# Nora Cecil

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{{Short description|English-American actress (1878–1951)}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Nora Cecil
| image              = Nora Cecil in The Poor Little Rich Girl (1917).jpg
| caption            = Cecil in ''[The Poor Little Rich Girl](/source/The_Poor_Little_Rich_Girl)'' (1917)
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1878|09|26|mf=yes}}
| birth_place        = [London](/source/London), England
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|1951|05|01|1878|09|26|mf=yes}}
| death_place        = [Los Angeles, California](/source/Los_Angeles%2C_California), U.S.
| occupation         = Actress
| years_active       = 1915–1947
| children           = 2
}}

'''Nora Cecil''' (September 26, 1878 – May 1, 1951) was an English-born American actress whose 30-year career spanned both the [silent](/source/silent_film) and [sound film](/source/sound_film) eras.

== Career ==

===Stage===
Cecil's career began on the stage, when she debuted in London at age 19.<ref>{{cite news |title=Daughter in mother's steps |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/44798802/nora_cecil/ |accessdate=February 17, 2020 |work=The Los Angeles Times |date=September 20, 1929 |location=California, Los Angeles |page=23|via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> She appeared in the Broadway production ''[The Sleeping Beauty and the Beast](/source/The_Sleeping_Beauty_and_the_Beast)'', which ran for more than 240 performances at the [Broadway Theatre](/source/Broadway_Theatre_(41st_Street)) in 1901–1902.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ibdb.com/production.php?id=5510|publisher=Internet Broadway Database|title=The Sleeping Beauty and the Beast|accessdate=May 22, 2015|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150424091533/http://ibdb.com/production.php?id=5510|archivedate=April 24, 2015}}</ref> (A 1930 newspaper article says that Cecil "made her debut, three decades ago, on the London stage.")<ref name="snd">{{cite news|title=Pianist Starts Music Dispute with Composer|newspaper=Shamokin News-Dispatch |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4736488/shamokin_newsdispatch/|agency=Shamokin News-Dispatch|date=January 3, 1930|location=Pennsylvania, Shamokin|page=3|via= Newspapers.com|accessdate=March 24, 2016}} {{Open access}}</ref>

===Film===
Cecil appeared in well over 100 feature films and film shorts.<ref name=AFIF>{{cite web|url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/SearchResult.aspx?s=&Type=CA&Tbl=PN&CatID=&ID=118111&searchedFor=Nora_Cecil_&SortType=ASC&SortCol=RELEASE_YEAR|publisher=American Film Institute|title=Nora Cecil profile|accessdate=May 22, 2015}}</ref> In 1915, she moved from the stage into films, her first appearance being in a starring role in ''[The Arrival of Perpetua](/source/The_Arrival_of_Perpetua)'', directed by [Émile Chautard](/source/%C3%89mile_Chautard).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=13677|title=The Arrival of Perpetua: Detail View|publisher=American Film Institute|accessdate=May 22, 2015|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140402013418/http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=13677|archivedate=April 2, 2014}}</ref> She often played "welfare workers, landladies, schoolmistresses and maiden aunts".<ref name=am>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmovie.com/artist/nora-cecil-p11933|publisher=AllMovie|title=Nora Cecil profile|accessdate=June 27, 2015}}</ref>
 
[[File:Nora Cecil in Street Scene.jpg|thumb|right|Cecil in ''[Street Scene](/source/Street_Scene_(film))'' (1931)]]
[[File:Nora Cecil in Nothing Sacred.jpg|thumb|right|Cecil in ''[Nothing Sacred](/source/Nothing_Sacred_(film))'' (1937)]]

One of the most significant roles was in the [W.C. Fields](/source/W.C._Fields) vehicle ''[The Old Fashioned Way](/source/The_Old_Fashioned_Way_(film))'' in 1934.<ref name=am/> Some of the other notable films in which Cecil appeared include [Ernst Lubitsch](/source/Ernst_Lubitsch)'s historical romance ''[The Merry Widow](/source/The_Merry_Widow_(1934_film))'', starring [Maurice Chevalier](/source/Maurice_Chevalier) and [Jeanette MacDonald](/source/Jeanette_MacDonald);<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=7352|title=The Merry Widow: Detail View|publisher=American Film Institute|accessdate= May 22, 2015|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140402034536/http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=7352|archivedate=April 2, 2014}}</ref> the 1939 version of ''[The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn](/source/The_Adventures_of_Huckleberry_Finn_(1939_film))'', starring [Mickey Rooney](/source/Mickey_Rooney);<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=1896|title=The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Detail View|publisher=American Film Institute|accessdate=May 22, 2015|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140329190601/http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=1896|archivedate=March 29, 2014}}</ref> and the [John Ford](/source/John_Ford) classic ''[Stagecoach](/source/Stagecoach_(1939_film))'', with [John Wayne](/source/John_Wayne).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=4173|title=Stagecoach: Detail View|publisher=American Film Institute|accessdate=May 22, 2015|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417132322/http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=4173|archivedate=April 17, 2015}}</ref>

