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Creator
Lillie, Beatrice, 1894-1989
Call number
*T-Mss 2000-012
Physical description
37.8 linear feet (75 boxes)
Language
English
Preferred Citation

The Beatrice Lillie Papers, *T-Mss 2000-012. Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

Repository
Billy Rose Theatre Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.Restrictions apply

Beatrice Lillie, comedienne, actress, singer and author, was born May 29, 1894 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Beatrice Lillie papers consist of 37.8 linear feet spanning the 1910s to the 1990s. The collection consists of correspondence, biographical papers, skits, lyrics, music, photographs and clippings documenting her personal life and career.

Biographical/historical information

Beatrice Lillie,comedienne, actress, singer, and author was born May 29, 1894 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She left school for the stage at age fifteen touring Canada in The Lillie Trio with her mother Lucie and sister Muriel.

After coming to London in 1914, Lillie joined Andre Charlot’s Revue, where she later made her Broadway debut in 1924. With a career spanning more than fifty years, she performed in revues, plays, films, on radio and television and enjoyed a successful recording career. Lillie frequently performed both in London and the United States, earning her fame as “The Toast of Two Continents.”

In 1920 Beatrice married Sir Robert Peel,gaining the title Lady Peel. The couple had one son, Robert Peel Jr., in 1921. Beatrice Lillie was widowed in 1934 and lost her son to the war in 1942.

Lillie traveled to the Middle East, Africa, France and Germany to perform for the troops during WWII, an effort for which she received a decoration from General Charles de Gaulle. She developed close friendships with other famous figures, including Noel Coward, Winston Churchill, George Bernard Shaw, and Charlie Chaplin. During the war Beatrice Lillie met John Philip Huck who would become her manager and life-long companion.

Ms. Lillie starred in shows by Noel Coward, George Bernard Shaw, Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz, and Cole Porter. Lillie became best known for starring in This Year Of Grace (1928), written for her by Noel Coward, and received equal recognition for her version of Coward’s song, Mad Dogs and Englishmen. Other notable Broadway performances include The Seven Lively Arts(1947), Inside USA (1948), Ziegfeld Follies 1957, and High Spirits(1964). She toured the world with her one-woman show An Evening With Beatrice Lillie (1952-1956), winning a Tony Award in 1953.

Lady Peel made a handful of films that met with varying degrees of success, beginning with an early silent film Exit Smiling (1926), and ending on a high note with her role as Mrs. Meers in Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967). Beatrice Lillie published her autobiography, Every Other Inch A Lady,(1973.)

Beatrice Lillie retired to England to recover from a stroke in 1977. She died January 20, 1989 at her home, Henley-on-Thames, England. She was 94 years old.

Scope and arrangement

The Beatrice Lillie papers consist of 37.8 linear feet spanning the 1910s to the 1990s. The first three series: Correspondence, Personal Papers and Legal and Financial Papers also include items belonging to Beatrice Lillie’s long-time companion John Philip Huck and his sister Georgina M. Huck. John Philip Huck,heir to Beatrice Lillie's estate, died the day after Beatrice. Beatrice Lillie's stately home in Henley-on-Thames, England fell into a dramatic legal battle that would last several years. The collection includes 2.5 linear feet of estate papers documenting this battle. The collection is strong in biographical works, including two unpublished works. The collection effectively reveals the performer’s humor and colorful persona through lyrics, music manuscripts, and skits written by Beatrice Lillie and by such notable others as Irving Berlin, Noel Coward, Cole Porter, Arthur Schwartzand Howard Dietz,Richard Rodgers and Lorenzo Hart. A large collection of photographs (5.5 lf.) illuminates a professional and personal Beatrice Lillie.

The Beatrice Lillie papers are arranged in ten series:

  • Series I: Correspondence
    1929 - 1994, undated
    2 boxes

    The Correspondence series is composed of both personal and professional correspondence to and from Beatrice Lillie, John Philip Huck and Georgina M. Huck.

    • Sub-series 1: Vital Records, 1950-1991
    • Sub-series 2: Contracts and Copyright, 1934-1983
    • Sub-series 3: Financial Papers, 1935-1993
    • Sub-series 4: Box Office Statements, 1925-1965
  • Series II: Personal Papers
    1948 - 1989, undated
    4 boxes

    The Personal Papers series contains calendars and schedules for Beatrice Lillie, John Philip Huck, and Georgina M. Huck. The Autobiographical sub-series contains drafts, chapters, and correspondence regarding Beatrice Lillie’s autobiography Every Other Inch a Lady. The two Biographical sub-series include notes and drafts for an unpublished biographical work written by Georgina M. Huck entitled Bea-ography, and a never produced thirteen-part Beatrice Lillie documentary written by John Philip Huck and Georgina M. Huck entitled Funniest Lady. These two biographical works on Beatrice Lillie are unavailable anywhere else. Finally, the Personal Papers series includes funeral papers for Beatrice Lillie and John Philip Huck.

