@TCManiacs Blogs: The Private Life of Charles Laughton & Elsa Lanchester

Friday, March 06, 2009

The Private Life of Charles Laughton & Elsa Lanchester

The Private Life of Henry VIII 1933 film about the English king. Charles Laughton won the 1933 Academy Award as Best Actor for his performance as Henry. Anne of Cleves (played by Laughton's real-life wife Elsa Lanchester).

He had a long and resilient marriage to actress Elsa Lanchester, although, in her autobiography, Lanchester revealed that Laughton was gay. According to her own account, she was shocked to learn about this, but eventually decided to remain married to him. However, she claims as a result of this, she decided not to have children with him. The decision caused him great grief, as he longed to become a father.

Elsa Lanchester appeared opposite him in several films, including Rembrandt (1936) and The Big Clock (1948). She and Laughton played husband and wife (their characters were named Charles and Elsa Smith) in Tales of Manhattan (1942) and they both appeared again in the all-star mostly British cast of Forever and a Day (1943). They both received Academy Award nominations for their performances in Witness for the Prosecution (1957) - Laughton for Best Actor, and Lanchester for Best Supporting Actress - but neither won. However, Lanchester did win the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for the film.

Portrait of Henry VIII vs. Charles Laughton

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