Lillian Hall-Davis

Lillian Hall-Davis (23 June 1898 – 25 October 1933) was an English actress during the silent film era, featured in major roles in English film and a number of German, French and Italian films. She admitted to feeling depressed, citing both the lack of acting work and the quietness of the neighbourhood. However, several people in the film industry later stated she had been invited to take part in films earlier that year, to which she responded that her nerves had gone and no longer felt able to act.

On 25 October 1933, her 14-year-old son returned home from school to find a handwritten note from his mother, asking him to fetch a neighbour. She had also locked the door to prevent him from entering. Her body was later discovered on the floor of her gas-filled kitchen, with a razor blade nearby and a wound to her throat. Her husband Walter Pemberton, also an actor, was away in Bristol at the time of her death.

Police later confirmed that her death was caused by the self-inflicted throat wound, rather than from gas inhalation. At the inquest, the coroner ruled that she had died by suicide while of unsound mind.

Filmography