Charlotte Greenwood

Charlotte Greenwood was known for being a very limber performer. lithograph poster for Greenwood's follow up Letty play, Linger Longer Letty, 1919.

Frances Charlotte Greenwood (June 25, 1890 – December 28, 1977) was an American actress, comedian and dancer. Born in Philadelphia, Greenwood started in vaudeville and starred on Broadway, in movies and on radio. Standing almost six feet tall (some sources say 5'10"), she was best known for her long legs and high kicks. She described herself as the "only woman in the world who could kick a giraffe in the eye."

Theatre While still a teenager, Charlotte Greenwood made her professional stage debut in 1905 as a dancer in Ludwig Englander's musical The White Cat. Between 1909 and 1912 Greenwood performed in vaudeville as part of a sister act, "Burnam and Greenwood." The act broke up when Greenwood was hired for the Winter Garden Revue.

In 1913, Oliver Morosco cast her as Queen Ann Soforth of Oogaboo late in the run of L. Frank Baum and Louis F. Gottschalk's The Tik-Tok Man of Oz (better known in its novelization as Tik-Tok of Oz).

Film Greenwood appeared in numerous movies. When not showcasing her trademark high kicks and splits in comic roles for musicals, she played occasional serio-comic roles such as Lon McAllister's aunt in Home in Indiana. Her last memorable role was as the feisty Aunt Eller in the 1955 film adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! (1955), starring Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones. She also was in "Home in Indiana" on Lux Radio Theatre October 2, 1944.

Recordings Greenwood ventured into recorded music with an album of songs from Cole Porter's musical Out of This World and another from the musical comedy Oh, by Jingo.

Personal life

Greenwood first married actor Cyril Ring, brother of actress Blanche Ring. They divorced. Her second husband was composer Martin Broones. He died in 1971. Both unions were childless.

In her post-retirement years, Greenwood suffered severely from arthritis. She and Broones were Christian Scientists – he was a C.S. practitioner and teacher of Christian Science for over two decades, and he consulted with Doris Day in that capacity. Greenwood also became a listed public Christian Science practitioner until her death in 1977, using the name Charlotte Greenwood Broones.

Greenwood died in Los Angeles at age 87. She had been out of the public eye for decades, and it was months before the world became aware of her passing.

Stage work

Filmography