Zeffie Tilbury
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Zeffie Agnes Lydia Tilbury (November 20, 1863 – July 24, 1950) was an English actress. Tilbury was known first on the London stage and on Broadway in New York City. In 1881, she debuted on stage in Nine Points of the Law at the Theatre Royal, Brighton, England. She is today best known for playing wise or evil older characters in films, such as the distinguished lady gambler at dinner with Garbo in The Single Standard, as the pitiful Grandma Joad in The Grapes of Wrath and Grandma Lester in Tobacco Road. She appeared in over 70 films. Her earliest surviving silent film is the Valentino / Nazimova 1921 production of Camille. Tilbury is probably best remembered as the old lady who is befriended by Spanky and his friends on her birthday and, as a result, is transformed from a lonely, disagreeable recluse to a happy and loving carefree soul in the 1936 Hal Roach Our Gang comedy Second Childhood. In the same year she also portrayed the Gypsy Queen in the Laurel and Hardy film The Bohemian Girl. Tilbury was married twice. First to Arthur Frederick Lewis in June, 1887, and later to L. E. Woodthorpe, who died on April 8, 1915. She died in Los Angeles, California in 1950 at the age of 86.
Known For
MGM Parade
1955
The Grapes of Wrath
1940
Werewolf of London
1935
After the Thin Man
1936
Camille
1936
Marie Antoinette
1938
Desire
1936
The Story of Alexander Graham Bell
1939
Camille
1921
The Last Days of Pompeii
1935
Lady of the Tropics
1939
Bachelor Bait
1934
Filmography
MGM Parade
as Self · 1955
The Grapes of Wrath
as Grandma Joad · 1940
Werewolf of London
as Mrs. Moncaster · 1935
After the Thin Man
as Aunt Lucy (uncredited) · 1936
Camille
as Old Duchess Bidding 3750 Francs · 1936
Marie Antoinette
as Dowager at Birth of Dauphin (uncredited) · 1938
Desire
as Aunt Olga · 1936
The Story of Alexander Graham Bell
as Mrs. Sanders · 1939
Camille
as Prudence · 1921
The Last Days of Pompeii
as The Wise Woman (uncredited) · 1935
Lady of the Tropics
as Woman Congratulating Manon · 1939
Bachelor Bait
as Miss Turner (uncredited) · 1934
Tobacco Road
as Grandma Lester · 1941
Parnell
as Old Lady · 1937
Give Me Your Heart
as Esther Warren · 1936
Anthony Adverse
as Old Woman at Chalet · 1936
Parole!
as Molly Smith · 1936
The Earl of Chicago
as Miss Nana (uncredited) · 1940
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
as The Opium Woman · 1935
Charlie Chan Carries On
as Mrs. Luce · 1931
The Farmer Takes a Wife
as Old Townswoman · 1935
Ocean Swells
as Auntie · 1934
Bulldog Drummond's Peril
as Mrs. Weevens · 1938
Public Hero Number 1
as Deaf Woman in Scottsdale Bar (uncredited) · 1935
The White Angel
as Woman Donating Sheets (uncredited) · 1936
Under Cover of Night
as Mrs. Nash · 1937
The Gorgeous Hussy
as Mrs. Daniel Beall · 1936
Kidnapped
as Old Woman · 1938
The King Without a Crown
as Dying Duchess Marie (uncredited) · 1937
Blind Adventure
· 1933
Alice Adams
as Mrs. Dresser (uncredited) · 1935
Comin' Round the Mountain
as Granny Stokes · 1940
It Happened in Hollywood
as Miss Gordon · 1937
Balalaika
as Natalya Petrovna · 1939
Rhythm in the Clouds
as The Duchess de Lovely · 1937
Bulldog Drummond Comes Back
as Zeffie · 1937
The Bohemian Girl
as Gypsy Queen · 1936
Big Game
as Aunt Sarah Winthrop · 1921
Tell No Tales
as Miss Mary · 1939
She Couldn't Say No
as Ma Hawkins · 1940
Flying with Music
as Fortune Teller · 1942
The Night of Love
as Lady in Waiting · 1927
Hunted Men
as Flower Woman · 1938
The Ship from Shanghai
as Lady Daley · 1930
The Fuller Gush Man
as Grandma · 1934
Bad Boy
as Deaf Woman · 1935
Two Alone
as Rogers' Neighbor (uncredited) · 1934
Sheriff of Tombstone
as Granny Carson · 1941
Bulldog Drummond Escapes
as Drunk in Jail Cell · 1937
Midnight Taxi
as Mrs. Lane · 1937
Boy Trouble
as Mrs. Jepson · 1939
Blind Man's Luck
as Mrs. Guerton · 1917
Made on Broadway
as Aunt Ada · 1933
Mystery Liner
as Granny Plimpton · 1934
The Marriage of William Ashe
as Lady Tranmore · 1921
Maid of Salem
as Goody Hodgers · 1937
Woman Against Woman
as Grandma · 1938
Clothes
as Mrs. Cathcart · 1920
The Single Standard
as Mrs. Handley · 1929
Stranded
as Old Hag (uncredited) · 1935
Emergency Squad
as Mrs. Cobb · 1940
Arrest Bulldog Drummond
as Aunt Meg · 1938
Navy Wife
as Bridge Player · 1935
Old Hutch
as Elderly Woman in Bank · 1936
Federal Bullets
as Mrs. Crippen · 1937
Vamp Till Ready
as Woman · 1936
Women Must Dress
as Peg Martin · 1935
Grandma's Buoys
as Grandma · 1936
Second Childhood
as Grandma · 1936
Hideaway
as Mrs. Beamish · 1937
A Society Exile
as Mrs. Stanley Shelby · 1919
Another Scandal
as Brownie · 1924
The Avalanche
as Mrs. Ruyler · 1919
Mothers of Men
as Mrs. De La Motte · 1920