Cathleen Cordell (May 21, 1915 – August 19, 1997) was an American film and television actress. She was described as "a lass born in Brooklyn with an Irish name and an English accent; educated in India and France."[1]
Early years
Cordell was born in Brooklyn, New York. She moved to England, then France, in order to begin her childhood education. "My father's business took him to India when I was a baby," she said, "Then we went to France, and when I was 7 years old I was thrust into a French boarding school."[1] She later attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.[1]
Stage
Cordell's stage debut came in It's You I Want, presented by Seymour Hicks' company in England.[2] Her "first important role" in the United States came in Never Trouble Trouble at the Brighton Theater in Brooklyn, New York, August 17, 1937. A Brooklyn newspaper described Cordell as "a 'discovery' of John Golden" and said the actress "has appeared abroad previously."[3]
Cordell went on to appear on Broadway in Love of Women (1937), Romantic Mr. Dickens (1940), Golden Wings (1941), Yesterday's Magic (1942), Sheppey (1944), While the Sun Shines (1944), and The Linden Tree (1948).[4]
Film
Cordell began her film career in 1938 playing in Who Killed Cock Robin?. (Another source says she "made her film debut in the British version of Gaslight.")[5] She starred in Gaslight (1940) with Anton Walbrook, as Nancy, the housemaid, a role that later launched Angela Lansbury into stardom in the American remake four years later.
She made numerous film and television appearances during her nearly 50-year career.
^ abFrancis, Robert (October 5, 1944). "Candid Close-ups". New York, Brooklyn: Newspapers.com. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. p. 23. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
^"Stage News". New York, Brooklyn: Newspapers.com. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. August 5, 1937. p. 8. Retrieved December 20, 2015.