Beatrice Lillie

Autograph Sentiment on 3″ x 5″ card.

Beatrice Lillie (1894-1989) was a comic actress. She was born as Beatrice Gladys Lillie in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Following her marriage in 1920 to Sir Robert Peel, she was known in private life as Lady Peel.

She was noted primarily for her stage work in revues, especially those staged by André Charlot, and light comedies, and was frequently paired with Gertrude Lawrence, Bert Lahr and Jack Haley. Beatrice (or Bea) Lillie, as she would be known professionally, took advantage of her gift for witty satire that made her a stage success for more than 50 years. In her revues, she utilized sketches, songs, and parody that won her lavish praise from the New York Times after her 1924 New York debut.

Throughout her career as a revue performer, Lillie’s contracts almost invariably stipulated that she would not make her first entrance onstage until at least half an hour into the show; by that point, every other act in the revue had made its first appearance and the audience would be keenly awaiting the entrance of Miss Lillie, the star of the evening.

After seeing An Evening with Beatrice Lillie, British critic Ronald Barker wrote, “Other generations may have their Mistinguett and their Marie Lloyd. We have our Beatrice Lillie and seldom have we seen such a display of perfect talent.” In 1954 she won the Sarah Siddons Award for her work in Chicago theatre.

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