Claudette Colbert on stage, screen, radio and television

Claudette Colbert (1903–1996) was an American actress who won the Academy Award for Best Actress in It Happened One Night (1934). Also known as Lily Claudette Chauchoin, she had early passions for a career in fashion design. Although she is more generally remembered for her film work, Colbert's show business career began on stage, and theatrical work remained part of her professional life for six decades. It was her friend, Anne Morrison, an aspiring playwright, who nudged her towards the acting profession. She chose the professional name of Claudette Colbert, using a family name three generations removed on her father's side.

From 1923, Colbert began acting in small plays, she continued as a stage performer for six decades, appearing both on Broadway and in other venues around the United States. In 1985, she appeared with Rex Harrison in the Frederick Lonsdale play Aren't We All? at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on Broadway.

She made 65 films during her career. Colbert began picking up main parts in early movies, beginning silent film For the Love of Mike in 1927. Colbert was nominated twice more for an Academy Award − in 1935's Private Worlds and 1944's Since You Went Away − but won neither. Her final theatrical film was in 1961, as Troy Donahue's mother in Parrish.

Colbert made numerous appearances on radio, most notably in the Lux Radio Theater, and sporadically on other radio programs. Over the decades, she appeared on several television shows, with her final appearance being The Two Mrs. Grenvilles miniseries in 1985, in which she played the wealthy mother-in-law of Ann-Margret.

Colbert received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on February 8, 1960.

Stage

+ Broadway stage creditsTitleDateRoleNotes Dec 24, 1923 – Jan 1924Sybil Blake24 performancesAug 25 – Oct 1925Ginette103 performancesAug 25 – Oct 1926Peggy Murdock61 performancesNov 01 – 30, 1926Pilgrim32 performancesJan 18 – Jul 1927Lou221 performancesOct 26 – Nov 1927Sylvia Bainbridge29 performancesLa GringaFeb 1928Carlota D'Astradente13 performancesWithin the LawMar 1928Agnes Lynch16 performancesFast LifeSep 26 – Oct 1928Patricia Mason21 performancesTin Pan AlleyNov 1 – Dec 1928Jill O'Dare69 performancesDynamoFeb 11 – Mar 1929Ada Fife50 performancesSee Naples and DieSep 24 – Nov 1929Nanette Dodge Kosoff62 performancesJanusNov 24, 1955 – Jun 30, 1956Jessica (replacement)UnknownOct 29, 1958 – Feb 13, 1960Content Lowell, Ph.D., D.Litt., M.F.A., Soc.Sc., Dean of Women, Mrs. Paul Delville431 performancesJulia, Jake and Uncle JoeJan 28, 1961Julia RyanSep 17 – Dec 28, 1963Hedda Rankin115 performancesDec 6, 1978 – May 13, 1979Evelyn118 performancesOct 1 – Dec 6, 1981Anne Royce McClain77 performancesAren't We All?Apr 29 – Jul 21, 1985Lady Frinton93 performances

Other theater Island Fling (1951) in Westport, Connecticut Diplomatic Relations (1964–1965) in Miami, FloridaCoconut Grove Playhouse from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Published 2025. accessdate=2026-01-04 Diplomatic Relations Fabulous Forties (1972) in Manhattan, New York A Community of Two (1974) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Screen

