939-10-05 |
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Union Pacific | Snoring Woman on Train (uncredited) | 1939-05-05 |
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Stagecoach | Boone's Landlady (uncredited) | 1939-03-02 |
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The Story of Alexander Graham Bell | Miss Jenkins | 1939-04-04 |
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Mr. Boggs Steps Out | Widow Peddie | 1938-02-18 |
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International Settlement | English Woman | 1938-02-04 |
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Champagne Waltz | Train Passenger | 1937-02-05 |
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Easy Living | Miss Swerf | 1937-07-16 |
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Nothing Sacred | Schoolteacher (uncredited) | 1937-11-25 |
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Night of Mystery | 1937-05-21 | |
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Borrowing Trouble | Dressmaker | 1937-12-10 |
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Night Must Fall | 1937-04-30 | |
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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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Three Smart Boys | Miss Witherspoon, Superintendent | 1937-05-13 |
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The Mighty Treve | Old Maid at Dog Show | 1937-01-17 |
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She Asked for It | Elderly lady (uncredited) | 1937-09-17 |
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The Big Broadcast of 1937 | Home Economics Woman | 1936-10-05 |
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Little Miss Nobody | Mrs. Robinson | 1936-06-05 |
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College Holiday | Miss Elkins (uncredited) | 1936-12-19 |
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Under Your Spell | School Teacher (uncredited) | 1936-11-06 |
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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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Girl of the Ozarks | Miss Trent | 1936-06-12 |
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Dancing Pirate | Landlady (uncredited) | 1936-05-22 |
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Two in the Dark | Mrs. Potter, Landlady (uncredited) | 1936-01-10 |
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Let's Make a Million | 1936-09-01 | |
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Collegiate | Miss Curtiss | 1936-01-22 |
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Vagabond Lady | Miss Perkins (uncredited) | 1935-05-03 |
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Biography of a Bachelor Girl | Ship's Matron (uncredited) | 1935-01-04 |
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Gold Diggers of 1935 | Housekeeper (uncredited) | 1935-03-15 |
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Car 99 | Granny Adams | 1935-03-02 |
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Memories and Melodies | Customer (uncredited) | 1935-02-16 |
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Slightly Static | Beauty Products Announcer (uncredited) | 1935-09-07 |
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Way Down East | Townswoman at Party | 1935-10-25 |
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The Merry Widow | Animal Woman (uncredited) | 1934-11-02 |
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Upperworld | Stream's Housekeeper (uncredited) | 1934-04-28 |
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Once to Every Woman | Miss Baxter’s Sister (uncredited) | 1934-03-24 |
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Laughing Boy | Schoolteacher | 1934-04-13 |
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Opened by Mistake | Head Nurse | 1934-10-05 |
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One-Horse Farmers | Subway Passenger (uncredited) | 1934-08-01 |
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Chained | Edith (uncredited) | 1934-08-31 |
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You're Telling Me! | Mrs. Price | 1934-04-06 |
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Search for Beauty | Miss Pettigrew | 1934-02-02 |
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Bachelor Bait | Mrs. Trutmanner (uncredited) | 1934-07-27 |
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Mixed Nuts | Mrs. Twitchett | 1934-02-16 |
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The Spectacle Maker | Duchess | 1934-09-20 |
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The Old-Fashioned Way | Mrs. Wendelschaffer | 1934-07-13 |
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Doctor Bull | Aunt Emily Banning | 1933-09-22 |
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Meet the Baron | Professor Winterbottom (uncredited) | 1933-10-20 |
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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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Stage Mother | Miss Gilford, Kitty's Music Store Boss (uncredited) | 1933-09-29 |
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King of the Jungle | Spinster in park (uncredited) | 1933-03-10 |
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Going Hollywood | Briarcroft's Teacher | 1933-12-22 |
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Peg o' My Heart | Smythe (maid) | 1933-05-26 |
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Nature in the Wrong | Muriel's mother | 1933-03-18 |
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Fast Workers | Tall Window-Shopper (Uncredited) | 1933-03-10 |
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Asleep in the Feet | Female Police Officer | 1933-01-21 |
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Design for Living | Tom's Secretary (uncredited) | 1933-12-29 |
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Amateur Daddy | Saleslady | 1932-04-10 |
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Girl Grief | Miss Tuttle, Principal | 1932-10-08 |
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Pack Up Your Troubles | Welfare Association Officer (uncredited) | 1932-09-16 |
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Hot Saturday | Gossip on Telephone (Uncredited) | 1932-10-28 |
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The Bitter Tea of General Yen | Missionary | 1932-12-25 |
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The Millionaire Cat | Aunt Mathilda | 1932-10-21 |
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Mr. Bride | Mrs. Cecil | 1932-12-24 |
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Young Bride | Landlady (uncredited) | 1932-04-08 |
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Arrowsmith | Nurse (uncredited) | 1931-12-07 |
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Street Scene | Alice Simpson - Welfare Worker | 1931-09-05 |
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Millie | Helen and Angie's Landlady (uncredited) | 1931-02-06 |
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East Lynne | Charity Bazaar Committee | 1931-03-01 |
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Everything’s Rosie | Hotel Proprietress | 1931-05-22 |
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The Ruling Voice | Malcom's Nurse (uncredited) | 1931-09-10 |
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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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Seven Days Leave | Amelia Twymley | 1930-01-24 |
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Little Accident | Dr. Zernecke | 1930-08-03 |
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Seven Footprints to Satan | Old Witch | 1929-01-27 |
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Footlights and Fools | (uncredited) | 1929-11-08 |
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The Cavalier | Lucia's Aunt | 1928-11-01 |
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A Trick of Hearts | The Mayor | 1928-03-18 |
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The Baby Cyclone | Mrs. Crandall | 1928-09-26 |
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Driftwood | Mrs. Prouty | 1928-10-15 |
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The Demi-Bride | School Teacher | 1927-02-19 |
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Born to Battle | Ma Cowan | 1927-09-11 |
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The Silent Rider | Mrs. Randall | 1927-01-02 |
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The Devil Dancer | Julia | 1927-11-03 |
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Too Many Crooks | (uncredited) | 1927-04-02 |
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Girls | Matron Helen Hunt | 1927-03-27 |
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The Fortune Hunter | Betty Carpenter | 1927-01-18 |
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Sensation Seekers | Mrs. Lodge | 1927-03-21 |
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Chip of the Flying U | Dr. Cecil Grantham | 1926-03-14 |
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Midnight Faces | Mrs. Hart | 1926-03-24 |
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Three Weeks in Paris | 1925-12-05 | |
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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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Darwin Was Right | Aunt Priscilla | 1924-10-26 |
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Manslaughter | Lydia's Chaperone (uncredited) | 1922-09-24 |
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Timothy's Quest | Townswoman | 1922-09-16 |
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The Town That Forgot God | (uncredited) | 1922-10-30 |
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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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Miss Crusoe | Miss Meeker (uncredited) | 1919-09-29 |
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Woman, Woman! | Mrs. Lindsay | 1919-10-21 |
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An Amateur Widow | 1919-05-26 | |
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Prunella | 1918-01-01 | |
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Appearance of Evil | Miss Spurgeon | 1918-10-07 |
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The Zero Hour | Mrs. Winslow (uncredited) | 1918-12-16 |
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American Buds | Emily | 1918-02-24 |
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The Love Net | Miss Prudence Tilly | 1918-12-23 |
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By Hook or Crook | Aunt Marie | 1918-09-09 |
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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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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 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 |
