Elsa Lanchester was an English actress.
Biography[]
Born in Lewisham, London, Lanchester trained as a dancer in Paris under Isadora Duncan before starting her own Children's Theatre and nightclub, later going into serious stage acting. In 1925 she made her film debut, but gained worldwide recognition for playing the titular character in Bride of Frankenstein.
Lanchester often acted alongside her husband Charles Laughton in films such as The Private Life of Henry VIII, The Beachcomber and Witness for the Prosecution (for which they both received Academy Award nominations). In her later career she made a number of appearances in childrens films including Mary Poppins and Blackbeard's Ghost, as well as comedies such as the detective spoof Murder By Death.
Lanchester passed away in 1986.
Singing[]
Lanchester began her show business career in cabarets and continued to sing when she became an established actress, including performing a duet of "Baby, It's Cold Outside" with her husband, and singing "Yoga is As Yoga Does" in Easy Come, Easy Go.
Lanchester also released threealbums with a number of her cabaret classics on, entitled Songs For a Smoke-Filled Room, Songs For a Shuttered Parlor and Cockney London.
Film[]
Comets (1930)[]
- The Ballad of Frankie and Johnny (duet)
The Razor's Edge (1946)[]
- Loch Lomond (solo)
Easy Come, Easy Go (1967)[]
- Yoga is As Yoga Does (duet)
Blackbeard's Ghost (1968)[]
- For He's a Jolly Good Fellow
Television[]
The Ed Wynn Show (1950)[]
- The Maharani of Squat (solo)
Startime (1960)[]
- Baby, It's Cold Outside (duet)
Stage[]
Turnabout![]
Albums[]
Songs For a Smoke-Filled Room (1957)[]
- Never Go Walking Without Your Hat Pin (solo)
- If You Peek In My Gazebo (solo)
- Fiji Fanny (solo)
- When A Lady Has A Piazza (solo)
- The Rat Catcher's Daughter (solo)
- At The Drive In (solo)
- If You Can't Get In The Corners (solo)
- The Husband's Clock (solo)
- Please Sell No More Drink To My Father (solo)
- Linda And Her Londonderry Air (solo)
- Catalogue Woman (solo)
- Lola's Saucepan (solo)
Songs For a Shuttered Parlor (1958)[]
- I Didn't Know Where To Look (solo)
- The Yashmak Song (solo)
- It May Be Life (solo)
- Faith, Hope And Charity (solo)
- Little Fred (solo)
- I'm Glad To See Your Back (solo)
- My New York Slip (solo)
- The Janitor's Boy (solo)
- The Ruined Maid (solo)
- Mrs. Badger-Butts (solo)
- Melinda Maime (solo)
- She Was Poor, But She Was Honest (duet)
Cockney London (1960)[]
- Your baby ‘As gorn down the Plug ‘Ole (solo)
- Our Three Penny Hop (solo)
- When the Summer Comes Again (soli)
- And Her Golden Hair Was Hanging Down Her Back (solo)
- He didn’t oughter (solo)
- Burlington Bertie from Bow (solo)
- Put My Little Shoes Away (solo)
- He Danced the Fandango All Over the Place (solo)
- I aven’t told ‘Im Not Up to Now (solo)
- When the Old Dun Cow Caught Fire (solo)
- At My Time of Life (solo)
- When I Came into this House (solo)
- Ta-Ra-Ra Boom-De-Ay (solo)
- Mrs Dyer (solo)
- The Baby Farmer (solo)
- Knocked ‘em in the Old Kent Road (solo)
- Won’t You Buy my Sweet Blooming Lavender (solo)
- The Fire Ship (solo)
- Cat’s Meat (solo)
- Don’t Tell my Mother I’m Living in Sin (solo)
- Ladies Bar (solo)
Gallery[]