Feature length credits

+ Feature filmsTitleYearRoleProduction company For the Love of Mike1927MaryRobert Kane Productions 1929Jean OliverParamount PicturesFamous Players–Lasky Joyce Roamer 1930Barbara BillingsParamount Publix Corp. Young Man of ManhattanAnn Vaughn ManslaughterLydia Thorne Mysterious Mr. Parkes(aka L'Énigmatique Monsieur Parkes)Lucy Stavrin Paramount Pictures Honor Among Lovers1931 Julia TraynorParamount Publix Corp.Preserved at UCLA Film and Television Archive FranziSecrets of a Secretary Helen BlakeParamount Publix Corp.His Woman Sally Clark1932Margaret Hughes (aka Ruby Kennedy) Helen SteeleSylvia SuffolkFelicia Hammond Empress PoppaeaParamount Publix Corp.Preserved at UCLA Film and Television Archive Tonight Is Ours1933 Princess/Queen NadyaParamount Productions Inc. I Cover the WaterfrontJulie KirkReliance Pictures, Inc. Three-Cornered MoonElizabeth RimplegarParamount Productions Inc. Torch Singer Sally Trent, aka Mimi Benton Four Frightened People1934Judy JonesParamount PicturesPreserved at UCLA Film and Television Archive It Happened One Night Ellie AndrewsColumbia PicturesCleopatraCleopatraParamount PicturesPreserved at UCLA Film and Television ArchiveImitation of Life Beatrice 'Bea' PullmanUniversal Pictures1935Marilyn DavidParamount PicturesPrivate Worlds Dr. Jane Everest Walter Wanger ProductionsShe Married Her BossJulia ScottColumbia Pictures Jeannette DesmereauParamount Pictures Under Two Flags 1936Cigarette20th Century FoxPreserved at UCLA Film and Television ArchiveTovarich 1937 Grand Duchess Tatiana Petrovna RomanovWarner Bros. I Met Him in Paris Kay DenhamParamount Pictures Maid of Salem Barbara ClarkeBluebeard's Eighth Wife1938 Nicole de Loiselle Zaza ZazaMidnight1939 Eve PeabodyIt's a Wonderful World Edwina CordayMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)Drums Along the Mohawk Lana Martin20th Century FoxBoom Town1940Betsy Bartlett [McMasters]MGMArise, My Love AugustaParamount Pictures Skylark1941 Lydia KenyonRemember the Day Nora Trinell20th Century Fox 1942 Geraldine 'Gerry' JeffersParamount PicturesSo Proudly We Hail!1943 Lt. Janet Davy Davidson No Time for Love Katherine GrantSince You Went Away1944 Mrs. Anne Hilton Selznick International PicturesPractically Yours Peggy MartinParamount PicturesGuest Wife 1945 Mary PriceGreentree ProductionsTomorrow Is Forever1946 Elizabeth HamiltonInternational Pictures Without Reservations Christopher Kit MaddenRKO Pictures Leola 'Lee' AddamsMGM1947 Betty MacDonaldUniversal PicturesSleep, My Love1948 Alison CourtlandTriangle Productions, Inc.Preserved at UCLA Film and Television Archive Family Honeymoon 1949 Katie Armstrong JordanUniversal-InternationalBride for Sale Nora ShelleyRKO Radio PicturesThree Came Home1950 Agnes Newton Keith20th Century Fox Ellen R. EwingRKO Radio PicturesThunder on the Hill 1951 Sister Mary BonaventureUniversal PicturesLet's Make It Legal Miriam Halsworth20th Century Fox The Planter's Wife(aka Outpost in Malaya)1952 Liz Frazer Pinnacle ProductionsDaughters of Destiny(aka Love, Soldiers and Women / Destinées)1954 Elizabeth Whitefield Arlan and Cinédis Royal Affairs in Versailles(aka Si Versailles m'était conté) Madame de Montespan Cocinor Texas Lady1955 Prudence WebbRKO Radio Pictures Parrish1961 Ellen McLeanWarner Bros.

