Born: Jul 28, 1890 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Died: Jan 21, 1975 in London, England, UK
Occupation: Actor
Active: '30s-'50s
Major Genres: Comedy, Drama
Career Highlights: Pygmalion, South Riding, A Town Like Alice
First Major Screen Credit: Aren't We All? (1932)
Biography
On stage from the age of 11, Australia-born Marie Lohr eventually toted up more credits than any previous actress in British theatrical history. She settled into the English film industry in 1930, playing many a bejeweled grande dame. Lohr co-starred in the two major pre-war George Bernard Shaw adaptations, Pygmalion (1938; as Mrs. Higgins) and Major Barbara (1941; as Lady Britomart). Marie Lohr's postwar film characterizations included Grace Winslow in The Winslow Boy (1950) and stalwart POW Mrs. Dudley Frost in A Town Like Alice (1956). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Lohr was born in Sydney, Australia to Lewis J. Löhr, treasurer of the Melbourne opera house, and his wife, the English actress Kate Bishop (1848–1923). Lohr's maternal uncle, Alfred Bishop, along with her godparents, William and Madge Kendal, were also actors.
Career
Lohr's first stage appearance was in Sydney, aged 4, in The World Against Her. Her London debut (after the family's move to England), aged 11, in Shockheaded Peter and The Man Who Stole the Castle. Her later stage-work included appearances in a 1929 London stage production of Beau Geste alongside Laurence Olivier, husband of Vivien Leigh, and in the original production of the 1930 play The Bread-Winner. Her first film appearance was in the 1932 film version of Aren't we All?, and — having appeared in several of George Bernard Shaw's works onstage - her subsequent films included two Shaw adaptations. She died at the age of 84, and was buried in the Brompton cemetery in West London.