Margalo Gillmore
Encyclopedia
Margaret Lorraine "Margalo" Gillmore (May 31, 1897, London, England – June 30, 1986, New York City, New York) was an English American
film, stage and television actress.
Gillmore was the daughter of Frank Gillmore
, former president of Actors' Equity, and the actress Laura MacGillivray, and the sister of actress Ruth Gillmore
. Her great-aunt was the British
actor-manager
Sarah Thorne
, and her great-uncles were the actors Thomas Thorne
and George Thorne
.
A fourth-generation actor on her father's side, she trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts
. Her long stage acting career stretched from The Scrap of Paper in 1917 through to Noël Coward
's musical
Sail Away
on Broadway
in 1961. She was first noticed by the critics in the 1919 play The Famous Mrs. Fair, which she appeared in with Henry Miller
and Blanche Bates
. In 1921 she played the tubercular
patient Eileen Carmody in Eugene O'Neill
's The Straw. Gillmore appeared regularly with the Theatre Guild
.
Having appeared as an extra in a silent movie
for the Vitagraph Studios
in 1913 aged 16, and in a short, The Home Girl in 1928, Gillmore made her film debut in a major role in 1932 in Wayward, but didn't appear on screen again until the 1950s, in such films as Cause for Alarm!, Perfect Strangers
, High Society (1956) and Upstairs and Downstairs
(1959).
During World War II
. Gillmore had a role in the traveling production of The Barretts of Wimpole Street
. The production starred much of the original Broadway cast, headed by leading actress Katharine Cornell
, and directed by Cornell's husband, Guthrie McClintic
. The play entertained troupes in Italy, France and England and even reached within a few miles of the front in Holland, and the cast made a point of visiting military hospitals every day.
Television audiences may remember her as Mrs. Darling in the Broadway and televised versions of Peter Pan
, which starred Mary Martin
. She was a member of the famous Algonquin Round Table
.
Margalo Gillmore died of cancer, aged 89. Her remains were interred in Aaron Cemetery, Walker County, Alabama
.
English American
English Americans are citizens or residents of the United States whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England....
film, stage and television actress.
Gillmore was the daughter of Frank Gillmore
Frank Gillmore
Frank Gillmore was an English American playwright and a stage and early film actor...
, former president of Actors' Equity, and the actress Laura MacGillivray, and the sister of actress Ruth Gillmore
Ruth Gillmore
Ruth Emily Gillmore was an English American stage actress.Gillmore was the daughter of Frank Gillmore, former president of Actors' Equity, and the actress Laura MacGillivray, and the sister of actress Margalo Gillmore...
. Her great-aunt was the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actor-manager
Actor-manager
An actor-manager is a leading actor who sets up their own permanent theatrical company and manages the company's business and financial arrangements, sometimes taking over the management of a theatre, to perform plays of their own choice and in which they will usually star...
Sarah Thorne
Sarah Thorne
Sarah Thorne was a British actress and actor-manager of the nineteenth century who managed the Theatre Royal at Margate for many years and who ran a School for Acting there widely regarded as Britain's first formal drama school...
, and her great-uncles were the actors Thomas Thorne
Thomas Thorne
Thomas Thorne was an English actor and theatre manager. Thomas Thorne was one the founding managers of London's Vaudeville Theatre, along with David James and Henry James Montague, and performed leading roles in many of the productions there. His father was Richard Samuel Thorne, who managed the...
and George Thorne
George Thorne
George Thorne, was an English singer and actor, best known for his performances in the comic baritone roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, especially on tour and in the original New York City productions...
.
A fourth-generation actor on her father's side, she trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts
American Academy of Dramatic Arts
The American Academy of Dramatic Arts is a fully accredited two-year conservatory with facilities located in Manhattan, New York City – at 120 Madison Avenue, in a landmark building designed by noted architect Stanford White as the original Colony Club – and in Hollywood, California...
. Her long stage acting career stretched from The Scrap of Paper in 1917 through to Noël Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
's musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
Sail Away
Sail Away (musical)
Sail Away is a musical with a book, music and lyrics by Noël Coward. The show was the last musical for which Coward wrote both the book and music, although he wrote the music for one last "book" musical in 1963. The story centers around brash, bold American divorcee Mimi Paragon, working as a...
on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
in 1961. She was first noticed by the critics in the 1919 play The Famous Mrs. Fair, which she appeared in with Henry Miller
Henry Miller (actor)
Henry Miller was an English-born American actor, director, theatrical producer and manager.Born as John Pegge in London, Miller's parents immigrated to Canada where he started acting as a juvenile. He became the leading man in Charles Frohman's stock company in New York City's Empire Theatre in 1893...
and Blanche Bates
Blanche Bates
Blanche Bates was an American actress, born at Portland, Ore. She made her début in San Francisco in a benefit performance of Brander Matthews's This Picture and That. Among her early successes were her Mrs. Hillary in The Senator, Phyllis in The Charity Ball, and Nora in A Doll's House...
