Meggie Albanesi
Encyclopedia
Meggie Albanesi was a British
stage and film actress. She was born Margherita Albanesi in London on 8 October 1899. Her mother was Effie Adelaide Rowlands
, a writer, and her father was Chevalier Carlo Albanesi, an Italian violinist. She attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and made her film debut in 1919. She enjoyed a successful theatre career, starring in plays such as John Galsworthy
's The First and the Last
opposite Owen Nares
. She was soon being hailed by critics as one of the brightest prospects in British acting. However after making just six films Albanesi died at the age of 23 in Broadstairs
, Kent
on 9 December 1923.
Albanesi had a relationship with the theatre and film producer Basil Dean
who continued to be obsessed with her after her death. Dean was first attracted to his wife the actress Victoria Hopper
because of her physical resemblance to Albanesi and cast her in a number of his productions. His final film as a director 21 Days
was based on a play The First and the Last on which he had worked with Albanesi before her death.
Cinema of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has had a major influence on modern cinema. The first moving pictures developed on celluloid film were made in Hyde Park, London in 1889 by William Friese Greene, a British inventor, who patented the process in 1890. It is generally regarded that the British film industry...
stage and film actress. She was born Margherita Albanesi in London on 8 October 1899. Her mother was Effie Adelaide Rowlands
Effie Adelaide Rowlands
Effie Adelaide Maria Albanesi, née Henderson , better known by her usual pen name of Effie Adelaide Rowlands, was a British novelist. She was the author of more than 250 six-penny novels.-Personal life and family:She was the illegitimate daughter of Alexander Henderson...
, a writer, and her father was Chevalier Carlo Albanesi, an Italian violinist. She attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and made her film debut in 1919. She enjoyed a successful theatre career, starring in plays such as John Galsworthy
John Galsworthy
John Galsworthy OM was an English novelist and playwright. Notable works include The Forsyte Saga and its sequels, A Modern Comedy and End of the Chapter...
's The First and the Last
The First and the Last (play)
The First and the Last is a 1919 play by the British writer John Galsworthy. It was baed on a short story published in 1917. It was staged successfully in the early 1920s by Basil Dean featuring the actors Owen Nares and Meggie Albanesi. In 1940 it was adapted by Dean for the film 21 Days starring...
opposite Owen Nares
Owen Nares
Owen Ramsay Nares had a long stage and film career and, for most of the 1920s, was Britain's favourite matinée idol and silent film star...
. She was soon being hailed by critics as one of the brightest prospects in British acting. However after making just six films Albanesi died at the age of 23 in Broadstairs
Broadstairs
Broadstairs is a coastal town on the Isle of Thanet in the Thanet district of east Kent, England, about south-east of London. It is part of the civil parish of Broadstairs and St Peter's, which includes St. Peter's and had a population in 2001 of about 24,000. Situated between Margate and...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
on 9 December 1923.
Albanesi had a relationship with the theatre and film producer Basil Dean
Basil Dean
Basil Herbert Dean CBE was an English actor, writer, film producer/director and theatrical producer/director....
who continued to be obsessed with her after her death. Dean was first attracted to his wife the actress Victoria Hopper
Victoria Hopper
Victoria Hopper was a Canadian-born British stage and film actress and singer.Hopper was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and raised in Dunston, Gateshead, England. She was popular during the 1930s. She was married from August 1934 until 1939 to Basil Dean, a British stage and film...
because of her physical resemblance to Albanesi and cast her in a number of his productions. His final film as a director 21 Days
21 Days
21 Days, also known as 21 Days Together in the U.S., is a 1940 British drama film based on the short play The First and the Last by John Galsworthy. It was directed by Basil Dean and stars Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier and Leslie Banks...
was based on a play The First and the Last on which he had worked with Albanesi before her death.
Filmography
- The Better 'oleThe Better 'OleThe Better 'Ole, also called The Romance of Old Bill, is an Edwardian musical comedy with a book by Bruce Bairnsfather and Arthur Elliott, music by Herman Darewski, and lyrics by Percival Knight and James Heard, based on the cartoon character Old Bill, an infantryman, drawn by Bairnsfather...
(1919) - Mr. WuMr. Wu (1919 film)Mr. Wu is a 1919 British drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Matheson Lang, Lillah McCarthy and Meggie Albanesi. A Chinese Mandarin murders his daughter after she falls in love with an Englishman. It was based on a 1913 play Mr. Wu by Maurice Vernon and Harold Owen. Durin the filming...
(1919) - Darby and JoanDarby and Joan (1919 film)Darby and Joan is a 1919 British drama film directed by Percy Nash and starring Ivy Close, Meggie Albanesi and George Wynn. It was based on a story by Hall Caine and set on the Isle of Man.-Cast:* Ivy Close - Sheila Moore...
(1919) - The Skin GameThe Skin Game (1921 film)The Skin Game is a 1921 British-Dutch silent drama film directed by B. E. Doxat-Pratt.-Cast:* Edmund Gwenn - Hornblower* Mary Clare - Chloe Hornblower* Helen Haye - Mrs. Hillcrist* Dawson Millward - Mr...
(1921) - The Great DayThe Great DayThe Great Day is a 1921 short drama film directed by Hugh Ford. Alfred Hitchcock is credited as a title designer. The film is now lost.-Cast:* Arthur Bourchier - Sir John Borstwick* Mary Palfrey - Lady Borstwick* Marjorie Hume - Clara Borstwick...
(1921) - Det omringade huset, aka The House Surrounded (1922)