Her final acting performance was in a small role as Louisa Ames in ''[Mourning Becomes Electra](/source/Mourning_Becomes_Electra_(film))'' in 1947, starring [Rosalind Russell](/source/Rosalind_Russell).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=25275|title=Mourning Becomes Electra: Detail View|publisher=American Film Institute|accessdate= May 22, 2015|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328190326/http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=25275|archivedate= March 28, 2014}}</ref>

==Personal life and death==
Cecil was married to real estate broker Russell Evans, who died in 1949. They had two children: Dorothy Cecil, who was also an actress, with a short stage-career, and Kenneth Russell Evans, who became a petroleum engineer.<ref name=snd/> 

She was cremated.{{Citation needed |date=April 2023}}

==Filmography==
<!-- Please leave redlinks. They are for film titles which already either have a redlink on a disambiguation page, or there is another film with the same title which already has an article. It will aid anyone who creates an article for that film. Thank you! -->
(Per [AFI](/source/American_Film_Institute) database)<ref name=AFIF />

{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* ''[The Arrival of Perpetua](/source/The_Arrival_of_Perpetua)'' (1915)
* ''[Alias Jimmy Valentine](/source/Alias_Jimmy_Valentine_(1915_film))'' (1915)
* ''[The Wild Girl](/source/The_Wild_Girl_(1917_film))'' (1917, as Norah Cecile)
* ''[Royal Romance](/source/A_Royal_Romance_(1917_film))'' (1917)
* ''[The Little Duchess](/source/The_Little_Duchess)'' (1917)
* ''[American Buds](/source/American_Buds)'' (1918)
* ''[By Hook or Crook](/source/By_Hook_or_Crook_(film))'' (1918)
* ''[The Love Net](/source/The_Love_Net)'' (1918)
* ''[The Zero Hour](/source/The_Zero_Hour_(1918_film))'' (1918)
* ''[The Appearance of Evil](/source/The_Appearance_of_Evil)'' (1918)
* ''[The Power and the Glory](/source/The_Power_and_the_Glory_(1918_film))'' (1918)
* ''[Prunella](/source/Prunella_(1918_film))'' (1918)
* ''[Miss Crusoe](/source/Miss_Crusoe)'' (1919)
* ''[Woman, Woman!](/source/Woman%2C_Woman!)'' (1919)
* ''[Red Foam](/source/Red_Foam)'' (1920)
* ''[The Daughter Pays](/source/The_Daughter_Pays)'' (1920)
* ''[Footfalls](/source/Footfalls_(film))'' (1921, uncredited)
* ''[Manslaughter](/source/Manslaughter_(1922_film))'' (1922)
* ''[Darwin Was Right](/source/Darwin_Was_Right)'' (1924)
* ''[The Deadwood Coach](/source/The_Deadwood_Coach)'' (1924)
* ''[Lightnin'](/source/Lightnin'_(1925_film))'' (1925, uncredited)
* ''[His Majesty, Bunker Bean](/source/His_Majesty%2C_Bunker_Bean_(1925_film))'' (1925)
* ''[Born to Battle](/source/Born_to_Battle_(1926_film))'' (1926, uncredited)
* ''[Chip of the Flying U](/source/Chip_of_the_Flying_U_(1926_film))'' (1926)
* ''[Midnight Faces](/source/Midnight_Faces)'' (1926)
* ''[The Passionate Quest](/source/The_Passionate_Quest)'' (1926)
* ''[The Demi-Bride](/source/The_Demi-Bride)'' (1927)
* ''[The Devil Dancer](/source/The_Devil_Dancer)'' (1927)
* ''[The Fortune Hunter](/source/The_Fortune_Hunter_(1927_film))'' (1927)
* ''[Sensation Seekers](/source/Sensation_Seekers)'' (1927)
* ''[Born to Battle](/source/Born_to_Battle_(1927_film))'' (1927)
* ''[The Silent Rider](/source/The_Silent_Rider)'' (1927)
* ''[A Trick of Hearts](/source/A_Trick_of_Hearts)'' (1928)
* ''[The Big City](/source/The_Big_City_(1928_film))'' (1928)
* ''[The Cavalier](/source/The_Cavalier_(film))'' (1928)
