Description:
Yvonne Germaine Arnaud was born at Bordeaux in France on 20th December, 1892, the daughter of Charles Leon Arnaud and his wife Antoinette (de Montegut).
She was educated in Paris and studied music at the Paris Conservatoire where, at age 12, she won the 1905 Premier Prix for her piano playing and also became an accomplished singer. Feted as a child prodigy, she spent the next several years touring in Europe and the USA where she performed with many of the leading orchestras of the day under conductors such as Gustav Mahler, Willem Mengelberg, and Edouard Colonne.
In 1911 she played a series of concerts in England after whi
Yvonne Germaine Arnaud was born at Bordeaux in France on 20th December, 1892, the daughter of Charles Leon Arnaud and his wife Antoinette (de Montegut).
She was educated in Paris and studied music at the Paris Conservatoire where, at age 12, she won the 1905 Premier Prix for her piano playing and also became an accomplished singer. Feted as a child prodigy, she spent the next several years touring in Europe and the USA where she performed with many of the leading orchestras of the day under conductors such as Gustav Mahler, Willem Mengelberg, and Edouard Colonne.
In 1911 she played a series of concerts in England after which she decided to try her talents at musical comedy and, despite having had no special preparation for the stage, immediately secured an engagement as understudy to Elsie Spain in the role of Princess Mathilde in "The Quaker Girl" at the Adelphi Theatre - a remarkable acheivement for a relative theatrical novice.
She appeared before an audience for the first time in that role on 7th August, 1911, and was such a success in her stand-in appearances that she next won the leading role of Suzanne in "The Girl in the Taxi" opening at the Lyric theatre on 5th September, 1912. Again she was a big success marking the start of what would be a long and prosperous career, most of which would be spent in London.
Over the following years she appeared in a succession of musical comedies, farces and opera bouffe - making another notable success as Noisette in "Mam'selle Tralala" in 1914 (revived the following year as "Oh! Be Careful"), two revivals of "The Girl in the Taxi" (in 1913 and 1915), and Phrynette in "L'Enfent Prodigue" (where she also played the piano accompaniment at many performances).
Her natural vivacity and the charm of her French accented broken English quickly made her an established favourite with London audiences. When complications following a throat operation affected her voice and threatened to end her career she fought through and re-established herself in farces and non-musical comedies. She made notable comedy successes as Louise Allington in the farce "Tons of Money" which opened at the Shaftesbury in April 1922 and ran for nearly two years and 737 appearances; Marguerite in Ben Travers' "A Cuckoo in the Nest"; and Mrs. Pepys in J.B. Fagan's "And So To Bed". In 1927 she made a fleeting visit to New York playing in the latter role at the Schubert Theatre.
She also appeared in numerous movies, making her silver-screen debut opposite Dennis Neilson Terry in the 1920 British production of Honore Balzac's "Desire". In 1930 she acheived a unique "treble" playing Emma Melton in "Canaries Sometimes Sing" in London (The Globe), New York (Fulton's) and in another British movie. Over the next few years she became a mainstay of the British film industry, including reprising other of her successful stage roles in "Tons of Money," "Cuckoo in the Nest" and "The Improper Duchess."
Around this time she also turned her hand to 'straight' acting and first appeared in a Shakespearean role as Princess Katherine in "Henry V" at the Alhambra in January, 1934. But all of her greatest successes came in comedy to which she was best suited. She continued to be active on both stage and silver screen as well as appearing as a pianist at special events until shortly before her death in 1958. Throughout her long career she suffered few failures, the worst being "Colombe" in 1951 in which she was miscast as the cruel and bitter ageing actress.
In private life she always shied away from publicity, keeping the public and private sides of her life completely seperate. In London she lived in a cottage at Eaton Mews and later for many years lived at Effingham Common, near Guildford (where today the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, which opened in 1965, is dedicated to her memory.) She married once, to the actor Hugh McLellan in 1920.
Yvonne Arnaud died in London on 20th September, 1958. Her ashes were scattered in the churchyard at St. Martha's Hill near Guildford, where there remains a small memorial stone on the church grounds.
... (more)
(less)
Tags: French (1), France (1), Piano (1), Actress (1), Pianist (1), Singer (1), Child Prodigy (1), Silent Cinema (1), Born 1892 (1), Died 1958 (1), Stage Actress (1), Silent Actress (1), Film Actress (1)
My tags:
Add tags
Login
France
4 comments
