Unofficial Academy Awards Discussion Board

Yes.

Estelle Winwood.

No, it's not Sybil Thorndike, but getting warmer - it was one of her contemporaries.

Reza wrote:Is it Sybil Thorndike?

I though she was nominated for "The Prince and the Showgirl"... but i was wrong. But she didn't live to be a 100

Is it Sybil Thorndike?

You guys are good. Reza correctly answered all but no. 1 who was was most certainly not Sarah Bernhardt, but someone who came along two generations after her and lived to be over 100.

1. Sarah Bernhardt - although she never ''gave some marvelous on-screen performances from the 1930s to the 1970s'' as she wasn't around.
2. Marjorie Rambeau
3. Dame Gladys Cooper
4. Dame Edith Evans
5. Dame Peggy Ashcroft
6. Spring Byington & Marjorie Main
7. Fay Bainter
8. Edna May Oliver
9. Anne Revere
10. Joan Plowright

I'm surprised your favorite little old lady is not part of this quiz.

6. is one I just found out by accident this past year (from one of their IMDB pages): Spring Byington & Marjorie Main

9. is Anne Revere

7. Fay Bainter
10. Joan Plowright

Some guesses.

3. Wendy Hiller
4. Edith Evans
5. Peggy Ashcroft

Old Lady Quiz

I remember a TV show in the 1960s in which they parodied the Supporting Actress Oscar which they called the “Old Lady Award”. This was certainly a misnomer as few old ladies actually win this award.

I, of course, think more old ladies than actually do, should have Oscars for the wealth of life experience they bring to their roles. Here are a few examples. Guess who I’m referring to in these ten cases.

1. This old lady when she was a glamorous young stage star was the first actress to wear makeup in public at the turn of the 20th Century. Streetwalkers of the day immediately copied her style and were called “blank blanks” after her. Who was this old lady, never nominated for an Oscar, who nevertheless gave some marvelous on-screen performances from the 1930s to the 1970s?

2. This once gorgeous Broadway star was long thought to have invented the Reuben sandwich, although that has since been disputed. What is not in dispute is that she was a lively screen presence from the 1930s through the 1950s, earning two Oscar nominations along the way. Who was she?

3. This old lady was the British pin-up queen of World War I. She later held dual British/American citizenship and was known to drive cross-country across the U.S. by herself when she was in her sixties and seventies. Thrice nominated for Oscars, she could well have been nominated for five or six more. Who was she?

4. This old lady was once the mistress of George Bernard Shaw. When she was fired by MGM for stealing scenes from Norma Shearer, she vowed never to set foot in Hollywood again, a promise she kept for several decades. Thrice nominated for an Oscar, she sadly never won. Who was she?

5. This old lady was Paul Robeson’s mistress during his London years in the 1930s. The Oscar winning actress is buried next to Laurence Olivier at Westminster Abbey. Who was she?

6. These two old ladies, beloved by audiences for decades for their movie moms, were long-time lovers in real life. One was married early in life, the other never married. They were both Oscar nominated for playing mothers albeit in separate decades. Who were they?

7. This enormously popular actress played both leads and supporting roles in films of the 1930s and 40s, making sporadic appearances later. She is the only Oscar winning actress buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Who was she?

8. This descendant of two U.S. presidents was the predominant portrayer of classic old ladies during the 1930s and early 1940s. Nominated for an Oscar just once, who was she?

9. This descendant of one of the heroes of the American Revolution was herself blacklisted in the 1950s effectively ending the screen career which had brought her three Oscar nominations and one win. Who was she?

10. This Oscar nominated actress is both a Lady and a Dame, having earned the earlier title as the wife of a British lord, the latter all on her own for her marvelous performances.