    • Sub-series 1: Calendars and Schedules, 1948-1981
    • Sub-series 2: Every Other Inch a Lady, 1967-1972, undated
    • Sub-series 3: Bea-ography by Georgina M. Huck, undated
    • Sub-series 4: Funniest Lady by Georgina M Huck and John Philip Huck, undated
    • Sub-series 5: Other Biographical Materials, 1950-1967, undated
    • Sub-series 6: Funeral Papers, 1989
  • Series III: Legal and Financial Papers
    1925 - 1991, undated
    3 boxes

    The Legal and financial papers series contains vital records such as birth and death certificates, last will and testaments and passports. The series includes contracts and copyright papers, and financial records both personal and professional.

    • Sub-series 1: Vital Records, 1950-1991
    • Sub-series 2: Contracts and Copyright, 1934-1983
    • Sub-series 3: Financial Papers, 1935-1993
    • Sub-series 4: Box Office Statements, 1925-1965
  • Series IV: Estate Papers
    1930 - 1995, undated
    5 boxes

    The Estate Papers series includes legal documents, correspondence and notes regarding the administration of three estates: Peel Fold, Grassy Hill, and the Arthur Huck estate.

    • Sub-series 1: Peel Fold, 1930-1995, undated
    • Sub-series 2: Grassy Hill, 1973-1994
    • Sub-series 3: Arthur Huck Estate, 1973-1991
  • Series V: Professional Work Files
    1964 - 1971, undated
    17 boxes

    The Professional Work Files series is composed of scripts, skits, scenes and story sketches, lyrics, music manuscripts and annotated or signed sheet music. The series also contains production materials such as lighting and stage cues, introductions, running orders and tour schedules. Although the series is effective in conveying Beatrice Lillie’s humor and style, it is not comprehensive. There are two or three scores, lyrics or skits from a given show, but no production is complete.

    • Sub-series 1: Scripts, 1964-1971, undated
    • Sub-series 2: Skits, Scenes, and Story Sketches, 1927- 1960, undated
    • Sub-series 3: Production Materials, 1924-1965, undated
    • Sub-series 4: Lyrics, 1929-1964, undated
    • Sub-series 5: Music Manuscripts, 1924-1964, undated
    • Sub-series 6: Sheet Music, 1914-1967, undated
  • Series VI: Clippings
    1921 - 1995, undated
    1 box

    The Clippings series consists of loose clippings, personal and professional.

    • Sub-series 1: Personal, 1921-1995, undated
    • Sub-series 2: Professional, 1924-1994, undated
  • Series VII: Photographs
    1911 - 1989, undated
    16 boxes

    The Photographs series contains personal photographs of Beatrice Lillie’s family and friends at home and on holiday. The professional photographs document shows from Oh Please in 1926 to Thoroughly Modern Millie in 1967.

    • Sub-series 1: Personal, 1911-1989, undated
    • Sub-series 2: Professional, 1914-1976, undated
  • Series VIII: Ephemera
    1947 - 1994, undated
    1 box

    The Ephemera series includes cards, catalogs and manuals, maps, instructions, and guides.

  • Series IX: Plays
    1924 - 1950
    1 box

    The plays series contains published plays annotated, autographed, or inscribed to Beatrice Lillie.

  • Series X: Oversized Materials
    1924 - 1989, undated
    25 boxes

    The oversized series contains artwork by and of Beatrice Lillie, personal and professional photographs, marquee posters and mounted reviews, and scrapbooks.

    • Sub-series 1: Artwork, 1924-1989, undated
    • Sub-series 2: Awards, 1947-1988, undated
    • Sub-series 3: Photographs, 1925-1948, undated
    • Sub-series 4: Posters, 1957-1963, undated
    • Sub-series 5: Scrapbooks, 1924-1972, undated

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Keith Bradley, 2000

Processing information

Processed by Lynn Lobash. Machine-readable finding aid created by Lynn Lobash.

Separated material

  • Sheet music (7 boxes) sent to music division.
  • Song books (2 boxes) sent to music division.

Using the collection

Location

Billy Rose Theatre Division
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498
Third Floor

Conditions Governing Use

For permission to copy or publish, contact the Curator, Billy Rose Theatre Division.

Access restrictions

Photocopying prohibited.