Eileen Herlie

Eileen Herlie (March 8, 1918 – October 8, 2008) was a Scottish-American actress. Eileen Herlie was born Eileen Isobel Herlihy to a Catholic father and a Protestant mother in Glasgow, Scotland, and was one of five children. Herlie was trained as a theatre actress. Among her West End London theatre successes were The Eagle Has Two Heads by Jean Cocteau. She was married and divorced from Witold Kuncewicz and Philip Barrett, but had no children. Herl... more

Eileen Herlie (March 8, 1918 – October 8, 2008) was a Scottish-American actress. Eileen Herlie was born Eileen Isobel Herlihy to a Catholic father and a Protestant mother in Glasgow, Scotland, and was one of five children. Herlie was trained as a theatre actress. Among her West End London theatre successes were The Eagle Has Two Heads by Jean Cocteau. She was married and divorced from Witold Kuncewicz and Philip Barrett, but had no children. Herlie's first big film break was being cast by Laurence Olivier in his 1948 film adaptation of William Shakespeare's Hamlet. She portrayed Hamlet's mother, Gertrude, despite the fact that she was 11 years younger than Olivier, who portrayed her son, Hamlet. Herlie played Gertrude again in the 1964 Broadway production starring Richard Burton (and also in the 1964 film version of the production). Herlie's other film appearances included the role of Helen Carte in The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan (1953), and roles in Freud in 1962, and The Sea... less