Classic Entertainment Autographs

Cat. #000803141111: BEATRICE STELLA CAMPBELL

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Scarce vintage blue indelible pencil signature on a 3x5-inch off-white card, dating to the 1930s, diagonally trimmed at all four corners and decorated with two magazine images. Unusual, in that she more typically gave her autograph as "Mrs. Patrick Campbell", in honor of her husband. In good condition. It was for her that George Bernard Shaw created the role of Eliza Doolittle in "Pygmalion" (1914), although he insisted against her reprising the part in the film version two decades later, due to her advanced age. Throughout the 1930s, she worked as an acting coach in Hollywood, making occasional forays into film, including Riptide (1934), One More River (1934), Outcast Lady (1935), and Crime and Punishment (1935). Known for her thoroughly bitchy remarks, of which it was once remarked, "Her grand sense of humor and outstanding charm made you laugh instead of strangle her", she was the inspiration for Marie Dressler's dowager role in Dinner at Eight (1933).