Lila Kedrova

Lila Kedrova
Kedrova in 1965.
Born 9 October 1918
Saint Petersburg, Russia
Died 16 February 2000
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada
Occupation Actress
Years active 1938–1994
Spouse(s)
  • Richard Howard (1968-2000; her death)
  • Pierre Valde (1948-?)

Lila Kedrova (full name in Russian Елизавета (Лиля) Николаевна Кедрова) (9 October 1918[1][2]- 16 February 2000) was a Russian-born French actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Zorba the Greek (1964), and the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for the same role in the musical version of the film.[3]

Life and career

Kedrova said she was born in 1918 in Petrograd, Russia, yet she gave her age as 24 in a passenger list for New York City in February 1935 when touring with her theatre group, which implies a year of birth circa 1910,[4] while her grave plaque states 1909. Accordingly her brother's age was also given as 34 in a 1938 passenger list indicating a possible birth year 1903 or 1904 and not the generally accepted 1905. Her parents were Russian opera singers. Her father, Nikolay Kedrov, Sr. (1871-1940), was a singer and composer, a creator of the first Russian male quartet to perform liturgical chants. Her mother, Sofia Gladkaya (ru: Софья Николаевна Гладкая), was a singer at the Mariinsky Theatre and a teacher at the Conservatoire de Paris. Kedrova's brother Nikolay (1904?–1981) was a Russian singer and composer of liturgical music. Her sister Irene Kedroff[5] was a soprano.

Some time after the October Revolution, in 1922, the family emigrated to Berlin. In 1928 they moved to France, where Kedrova's mother taught at the Conservatoire de Paris, and her father again recreated the quartet "Quatuor Kedroff". In 1932, Kedrova joined the Moscow Art Theatre touring company. Then her film career began, mostly in French films, until her first English appearance in 1964 as Mme Hortense in Zorba the Greek.

Her performance won her the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Kedrova appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's 1966 film Torn Curtain, playing the role of Countess Kuchinska. Kedrova played Fraulein Schneider in the West End stage production of Cabaret in 1968 alongside Judi Dench and Peter Sallis.

She then played a series of eccentric and crazy women in Hollywood films. In 1983, she reprised her role as Mme Hortense on Broadway in the musical version of Zorba the Greek, winning both a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical and a Drama Desk Award in the process. In 1989 she played Madame Armfeldt in the London revival of A Little Night Music.

Her second husband was Canadian stage director Richard Howard (1932-2017).

Death

In 2000, Kedrova died at her summer home in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada, of pneumonia, having suffered a long time with Alzheimer's disease.[3][6] She was cremated. Her ashes are buried in her family grave in the Russian cemetery in Paris.[1]

Filmography

List of acting performances in film and television
Title Year Role Notes
Ultimatum 1938 Irina as Lila Kédrova
No Way Back 1953 Ljuba
Le Défroqué 1954 Uncredited
Flesh and the Woman 1954 Rose French: Le Grand jeu
Les Impures 1955 Mme. Denis, la concierge
Les Chiffonniers d'Emmaus 1955 Le femme de Bastien Uncredited
Razzia sur la chnouf 1955 Léa
Futures vedettes 1955 Mme. Dimater, Sophie's mother
Des gens sans importance 1956 Mme. Vacopoulos
Calle Mayor 1956 Pepita
Jusqu'au dernier 1957 Marcella Bastia
Ce joli monde 1957 Léa
The Lovers of Montparnasse 1958 Mme. Sborowsky
La Femme et le Pantin 1959 Manuela
Jons und Erdme 1959
Mon pote le gitan 1959 La Choute
Kriss Romani 1963 Kirvi
La Mort d'un tueur 1964 La mère de Massa
Zorba the Greek 1964 Madame Hortense Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated ･ BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress
Nominated ･ Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress ･ Motion Picture
Nominated ･ Laurel Award for Female Supporting Performance
A High Wind in Jamaica 1965 Rosa, Tampico Bar Owner
Torn Curtain 1966 Countess Kuchinska
Penelope 1966 Sadaba
Maigret de Pigalle 1967 Rose Alfonsi
Le Canard en fer-blanc 1967 Rosa
The Girl Who Couldn't Say No 1968 Yolanda's mother
The Kremlin Letter 1970 Madam Sophie
A Time for Loving 1972 Madame Olga Dubillard
Rak 1972 La mère de David
Escape to the Sun 1972 Sarah Kaplan
Soft Beds, Hard Battles 1974 Madame Grenier
Alla mia cara mamma nel giorno del suo compleanno 1974 Countess Mafalda
Footprints on the Moon 1975 Mrs. Heim, Old woman on the beach French: Le Orme
The Cursed Medallion 1975 Contessa Cappelli
Eliza's Horoscope 1975 Lila
The Tenant 1976 Madame Gaderian French: Le Locataire
Moi, fleur bleue 1977 Countess de Tocqueville
Nido de Viudas 1977 Mother US: Widow's Nest
Le Paradis des riches 1978 Camille Chevallier
Le Cavaleur 1979 Olga
Les ･gouts du paradis 1979 Charlotte
Womanlight 1979 Sonia Tovalski
Les Parents terribles 1980 Yvonne
Tell Me a Riddle 1980 Eva Golden Mask Award
Il Turno 1981 Maria
Blood Tide 1982 Sister Anna
Testament 1983 Uncredited
Sword of the Valiant 1984 Lady of Lyonesse
Some Girls 1988 Granny
A Star for Two 1991 Simone
Next Time the Fire 1993 Mother (final film role)

References

  1. 1 2 "Article about Kedrova's grave".
  2. ↑ Image of Lila kedrova's grave in Paris, Dates 1909 2000. "Geneanet.org".
  3. 1 2 "Lila Kedrova, Known for Oscar-Winning Role in 'Zorba,' Dies". 20 April 2000. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  4. ↑ "Passenger list of Elizabeth Kedroff in 1935". Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  5. ↑ "Mini biography of Irene Kedroff".
  6. ↑ "Lila Kedrova, Who Won An Oscar And Tony For Her Work In `Zorba'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
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