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    Betty Balfour

    1903-03-27 (121 years old) in London, England, UK

    From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Betty Balfour (27 March 1903 – 4 November 1977) was an English screen actress, popular during the silent era, and known as the "British Mary Pickford" and "Britain's Queen of Happiness". She was best known to audiences for her Squibs series of films. Balfour was the most popular actress in Britain in the 1920s, and in 1927 she was named by the Daily Mirror as the country's favourite world star. Her talent was most evident in the Squibs comedy series produced by George Pearson, while in his Love, Life and Laughter (1923) and Reveille (1924), rediscovered in 2014, she demonstrated a serious side to her character. Her role as a wealthy heiress in Somebody's Darling (1925) was an attempt to break out of her previous role as Squibs, to avoid typecasting. She made her stage debut in 1913, and was appearing in Medora at the Alhambra Theatre in Leicester Square when T. A. Welsh and Pearson saw and signed her for Nothing Else Matters in 1920. After replacing Gertrude Lawrence on stage in The Midnight Follies, Balfour was back with Pearson with her first starring role in Mary Find the Gold. In 1916 she starred in Fred Karno's all female revue, 'All Women,' notable at the time for its all female cast, including stage manager, musical director and advanced agent. Balfour made no attempt to break into Hollywood but like Ivor Novello she was able to export her talents to mainland Europe. She starred in the German films, Die sieben Töchter der Frau Gyurkovics and Die Regimentstochter; she also worked for Marcel L'Herbier in Le Diable au cœur, for Louis Mercanton in Croquette and La Petite Bonne du palace, and for Géza von Bolváry in Bright Eyes. Back in Britain, she also starred in Alfred Hitchcock's Champagne (1928). Balfour's sound debut, The Nipper (1930), based on the Squibs character, was only moderately successful. Her popularity diminished in the 1930s, though she played a supporting role to Jessie Matthews in Evergreen (1934), appeared with John Mills in Forever England (1935) and played the matriarch in 29 Acacia Avenue (1945). Balfour had less fortune in her private life. Her marriage with composer Jimmy Campbell went on the rocks in 1941 after ten years, a try of a comeback at the theatre failed in 1952. She died at age 74 in Weybridge, Surrey.

    Movies

    poster
    29 Acacia Avenue
    57 %|May 1, 1945
    Comedy, Drama
    actor
    Eliza Comes to Stay
    0 %|Apr 9, 1936
    Comedy
    poster
    Squibs
    37 %|Jun 11, 1935
    poster
    Brown on Resolution
    58 %|May 15, 1935
    Action, War
    poster
    My Old Dutch
    0 %|Oct 1, 1934
    Drama
    poster
    Evergreen
    62 %|Apr 1, 1934
    Comedy, Romance, Music
    poster
    The Nipper
    0 %|Jun 1, 1930
    Music
    poster
    Raise the Roof
    0 %|Feb 13, 1930
    Music
    actor
    Daughter of the Regiment
    0 %|Jun 11, 1929
    Comedy
    poster
    The Vagabond Queen
    0 %|May 11, 1929
    Comedy
    poster
    Bright Eyes
    0 %|Mar 29, 1929
    Comedy, Romance
    poster
    Paradise
    0 %|Sep 10, 1928
    Drama, Comedy
    poster
    Champagne
    52 %|Aug 19, 1928
    Comedy, Drama
    poster
    A Little Bit of Fluff
    0 %|Jul 28, 1928
    Comedy
    poster
    Little Devil May Care
    63 %|Mar 3, 1928
    Drama
    poster
    A Sister of Six
    0 %|Dec 28, 1926
    Comedy, Drama, Romance
    poster
    The Cabaret Kid
    0 %|Nov 1, 1926
    actor
    Réveille
    0 %|Jun 1, 1924
    poster
    Love, Life and Laughter
    0 %|Jun 1, 1923
    Drama, Romance
    actor
    Squibs Wins the Calcutta Sweep
    0 %|Sep 1, 1922
    Comedy

    Series