. In 1921 she played the tubercular
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
patient Eileen Carmody in Eugene O'Neill
Eugene O'Neill
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into American drama techniques of realism earlier associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish...
's The Straw. Gillmore appeared regularly with the Theatre Guild
Theatre Guild
The Theatre Guild is a theatrical society founded in New York City in 1918 by Lawrence Langner, Philip Moeller, Helen Westley and Theresa Helburn. Langner's wife, Armina Marshall, then served as a co-director. It evolved out of the work of the Washington Square Players.Its original purpose was to...
.
Having appeared as an extra in a silent movie
Silent Movie
Silent Movie is a 1976 satirical comedy film co-written, directed by, and starring Mel Brooks, and released by 20th Century Fox on June 17, 1976...
for the Vitagraph Studios
Vitagraph Studios
American Vitagraph was a United States movie studio, founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York. By 1907 it was the most prolific American film production company, producing many famous silent films. It was bought by Warner Bros...
in 1913 aged 16, and in a short, The Home Girl in 1928, Gillmore made her film debut in a major role in 1932 in Wayward, but didn't appear on screen again until the 1950s, in such films as Cause for Alarm!, Perfect Strangers
Perfect Strangers (1950 film)
Perfect Strangers is a 1950 American comedy-drama film directed by Bretaigne Windust. The screenplay for the Warner Bros. release by Edith Sommer was based on an adaptation of the 1939 Ben Hecht-Charles MacArthur play Ladies and Gentlemen by George Oppenheimer.-Plot:The title characters are Terry...
, High Society (1956) and Upstairs and Downstairs
Upstairs and Downstairs
Upstairs and Downstairs is a 1959 British comedy drama film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Michael Craig, Anne Heywood, Mylène Demongeot, Claudia Cardinale, James Robertson Justice, Joan Sims, Joan Hickson and Sid James...
(1959).
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Gillmore had a role in the traveling production of The Barretts of Wimpole Street
The Barretts of Wimpole Street
The Barretts of Wimpole Street is a 1934 American film depicting the real-life romance between poets Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning , despite the opposition of her father Edward Moulton-Barrett . The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture...
. The production starred much of the original Broadway cast, headed by leading actress Katharine Cornell
Katharine Cornell
Katharine Cornell was an American stage actress, writer, theater owner and producer. She was born to American parents and raised in Buffalo, New York.Cornell is known as the greatest American stage actress of the 20th century...
, and directed by Cornell's husband, Guthrie McClintic
Guthrie McClintic
Guthrie McClintic was a successful theatre director, film director and producer based in New York. -Life and career:...
. The play entertained troupes in Italy, France and England and even reached within a few miles of the front in Holland, and the cast made a point of visiting military hospitals every day.
Television audiences may remember her as Mrs. Darling in the Broadway and televised versions of Peter Pan
Peter Pan (1954 musical)
Peter Pan is a musical adaptation of J. M. Barrie's 1904 play Peter Pan and Barrie's own novelization of it, Peter and Wendy. The music is mostly by Mark "Moose" Charlap, with additional music by Jule Styne, and most of the lyrics were written by Carolyn Leigh, with additional lyrics by Betty...
, which starred Mary Martin
Mary Martin
Mary Virginia Martin was an American actress and singer. She originated many roles over her career including Nellie Forbush in South Pacific and Maria in The Sound of Music. She was named a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1989...
. She was a member of the famous Algonquin Round Table
Algonquin Round Table
The Algonquin Round Table was a celebrated group of New York City writers, critics, actors and wits. Gathering initially as part of a practical joke, members of "The Vicious Circle", as they dubbed themselves, met for lunch each day at the Algonquin Hotel from 1919 until roughly 1929...
.
Margalo Gillmore died of cancer, aged 89. Her remains were interred in Aaron Cemetery, Walker County, Alabama
Walker County, Alabama
Walker County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama.Its name is in honor of John Williams Walker, a member of the United States Senate. As of 2010 the population was 67,023...
.
Sources
- "Margalo Gillmore, An Actress on the Stage and on Screen", The New York Times, July 2, 1986
- Members of the Algonquin Round Table