* ''[The Baby Cyclone](/source/The_Baby_Cyclone)'' (1928)
* ''[Driftwood](/source/Driftwood_(1928_film))'' (1928)
* ''[Seven Footprints to Satan](/source/Seven_Footprints_to_Satan)'' (1929)
* ''[The Little Accident](/source/The_Little_Accident)'' (1930)
* ''[Only Saps Work](/source/Only_Saps_Work)'' (1930)
* ''[Outward Bound](/source/Outward_Bound_(film))'' (1930)
* ''[Seven Days Leave](/source/Seven_Days_Leave_(1930_film))'' (1930)
* ''[Street Scene](/source/Street_Scene_(film))'' (1931)
* ''[Caught Plastered](/source/Caught_Plastered)'' (1931)
* ''[The Ruling Voice](/source/The_Ruling_Voice)'' (1931)
* ''[Stepping Sisters](/source/Stepping_Sisters)'' (1932)
* ''[Doctor Bull](/source/Doctor_Bull)'' (1933)
* ''[The Bitter Tea of General Yen](/source/The_Bitter_Tea_of_General_Yen)'' (1933)
* ''[Peg O' My Heart](/source/Peg_o'_My_Heart_(1933_film))'' (1933)
* ''[Design for Living](/source/Design_for_Living_(film))'' (1933)
* ''[Laughing Boy](/source/Laughing_Boy_(film))'' (1934)
* ''[The Old Fashioned Way](/source/The_Old_Fashioned_Way_(film))'' (1934)
* ''[You're Telling Me!](/source/You're_Telling_Me!)'' (1934)
* ''[Upperworld](/source/Upper_World_(film))'' (1934)
* ''[6 Day Bike Rider](/source/6_Day_Bike_Rider)'' (1934)
* ''[Glamour](/source/Glamour_(1934_film))'' (1934)
* ''[Chained](/source/Chained_(1934_film))'' (1934)
* ''[The Merry Widow](/source/The_Merry_Widow_(1934_film))'' (1934)
* ''[Pursued](/source/Pursued_(1934_film))'' (1934)
* ''[Search for Beauty](/source/Search_for_Beauty)'' (1934)
* ''[Once to Every Woman](/source/Once_to_Every_Woman_(1934_film))'' (1934)
* ''[Gold Diggers of 1935](/source/Gold_Diggers_of_1935)'' (1935)
* ''[Collegiate](/source/Collegiate_(1936_film))'' (1935)
* ''[Car 99](/source/Car_99)'' (1935)
* ''[Way Down East](/source/Way_Down_East_(1935_film))'' (1935)
* ''[Vagabond Lady](/source/Vagabond_Lady)'' (1935)
* ''[Woman Wanted](/source/Woman_Wanted_(1935_film))'' (1935)
* ''[Grand Exit](/source/Grand_Exit)'' (1935)
* ''[Memories and Melodies](/source/Memories_and_Melodies)'' (1935), a short about American composer [Stephen Foster](/source/Stephen_Foster) of Kentucky trying to sell a song at a local shop. She played a grumpy customer.
* ''[Dancing Pirate](/source/Dancing_Pirate)'' (1936)
* ''[Poppy](/source/Poppy_(1936_film))'' (1936)
* ''[Fury](/source/Fury_(1936_film))'' (1936)
* ''[Career Woman](/source/Career_Woman_(film))'' (1936)
* ''[College Holiday](/source/College_Holiday)'' (1936)
* ''[Girl of the Ozarks](/source/Girl_of_the_Ozarks)'' (1936)
* ''[Little Miss Nobody](/source/Little_Miss_Nobody_(1936_film))'' (1936)
* ''[Laughing at Trouble](/source/Laughing_at_Trouble)'' (1936)
* ''[We Went to College](/source/We_Went_to_College)'' (1936)
* ''[Nothing Sacred](/source/Nothing_Sacred_(film))'' (1937)
* ''[Champagne Waltz](/source/Champagne_Waltz)'' (1937)
* ''[The Mighty Treve](/source/The_Mighty_Treve)'' (1937)
* ''[Easy Living](/source/Easy_Living_(1937_film))'' (1937)
* ''[Night of Mystery](/source/Night_of_Mystery_(1937_film))'' (1937)
* ''[Blossoms on Broadway](/source/Blossoms_on_Broadway)'' (1937)
* ''[Borrowing Trouble](/source/Borrowing_Trouble)'' (1937)
* ''[She Asked for It](/source/She_Asked_for_It)'' (1937)
* ''[Partners in Crime](/source/Partners_in_Crime_(1937_film))'' (1937)
* ''[King of Alcatraz](/source/King_of_Alcatraz)'' (1938)
* ''[Mr. Boggs Steps Out](/source/Mr._Boggs_Steps_Out)'' (1938)
* ''[International Settlement](/source/International_Settlement_(film))'' (1938)
