Athene Seyler
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Athene Seyler, CBE (31 May 1889 – 12 September 1990) was an English actress.
Although better known as a stage actress - she first appeared on the stage in 1909 - she made her film debut in 1921, and became known for playing slightly dotty old ladies in many British films from the 1930s to the 1960s.
Her most memorable stage credits included Mrs. Malaprop in The Rivals, Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest, and a double-act, with her good friend Dame Sybil Thorndike, as the murderous spinster sisters in Arsenic and Old Lace.
Her film and television career lasted into the 1960s, and included roles in The Citadel (1938), Night of the Demon (1957), and The Avengers (1964, 1965). She was also a regular cast member in screen adaptations of Charles Dickens' novels.
She virtually retired from acting after 1970, but continued making public appearances until well into the 1980s. In 1990, at the age of 101, she appeared at the National Theatre, talking about her long life and career.
Athene Seyler was President of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) from 1950, and a member of the Theatrical Ladies' Guild. She also wrote The Craft of Comedy.
She was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1959.
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Full filmography
- The Avengers (1961)
- BBC Play of the Month (1965) as Lucy Amorest
- BBC Play of the Month (1965) as Mrs. Whyte
- BBC Play of the Month (1965) as Mrs. Boham
- The Third Man (1959)
- The World of Wooster (1965) as Aunt Isbel
- Night of the Demon (1957) as Mrs. Karswell
- The Citadel (1938) as Lady Raebank
- Armchair Theatre (1956) as Lady Corm
- Armchair Theatre (1956) as Nellie Pringle
- The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958) as Jeannie Lawson
- The Queen of Spades (1949) as Princess Ivashin
- Campbell's Kingdom (1957) as Miss Abigail
- Francis of Assisi (1961) as Aunt Buona
- A Tale of Two Cities (1958) as Miss Pross
- The Invasion (1963) as Lady Corm
- Make Mine Mink (1960) as Dame Beatrice Appleby
- Satan Never Sleeps (1962) as Sister Agness
- Doctor at Large (1957) as Lady Hawkins
- I Thank a Fool (1962) as Aunt Heather Chandler
- A French Mistress (1960) as Beatrice Peake
- The Saint in London (1939) as Mother Buckley
- The Pickwick Papers (1952) as Miss Witherfield
- Yield to the Night (1956) as Miss Bligh