Short subjects + Short filmsTitleYearNotes Make Me a Star 1932 Unbilled cameo appearance. Paramount Publix Corp. Hollywood on Parade No. 91933Preserved at UCLA Film and Television ArchiveAcademy Awards 1935–1937Hearst newsreel footage – film experts pick winners for 1934. Preserved at UCLA Film and Television Archive 1934 A behind-the-scenes look at the making of Cleopatra1935 A behind-the-scenes short Breakdowns of 1938 1938 Outtakes from several films, including Tovarich (1937). Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 6 1942Gossip columnist Hedda Hopper covering two World War II benefit affairs

Radio

Lux Radio Theater

Between the years 1935 and 1954, Colbert made numerous appearances on the Lux Radio Theatre. "Holiday" (03/10/1935) "The Barker" (07/20/1936) "The Gilded Lily" (01/11/1937) "Hands Across the Table" (05/03/1937) "Alice Adams (1935 film)" (01/03/1938) "It Happened One Night" (03/20/1939) "The Ex-Mrs. Bradford" (06/19/1939) "The Awful Truth" (09/11/1939) "Midnight" (05/20/1940) "His Girl Friday" (09/30/1940) "The Shop Around the Corner" (06/23/1941) "Skylark" (02/02/1942) "Once Upon a Honeymoon" (04/12/1943) "So Proudly We Hail!" (11/01/1943) "Magnificent Obsession" (11/13/1944) "Practically Yours" (08/27/1945) "Tomorrow is Forever" (05/06/1946) "Without Reservations" (08/26/1946) "The Egg and I" (05/05/1947) "Family Honeymoon" (04/04/1949, 04/23/1951) "Bride for Sale" (06/05/1950) "Thunder on the Hill" (11/09/1953) "The Corn Is Green" (05/17/1954)

　The Screen Guild Theater　 She also participated in 13 episodes of radio's The Screen Guild Theater, between 1939 and 1952.

NBC radio show "The Old Gold Comedy Theatre: The Palm Beach Story" (10/29/1944) "Bob Hope Show: Guest Star Claudette Colbert" (04/01/1952)

Year Program Episode/source 1947 "This Is Hollywood" "The Egg and I" 1950 "Hallmark Playhouse" "The Egg and I"

Television

+ Television creditsTitleYear/DateRoleNotes April 5, 1951HerselfCo-starred with Basil Rathbone and Robert Montgomery September 15, 1954　May 2, 1955 Julie Cavendish / Actress "The Royal Family""The Guardsman"1955 (January 5 / April 28)Lorna Gilbert / Elizabeth Hopkins "Magic Formula" "While We're Young"Climax!1955 (April 7 / May 5)Dr. Jane Everest / Sister Cecilia "Private Worlds" "The Deliverance of Sister Cecilia"The Colgate Comedy HourNovember 27, 1955Herself"Special Awards Presentation" at the Cocoanut Grove in HollywoodLetter to Loretta December 4, 1955 Herself – Guest Hostess "A Pattern of Deceit"Ford Star JubileeJanuary 14, 1956Ruth Condomine"Blithe Spirit"Robert Montgomery Presents September 24, 1956Unknown"After All These Years"Playhouse 90 1957 (February 14 / 21） The Emcee / Betsy Gregg "The Comedian""One Coast of White" Zane Grey Theatre October 11, 1957 November 10, 1960Lucy Horncuff / Beth Brayden "Blood in the Dust" "So Young the Savage Land" General Motors 50th Anniversary ShowNovember 17, 1957Mrs. CollierTelephone TimeDecember 3, 1957Mary Roberts Rinehart"Novel appeal"General Electric Theater1958 (February 16 / 23) Edith Miller The Last Town Car, Part 1The Last Town Car, Part 21958 (April 27 / November 23)Herself; Colgate TheatreSeptember 30, 1958 Elizabeth Harper "The Claudette Colbert Show" (aka "Welcome to Washington"） What's My Line?September 30, 1958Herselfthe Mystery GuestWoman！May 19, 1959Hostdocumentary 　The Bells of St. Mary'sOctober 27, 1959Sister BenedictTV movieThe Outer limitsSeptember 16, 1963 ABC, "The Galaxy Being"Instant Maxwell House Coffeeaired in from 1963 to 1965HerselfTV commercials1982HerselfThe Two Mrs. Grenvilles1987Alice Grenville

Audiobook Gift from the Sea (1986, as narrator)

Notes

Bibliography

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