* ''[No Time to Marry](/source/No_Time_to_Marry)'' (1938)
* ''[The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn](/source/The_Adventures_of_Huckleberry_Finn_(1939_film))'' (1939)
* ''[Stagecoach](/source/Stagecoach_(1939_film))'' (1939) as Boone's Landlady (uncredited)
* ''[The Story of Alexander Graham Bell](/source/The_Story_of_Alexander_Graham_Bell)'' (1939)
* ''[Union Pacific](/source/Union_Pacific_(film))'' (1939)
* ''[Saint Louis Blues](/source/St._Louis_Blues_(1939_film))'' (1939)
* ''[What a Life](/source/What_a_Life_(film))'' (1939)
* ''[Anne of Windy Poplars](/source/Anne_of_Windy_Poplars_(film))'' (1940)
* ''[Lucky Partners](/source/Lucky_Partners)'' (1940)
* ''[Those Were the Days!](/source/Those_Were_the_Days!)'' (1940)
* ''[The Captain Is a Lady](/source/The_Captain_Is_a_Lady)'' (1940)
* ''[Young People](/source/Young_People_(1940_film))'' (1940)
* ''[Queen of the Mob](/source/Queen_of_the_Mob)'' (1940)
* ''[A Girl, a Guy and a Gob](/source/A_Girl%2C_a_Guy_and_a_Gob)'' (1941)
* ''[It Started with Eve](/source/It_Started_with_Eve)'' (1941)
* ''[Three Girls About Town](/source/Three_Girls_About_Town)'' (1941)
* ''[Unexpected Uncle](/source/Unexpected_Uncle)'' (1941)
* ''[Little Men](/source/Little_Men_(1940_film))'' (1941)
* ''[Apache Trail](/source/Apache_Trail_(film))'' (1942)
* ''[Call Out the Marines](/source/Call_Out_the_Marines)'' (1942)
* ''[Daring Young Man](/source/Daring_Young_Man)'' (1942)
* ''[I Married a Witch](/source/I_Married_a_Witch)'' (1942) as Harriet Wooley
* ''[Jail House Blues](/source/Jail_House_Blues_(film))'' (1942)
* ''[Obliging Young Lady](/source/Obliging_Young_Lady)'' (1942)
* ''[Tish](/source/Tish_(film))'' (1942)
* ''[The Wife Takes a Flyer](/source/The_Wife_Takes_a_Flyer)'' (1942)
* ''[The Unknown Guest](/source/The_Unknown_Guest_(1943_film))'' (1943)
* ''[The Miracle of Morgan's Creek](/source/The_Miracle_of_Morgan's_Creek)'' (1944)
* ''[Together Again](/source/Together_Again_(film))'' (1944)
* ''[The Thin Man Goes Home](/source/The_Thin_Man_Goes_Home)'' (1945)
* ''[Lady on a Train](/source/Lady_on_a_Train)'' (1945)
* ''[Molly and Me](/source/Molly_and_Me)'' (1945)
* ''[Johnny Comes Flying Home](/source/Johnny_Comes_Flying_Home)'' (1946)
* ''[The Kid from Brooklyn](/source/The_Kid_from_Brooklyn)'' (1946)
* ''[The Missing Lady](/source/The_Missing_Lady)'' (1946)
* ''[No Leave, No Love](/source/No_Leave%2C_No_Love)'' (1946)
* ''[Two Sisters from Boston](/source/Two_Sisters_from_Boston)'' (1946)
* ''Hollywood Bound'' (1946)
* ''[Mourning Becomes Electra](/source/Mourning_Becomes_Electra_(film))'' (1947)
* ''[The Sea of Grass](/source/The_Sea_of_Grass_(film))'' (1947)

{{div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist|40em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{IMDb name|0147704}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cecil, Nora}}
Category:1878 births
Category:1951 deaths
Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:20th-century English actresses
Category:American film actresses
Category:American silent film actresses
Category:Actresses from London
Category:English film actresses
Category:English silent film actresses
Category:English emigrants to the United States
Category:Western (genre) film actresses

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Nora Cecil](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nora_Cecil) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nora_Cecil?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.