Colbert, Claudette

orig. Lily Claudette Chauchoin

born Sept. 13, 1903, Paris, France

died July 30, 1996, Cobblers Cove, Barb.

French-born U.S. actress.

She made her Broadway debut in 1923 and her film debut in Frank Capra's For the Love of Mike (1927). After winning stardom with It Happened One Night (1934, Academy Award), she played the sophisticated heroine of several other comedies, including Midnight (1939) and The Palm Beach Story (1942), and played dramatic roles in Imitation of Life (1934) and Since You Went Away (1944). She made more than 60 films and later appeared occasionally on Broadway and in television dramas.

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▪ 1997

      (LILY CLAUDETTE CHAUCHOIN), U.S. actress (b. Sept. 13, 1903, Paris, Fr.—d. July 30, 1996, Cobblers Cove, Barbados), enjoyed a more than 60-year career, performing in over 60 films as well as on stage and television. It was in her chic, sophisticated screwball comedy roles that she especially caught the public's fancy, and she was forever identified as the runaway heiress in It Happened One Night (1934), for which she won a best actress Academy Award. Colbert moved to the U.S. with her family when she was a young child. While studying fashion design, she landed a small role in the Broadway play The Wild Wescotts (1923) after meeting the playwright at a party. Other Broadway and touring productions followed, and in 1927 she made her film debut in For the Love of Mike. Colbert's role in The Sign of the Cross (1932) provided one of her most memorable scenes, a bath in what was said to be asses' milk. She was for many years one of the highest-paid film stars. Among her comedies were Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938), Midnight (1939), and The Palm Beach Story (1942), and she had notable dramatic roles in such films as I Cover the Waterfront (1933), Cleopatra (1934), Imitation of Life (1934), Since You Went Away (1944), and Three Came Home (1950). Her last film was Parrish (1961). Colbert returned to the stage in 1951 in Westport, Conn., with Noël Coward's Island Fling and to the Broadway stage in 1956 with Janus. Other stage appearances included The Marriage-Go-Round (1958), The Irregular Verb to Love (1963), The Kingfisher (1978), and Aren't We All? (1985). Colbert appeared on television from the 1950s in such productions as Blithe Spirit (1956), with Coward, and the miniseries "The Two Mrs. Grenvilles" (1987), her last major project. In 1989 she was honoured with a Kennedy Center award for lifetime achievement.

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▪ American actress

original name  Lily Claudette Chauchoin 

born Sept. 13, 1903, Paris, France

died July 30, 1996, Cobblers Cove, Barbados

 American stage and motion picture actress known for her trademark bangs, her velvety, purring voice, her confident, intelligent style, and her subtle, graceful acting.

      Colbert moved with her family to New York City about 1910. While studying fashion design, she landed a small role in the Broadway play The Wild Westcotts (1923) after meeting the playwright at a party. She had begun using the name Claudette instead of Lily in high school, and for her stage name she added her paternal grandmother's maiden name, Colbert. Although The Westcotts had only a short run, Colbert decided to make acting her career. Other Broadway and touring productions followed, and she achieved stardom in The Barker (1927), playing a carnival snake charmer opposite Norman Foster, to whom she was married from 1928 to 1934. (Her marriage to Joel Pressman lasted from 1935 until his death in 1968.) While still starring in The Barker, Colbert made her film debut in the silent movie For The Love of Mike (1927). Miserable and unhappy because she was unable to take advantage of one of her greatest assets, her voice, she returned to the stage determined never to make another film. In 1929, however, she was persuaded to make her first talking picture, The Hole in the Wall, and thereafter worked solely on screen for more than 20 years.

      Most of Colbert's early movies were undistinguished, although her performances were admired. One of her first memorable roles was in Cecil B. DeMille (DeMille, Cecil B.)'s The Sign of the Cross (1932). As Poppaea, “the wickedest woman in the world,” she slinked about in revealing costumes, vamped costar Fredric March (March, Fredric), and in one famous scene took a bath in what was said to be asses' milk. She caused a sensation and two years later reinforced her sex symbol status in DeMille's flamboyant Cleopatra, playing the title role with tongue-in-cheek charm.

      Colbert's breakthrough came in 1934. She not only starred as Cleopatra but had two big successes with the melodrama Imitation of Life and the classic screwball comedy It Happened One Night. Colbert had been initially reluctant to appear in the lightweight comedy, but her sparkling performance as a runaway heiress became her most famous and won her an Academy Award. One of the highest-paid film stars of the 1930s and '40s, she continued to demonstrate her expert comic timing in such sophisticated comedies as The Gilded Lily (1935), Midnight (1939), and The Palm Beach Story (1942). She also had notable dramatic roles in films such as Private Worlds (1935), Since You Went Away (1944), and Three Came Home (1950). The characters Colbert created were relaxed and charming, even when embroiled in outlandish situations; she imbued them, seemingly effortlessly, with intelligence, style, warmth, and humour. The actress was also personally noted for these qualities, as well as for her professionalism (despite her much-publicized insistence that she be photographed only from the left).

      Colbert, who grew up speaking both French and English, appeared in several European films in the 1950s. But whether domestic or foreign, most of these films were undistinguished. She returned to the stage in 1951 in Westport, Connecticut, with Noël Coward (Coward, Sir Noël)'s Island Fling and to Broadway in 1956 with Janus. Her other theatrical appearances included The Marriage-Go-Round (1958), The Irregular Verb to Love (1963), The Kingfisher (1978), and Aren't We All? (1985). Colbert continued to act on stage and on television, appearing with Coward in Blithe Spirit (1956) and on the television miniseries The Two Mrs. Grenvilles (1987), her last major project. In 1989 she was honoured with a Kennedy Center award for lifetime achievement.

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