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Lillie, Beatrice, 1894-1989.
Collection is open to the public. Library policy on photography and photocopying will apply. Advance notice may be required.
The Beatrice Lillie papers consist of 37.8 linear feet spanning the 1910's to the 1990's. The collection has been divided into ten series: Correspondence, Personal Papers, Legal and Financial Papers, Professional Work Files, Clippings, Photographs, Ephemera, Artwork, and Oversize Materials. The first three series: Correspondence,Personal Papers and Legal and Financial Papers also include items belonging to Beatrice Lillie's long-time companion John Phillip Huck and his sister Georgina M. Huck. The collection is strong in biographical works, including two unpublished works. It effectively reveals the performer's humor and colorful persona through lyrics and skits. A large collection of photographs illuminates aprofessional and personal Beatrice Lillie.
Beatrice Lillie, comedienne, actress, singer and author,was born May 29, 1894 in Toronto, Ontario. She left schoolfor the stage at age 15 to tour Canada in The Lillie Trio with her mother Lucy and sister Muriel.
After coming to London in 1914, Lillie joined Andre Charlot's Revue, where she later made her Broadway debut in 1924. With a career spanning more than 50 years, she performed in revues, plays, film, on radio and television and also enjoyed a successful recording career. Lillie frequently performed both in London and the United States,earning her fame as "The Toast of Two Continents."
In 1920 Beatrice married Sir Robert Peel, gaining the title Lady Peel. The couple had one son, Robert Peel Jr., in 1934. She was widowed in 1934 and lost her son to the war in 1942.
Lillie traveled to the Middle East, Africa, France and Germany to perform for the troops during WWII, an effort for which she received a decoration from General Charles de Gaulle. She developed close friendships with other famous figures, including Noel Coward, Winston Churchill, George Bernard Shaw and Charlie Chaplin. During the war Beatrice Lillie met John Phillip Huck who would become hermanager and life-long companion.
Ms. Lillie starred in shows by Noel Coward, George Bernard Shaw, Rogers & Hart, Schwartz & Dietz and Cole Porter. Lillie became best known for starring in This yearof grace (1928), written for her by Noel Coward, and received equal recognition for her version of Coward's song, "Mad dogs and Englishmen." Other notable Broadway performances include The Seven lively arts (1947), Inside USA (1948), Ziegfeld follies of 1957 and High spirits (1964). She toured the world with her one-woman show An Evening with Beatrice Lillie from 1952-1956, winning a Tony Award in 1953.Lady Peel made a handful of films, which met with varying degrees of success. Beginning with an early silent film Exit smiling (1926) and ending on a high note with her role as a Mrs. Meers in Thoroughly modern Millie (1967). Beatrice Lillie published her autobiography, Every Other inch a lady, in 1973.
Beatrice Lillie retired to England to recover from a stroke in 1977. She died January 20, 1989 at her home, Henley-on-Thames, England. She was 94 years old.
Shadows (1826). NYPL Art and Architecture Collection.
One of 700,000 pictures in the NYPL Digital Gallery
