Beatrice Lillie born 29 May 1894

Beatrice Gladys Lillie, Lady Peel (29 May 1894 – 20 January 1989) was a Canadian-born actress, singer, comedy performer and star of British and American revues, perhaps the foremost theatrical comedienne of the 20th century. 

Dubbed "the funniest woman in the world", comedienne Beatrice Lillie was born the daughter of a Canadian government official and grew up in Toronto. She sang in a family trio act with her mother, Lucy, and her piano-playing older sister, Muriel. Times were hard and the ambitious mother eventually took the girls to England to test the waters. While they performed occasionally as the Lillie Trio and Muriel showed progress in her classical training, Beattie was never able to develop the discipline her mother expected. It was just too much fun to make people laugh. In fact, she was tossed out of a church choir at the tender age of eight for making funny gestures during the serious portions of the service, causing the young boys near her to fall into fits of giggling. 

In 1914, Beatrice made her solo debut in London's West End and was an immediate hit with audiences. A valuable marquee player as a droll revue and stage artiste, she skillfully interwove sketches, songs and monologues with parody and witty satire. During the First World War she performed in various revues produced by André Charlot, displaying enormous comic talent. She was called upon to play a male impersonator in a West End revue. In top hat and tails, it was a role Beatrice would return to several times over the years "I was the best-dressed transvestite in the world" she claimed. 

She married Robert Peel in 1920, the extravagant heir of Lord Peel. Ater her father-in-law died in the mid-1920s, she and Robert became Lord and Lady Peel even though she never assumed the title. In 1924, she returned to America and was an instant success on Broadway, thus becoming the toast of two continents. For the next decade, she worked with the top stage headliners of her day, including Gertrude Lawrence, Bert Lahr and Jack Haley. Noël Coward and Cole Porter wrote songs and even shows for her. A top radio and comedy recording artist to boot, Bea's success in films was surprisingly limited, although she did achieve some recognition in such productions as Exit Smiling (1926) and Doctor Rhythm (1938). 

Miss Lillie continued to work after having a son (another Robert Peel), which was fortunate because her husband was unable to hold a job as well as being an unfortunate gambler. She eventually separated from her husband, but the couple never divorced. Sir Robert died of peritonitis at the home of his mistress in 1934 and left behind huge debts which forced Bea to continue working non-stop for years to come. In 1936, MGM had considered casting Beatrice as "Glenda, the Good Witch" in The Wizard of Oz (1939), but decided that she was 'too funny' for the rest of the company. 

                                   

Beatrice spent most of the Second World War entertaining troops in the Mediterranean, Africa, the Middle East, and eventually in Germany. Before she went on stage one day, she learned that her son was killed in action. She refused to postpone the performance saying "I'll cry tomorrow." 

She successfully toured the U.S. and appeared on Broadway both before and after the War. In 1948, while touring in the show Inside USA, she met singer andactor John Philip Huck, almost three decades younger, who became her friend and companion, and she boosted his career. Despite their huge age difference, he became her manager and her companion for the rest of her life. 

In 1952 she toured in a one woman show entitled An Evening With Beatrice Lillie, for which she was awarded a Tony in 1956. Her rather eccentric persona worked beautifully on Broadway and, in 1958, she replaced Rosalind Russell in "Auntie Mame".  She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6404 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on February 8, 1960. In 1964, she took on the role of "Madame Arcati" in the musical version of "Blithe Spirit", entitled "High Spirits". This was to be her last staged musical. Sadly, her style grew passé and outdated in the Vietnam era, and she quickly faded from view after a movie appearance in Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967). 

At this point, she had already begun to show early signs of Alzheimer's disease, although she managed to publish her biography “Every Other Inch a Lady” in 1973. A year later, Bea suffered the first of two strokes and lived the next decade and a half in virtual seclusion. She died 20 January 1989, at age 94. Her partner Huck died of a heart attack the day after Bea passed away. They were buried side by side near her mother and sister in St Margaret's Churchyard in Harpsden, Oxfordshire, near Henley-on-Thames. 

(Edited from IMDb & OTRCAT)