The theatrical career of Odette Laure Clotilde Quignarde commenced in Paris with professional violin performances at age 13. By 1915, she had joined the Ziegfeld Follies on Broadway, marking the start of a diverse professional life that encompassed stage acting, singing, musical performance, and eventually a transition into Hollywood character roles and costume design.
Early Career and Stage Success
Born in the 8th arrondissement of Paris in 1898 to two stage actors, Myrtil trained in violin at a Brussels boarding school. Following her initial American venture with the Ziegfeld Follies, she achieved a significant breakthrough in the 1916 London West End revue The Bing Boys Are Here. She spent the subsequent years performing in vaudeville and musical theater across major European cities before establishing herself as a staple of the New York stage throughout the 1920s and early 1930s. Her notable theatrical work included the 1931 Jerome Kern musical The Cat and the Fiddle, which served as a vehicle for her musical talents. Later in her career, she succeeded Juanita Hall as Bloody Mary in the original run of South Pacific during the early 1950s and made her final Broadway appearance in the 1960 production of Saratoga.
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Between 1923 and 1972, Myrtil appeared in 28 feature films. While her early participation was limited to a 1923 appearance in Squibs M.P., her primary film activity occurred between 1936 and 1952. She established her presence in Hollywood with a speaking role in the 1936 film Dodsworth. Rather than seeking leading lady status, she specialized in character roles that frequently leveraged her vocal background. Her extensive filmography includes credits such as Kitty Foyle, Yankee Doodle Dandy, The Palm Beach Story, and an appearance as Madame Darville in the 1951 Hitchcock feature Strangers on a Train. In 1954, she appeared in The Last Time I Saw Paris, singing the title song, and concluded her film career portraying herself in Hot Pants Holiday in 1972.
Design and Later Life
Beyond performing, Myrtil worked as a costume designer for nine motion pictures between 1944 and 1950. In her later years, she moved to New Hope, Pennsylvania. Her post-acting activities included managing The Playhouse Inn from 1955 to 1958 and operating a restaurant named Chez Odette from 1961 to 1976. Myrtil was married to vaudeville performer Robert Adams and later to director and producer Stanley Logan. She died in Doylestown in 1978 and is buried at the Solebury Friends Burying Grounds.
Fast facts
- Born: 1898, 8th arrondissement of Paris
- Died: 1978, Doylestown
- Occupations: actor, violinist, costume designer
- Broadway debut: 1915, Ziegfeld Follies
- First speaking film role: Dodsworth (1936)
- Last film: Hot Pants Holiday (1972)
- Buried: Solebury Friends Burying Grounds
Questions readers ask
What were her primary occupations?
She was a stage and film actor, a violinist, and a costume designer.
Did she appear on television?
Yes, she made one television appearance in a 1953 episode of Studio One in Hollywood titled The Paris Feeling.
Achievements
- Worked as actor, violinist and costume designer
