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Biography
Adrianne Allen (1907-1993) trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and, on the strength of her graduation performance in 1926, was engaged by Basil Dean to play Nina Vansittart in Noel Coward’s Easy Virtue. Shortly afterwards, Raymond Massey cast her for a part in ‘Rat Trap’ and, in 1929, the couple were married. In 1930, she appeared with Gertrude Lawrence, Laurence Olivier and Noel Coward in the original production of Private Lives. The following year, she appeared on Broadway as the forsaken shop girl in Cynara and with her husband and Gladys Cooper in Max Gordon’s production of The Shining Hour. Between 1930 & 1935, she appeared in seven films, including Merrily We Go to Hell (1932), in which a young Cary Grant also appeared.
In 1939, her marriage ended in divorce. The couple’s two children - Anna & Daniel Massey - both became actors. Her acting career did not come to an end but she was very selective in the parts she chose. For nearly two years during the Second World War, she starred with George Cole in Terence Rattigan’s Flare Path. Between 1947 and 1954, she made a further five films. She also appeared on British television, notably in the title role of a play about the Duchess of Marlborough. In 1957, she returned to Broadway (after an absence of eight years) to star with Wilfred Hyde White and her daughter, Anna Massey, in The Reluctant Debutante.
Shortly afterwards, this beautiful and talented actor left the stage, giving way to her gifted children.
| Items for Sale on Collectors' Post |
| Click for details |
| 014635 |
Theatre: Programs (UK) - pre 1940 | THE SHINING HOUR (by Keith Einter) with GLADYS COOPER & RAYMOND MASSEY |
| 016681 |
Theatre: Programs (UK) - pre 1940 | THE SHINING HOUR (by Keith Einter) with GLADYS COOPER & RAYMOND MASSEY |
| 010521 |
Theatre: Playbills | THE RELUCTANT DEBUTANTE (by William Douglas Home) |
| 010884 |
Theatre: Playbills | PRIDE & PREJUDICE (adapted by Helen Jerome) |
| 014137 |
Theatre: Letters & Autographs | ADRIANNE ALLEN - autograph |
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