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Helen Broderick‌

Gender

Female

Birthday

calendar1891-08-11

Popularity

star1.9

Helen Broderick

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Helen Broderick

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Gender

Female

Birthday

calendar1891-08-11

Popularity

star1.9

Biography

Helen Broderick (August 11, 1891 - September 25, 1959) was a wonderfully funny character comedienne with vaudeville and stage experience, a close friend of Jeanne Eagels. The story goes, that at the age of 14 she ran away from home, because her mother, who appeared in operatic comedy, was totally obsessed by the theatre. Paradoxically, all the people she met turned out to be performers, and Helen (who needed to make a living, after all) ended up where she hadn't wanted to end up - on the stage. She started out as a chorus girl in the first Ziegfeld Follies in 1907. Her talent for comedy was discovered quite by accident. In 1911, she was understudy to the actress Ina Claire in the Broadway play 'Jumping Jupiter'. One night, Claire was unable to perform and Helen Broderick stood in as the romantic lead. She soon had the audience in stitches, trampling about the stage like an elephant, rolling her big saucer eyes and attempting to croon 'Cuddle Near Me All Day Long' in her rather unique voice. The romance was no more and instead turned into a popular farce with Helen now permanently installed in the lead role. For a while, Helen partnered her husband, Lester Crawford, in vaudeville. In the 1920's, she enjoyed success on Broadway, most notably in 'Fifty Million Frenchmen' ( a role she took to Hollywood in 1931). Her best parts in the movies were as the perennial friend or chaperone of the heroine (an earlier Eve Arden), delivering acidic wisecracks in her inimitable dead-pan manner. She was particularly amusing in Top Hat (1935) and Swing Time (1936) with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers; and in The Rage of Paris (1938) with Danielle Darrieux.

Movie Credits

Top Hat

Top Hat‌
star7.3
calendar 1935

Swing Time

Swing Time‌
star6.8
calendar 1936

Nice Girl?

Nice Girl?‌
star5.3
calendar 1941

The Rage of Paris

The Rage of Paris‌
star6.1
calendar 1938

Murder on a Bridle Path

Murder on a Bridle Path‌
star5.0
calendar 1936

Father Takes a Wife

Father Takes a Wife‌
star6.1
calendar 1941

Honeymoon in Bali

Honeymoon in Bali‌
star6.2
calendar 1939

The Bride Walks Out

The Bride Walks Out‌
star5.3
calendar 1936

Stand Up and Fight

Stand Up and Fight‌
star5.8
calendar 1939

Love on a Bet

Love on a Bet‌
star7.0
calendar 1936

She's Got Everything

She's Got Everything‌
star5.3
calendar 1937

The Life of the Party

The Life of the Party‌
star5.2
calendar 1937

3 Is a Family

3 Is a Family‌
star0.0
calendar 1944

Service de Luxe

Service de Luxe‌
star6.5
calendar 1938

Smartest Girl in Town

Smartest Girl in Town‌
star5.5
calendar 1936

We're on the Jury

We're on the Jury‌
star5.8
calendar 1937

Radio City Revels

Radio City Revels‌
star8.0
calendar 1938

Virginia

Virginia‌
star0.0
calendar 1941

Meet the Missus

Meet the Missus‌
star4.0
calendar 1937

Chip Off the Old Block

Chip Off the Old Block‌
star4.0
calendar 1944

To Beat the Band

To Beat the Band‌
star0.0
calendar 1935

Naughty But Nice

Naughty But Nice‌
star6.2
calendar 1939

Her Primitive Man

Her Primitive Man‌
star6.0
calendar 1944

Love, Honor and Goodbye

Love, Honor and Goodbye‌
star4.5
calendar 1945

Stage Door Canteen

Stage Door Canteen‌
star6.1
calendar 1943

Because of Him

Because of Him‌
star6.2
calendar 1946

50 Million Frenchmen

50 Million Frenchmen‌
star6.3
calendar 1931

The Captain Is a Lady

The Captain Is a Lady‌
star6.0
calendar 1940

No, No, Nanette

No, No, Nanette‌
star6.0
calendar 1940

The Road to Reno

The Road to Reno‌
star2.0
calendar 1938

Tv Credits