Lucienne Hill

Lucienne Marie Hill (née Palmer) (30 January 1923 – 29 December 2012) was a French-English translator and actor.[1][2]

She was born in Kilburn, London to an English father and a French mother. She studied modern languages at Somerville College, Oxford, and during World War II, worked at the intelligence establishment at Bletchley Park.[3] Her acting career started after the war, and she understudied for Mae West and Siobhán McKenna in the West End.[1]

She is best known for her translations of the works of the French playwright Jean Anouilh, which she began at the urging of Laurence Olivier.[4] Her first adaptation was Ardèle ou la Marguerite in 1951, and she went on to do more than 30 adaptations of Anouilh's work.[5] She was nominated for a Tony Award for her adaptation of The Waltz of the Toreadors, in 1957.[6] Her translation of Becket, which was premiered by the RSC in London in 1961, won multiple awards including an Evening Standard Award and a Tony Award.[7] It was later made into a well-regarded film.[8] She also adapted works by other French authors such as Françoise Sagan and Roger Vitrac.[1] She remained an active writer to the end of her days.[9]

She married three times: to film and TV director James Hill; to producer and businessman Andrew Broughton; and lastly to Robert Davies, a clothesmaker and old friend.[3] She was predeceased by all three.[1] She lived in Wargrave, Berkshire.[9]

References
  1. Coveney, Michael (17 January 2013). "Lucienne Hill obituary". the Guardian.
  2. "Lucienne Hill".
  3. "Obituaries 2012 - Oxford Today". www.oxfordtoday.ox.ac.uk.
  4. "Lucienne Hill". www.samuelfrench.co.uk.
  5. Anouilh, Jean; Hill, Lucienne (25 February 2018). "Ardele : a play in three acts". London : Methuen – via Trove.
  6. League, The Broadway. "The Waltz of the Toreadors – Broadway Play – Original – IBDB". www.ibdb.com.
  7. League, The Broadway. "Lucienne Hill – Broadway Cast & Staff – IBDB". www.ibdb.com.
  8. "Becket (1964) - Peter Glenville - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie". AllMovie.
  9. III, Harris M. Lentz (16 April 2013). "Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2012". McFarland – via Google Books.
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