Fay Compton (1894 - 1978)

Fay Compton was born Virginia Lilian Emmeline Compton-Mackenzie. Her parents were actors, and one of her brothers would go on to become the well-known writer Compton Mackenzie (Whisky Galore). She was educated in London and Paris. She made her debut in 1911 with a group called the Follies ran by Harry Pelissier whom she married that same year. Pelissier died two years later leaving her with a son, Anthony, who would go on to have a long career as a producer and director (The History of Mr Polly, Meet Mr Lucifer).

During the teens her professional career blossomed with increasingly good roles on stage and her first steps into cinema. This period culminated in her star-making role in Mary Rose at the Haymarket in 1920. The 20s were her decade professionally and included playing Ophelia opposite John Barrymore. It also included a series of starring roles in films. Few of these films were distinguished - this was a dark period in the history of British cinema - but at least she was a star.

When sound came in Compton was in demand, though her beauty was fading and the roles were getting smaller in general. One exception was Autumn Crocus which put her stage hit on screen in which she played a spinster grabbing one last chance at love. Spinsters would be her lot for much of the rest of her film career, though her stage career continued to be varied. For example, in 1940 she was playing Regan opposite John Gielgud's Lear at the Old Vic, and the following year she was the still-alive wife in the original production of Blithe Spirit.

In total she was married four times. Her second husband, actor Lauri De Frece, died in 1922. Marriages three and four, to actors Fred Quartermaine and Ralph Michael, both ended in divorce.  

Filmography 

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