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Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

73

Gender

Female

Birthday

1863-11-18

Day of Death

1950-07-24 (87 years old)

Place of Birth

Paddington, London, England, UK

Also Known As

Zeffie Agnes Lydia Tilbury

Zeffie Tilsbury

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

Acting

The Grapes of Wrath

1940

The Grapes of Wrath

as

Grandma Joad

Werewolf of London

1935

Werewolf of London

as

Mrs. Moncaster

Bulldog Drummond Escapes

1937

Bulldog Drummond Escapes

as

Drunk in Jail Cell

Tobacco Road

1941

Tobacco Road

as

Grandma Lester

The Mystery of Edwin Drood

1935

The Mystery of Edwin Drood

as

The Opium Woman

Desire

1936

Desire

as

Aunt Olga

The Single Standard

1929

The Single Standard

as

Mrs. Handley

The Gorgeous Hussy

1936

The Gorgeous Hussy

as

Mrs. Daniel Beall

Bulldog Drummond's Peril

1938

Bulldog Drummond's Peril

as

Mrs. Weevens

Rhythm in the Clouds

1937

Rhythm in the Clouds

as

The Duchess de Lovely

She Couldn't Say No

1940

She Couldn't Say No

as

Ma Hawkins

The Avalanche

1919

The Avalanche

as

Mrs. Ruyler

A Society Exile

1919

A Society Exile

as

Mrs. Stanley Shelby

The King Without a Crown

1937

The King Without a Crown

as

Dying Duchess Marie (uncredited)

The Fuller Gush Man

1934

The Fuller Gush Man

as

Grandma

Boy Trouble

1939

Boy Trouble

as

Mrs. Jepson

The Ship from Shanghai

1930

The Ship from Shanghai

as

Lady Daley

Alice Adams

1935

Alice Adams

as

Mrs. Dresser (uncredited)

Women Must Dress

1935

Women Must Dress

as

Peg Martin

Mothers of Men

1920

Mothers of Men

as

Mrs. De La Motte

It Happened in Hollywood

1937

It Happened in Hollywood

as

Miss Gordon

Camille

1921

Camille

as

Prudence

Woman Against Woman

1938

Woman Against Woman

as

Grandma

Tell No Tales

1939

Tell No Tales

as

Miss Mary

Give Me Your Heart

1936

Give Me Your Heart

as

Esther Warren

Midnight Taxi

1937

Midnight Taxi

as

Mrs. Lane

The White Angel

1936

The White Angel

as

Woman Donating Sheets (uncredited)

Ocean Swells

1934

Ocean Swells

as

Auntie

Lady of the Tropics

1939

Lady of the Tropics

as

Woman Congratulating Manon

Balalaika

1939

Balalaika

as

Natalya Petrovna

Hideaway

1937

Hideaway

as

Mrs. Beamish

Kidnapped

1938

Kidnapped

as

Old Woman

Maid of Salem

1937

Maid of Salem

as

Goody Hodgers

The Earl of Chicago

1940

The Earl of Chicago

as

Miss Nana (uncredited)

Emergency Squad

1940

Emergency Squad

as

Mrs. Cobb

Federal Bullets

1937

Federal Bullets

as

Mrs. Crippen

Grandma's Buoys

1936

Grandma's Buoys

as

Grandma

Mystery Liner

1934

Mystery Liner

as

Granny Plimpton

Two Alone

1934

Two Alone

as

Rogers' Neighbor (uncredited)

Sheriff of Tombstone

1941

Sheriff of Tombstone

as

Granny Carson

After the Thin Man

1936

After the Thin Man

as

Aunt Lucy (uncredited)

Under Cover of Night

1937

Under Cover of Night

as

Mrs. Nash

Navy Wife

1935

Navy Wife

as

Bridge Player

Stranded

1935

Stranded

as

Old Hag (uncredited)

The Last Days of Pompeii

1935

The Last Days of Pompeii

as

The Wise Woman (uncredited)

Bachelor Bait

1934

Bachelor Bait

as

Miss Turner (uncredited)

Public Hero Number 1

1935

Public Hero Number 1

as

Deaf Woman in Scottsdale Bar (uncredited)

Marie Antoinette

1938

Marie Antoinette

as

Dowager at Birth of Dauphin (uncredited)

Vamp Till Ready

1936

Vamp Till Ready

as

Woman

Second Childhood

1936

Second Childhood

as

Grandma

Another Scandal

1924

Another Scandal

as

Brownie

Flying with Music

1942

Flying with Music

as

Fortune Teller

Comin' Round the Mountain

1940

Comin' Round the Mountain

as

Granny Stokes

Hunted Men

1938

Hunted Men

as

Flower Woman

Parnell

1937

Parnell

as

Old Lady

Camille

1936

Camille

as

Old Duchess Bidding 3750 Francs

Old Hutch

1936

Old Hutch

as

Elderly Woman in Bank

Parole!

1936

Parole!

as

Molly Smith

Anthony Adverse

1936

Anthony Adverse

as

Old Woman at Chalet

The Bohemian Girl

1936

The Bohemian Girl

as

Gypsy Queen

Bad Boy

1935

Bad Boy

as

Deaf Woman

The Farmer Takes a Wife

1935

The Farmer Takes a Wife

as

Old Townswoman

Made on Broadway

1933

Made on Broadway

as

Aunt Ada

The Night of Love

1927

The Night of Love

as

Lady in Waiting

Big Game

1921

Big Game

as

Aunt Sarah Winthrop

The Marriage of William Ashe

1921

The Marriage of William Ashe

as

Lady Tranmore

Clothes

1920

Clothes

as

Mrs. Cathcart

Blind Man's Luck

1917

Blind Man's Luck

as

Mrs. Guerton

Production

Crew

Directing