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Biography
Yvonne Arnaud (1892-1958) was born in France and was a child piano prodigy, in 1905 winning the Premier Prix at the Paris Conservatoire. For the next six years, she was acclaimed as a concert pianist, performing with the leading orchestras and conductors throughout Europe and America.
In 1911, after finished a series of concerts in England, she decided that she would prefer the stage to the concert platform. After briefly being an understudy in The Quaker Girl, she was given the leading role in The Girl in the Taxi and instantly became a musical star. A few years later, it appeared as though her career was over when a botched throat operation left her vocal chords damaged so that she would never be able to sing again.
With determination and dedication, she set about overcoming the handicap and establishing a new acting career. This she rapidly did. With her infectious scale-busting laugh, her obvious French accent and her obvious gaiety, she became and for over sixty years remained an incomparable star of the British stage. She appeared in farces such as Tons of Money (1922), and Ben Travers' A Cuckoo in the Nest (1925). But her work was not limited to comedy. She gave outstanding performances as Mrs. Pepys in And So to Bed (1926), the Duchess of Tann in The Improper Duchess (1931), Mrs Frail in Congreve's Love for Love (1943), and Denise in Alan Melville's Dear Charles (1952).
Although almost all her career was spent in the theatre, she did appear, in 17 films (mainly in the 1930s), taking the lead female roles in several, including Cuckoo in the Nest (1933), Lady in Danger (1935) and The Improper Duchess (1936). She later appeared, in a supporting role, in Jacque Tati’s comedy masterpiece Mon Oncle (1958).
She lived for many years and died in Guilford. On June 2, 1965, the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, named in her honour, opened in Guilford.
| Items for Sale on Collectors' Post |
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| 014668 |
Theatre: Programs (UK) - pre 1940 | AND SO TO BED (by James B. Fagan) with YVONNE ARNAUD |
| 016671 |
Theatre: Programs (UK) - pre 1940 | AND SO TO BED (by James B. Fagan) with YVONNE ARNAUD |
| 012091 |
Theatre: Programs (UK) - post 1939 | MAP OF THE HEART (by William Nicholson) with Sinead Cusack |
| 014533 |
Theatre: Programs (UK) - post 1939 | BALMORAL by Michael Frayn |
| 014715 |
Theatre: Programs (UK) - post 1939 | THE CHERRY ORCHARD (by Anton Chekov) with JOAN PLOWRIGHT & FRANK FINLAY |
| 014761 |
Theatre: Programs (UK) - post 1939 | MAP OF THE HEART (by William Nicholson) with PATRICK MALAHISE & SINEAD CUSACK |
| 014872 |
Theatre: Programs (UK) - post 1939 | MR & MRS NOBODY (by Keith Waterhouse) with JUDI DENCH |
| 014874 |
Theatre: Programs (UK) - post 1939 | OLD TIMES (by Harold Pinter) with LIV ULLMANN |
| 014878 |
Theatre: Programs (UK) - post 1939 | NOEL AND GERTIE - devised by Sheridan Morley |
| 008607 |
Theatre: Programs - Signed | DEAR CHARLES - program signed by YVONNE ARNAUD |
| 008504 |
Theatre: Letters & Autographs | YVONNE ARNAUD - autograph |
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