---
name: "Cecil Cunningham"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/cecil-cunningham"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "2 August 1888"
died: "17 April 1959"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 4
average_fi1m_score: 72
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 3
updated: "2026-09-20T00:23:37.905249+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Cecil Cunningham

Actor. Born 2 August 1888 in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA. Died 17 April 1959.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 2 August 1888, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
- **Died:** 17 April 1959
- **Active:** 1937–1941
- **Also known as:** Edna Cecil Cunningham
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 4: 3 acting, 1 other
- **Average Fi1m score:** 72, as actor, over 3 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1930s 86 (2), 1940s 64 (2)
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 1 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 0 of 2 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Romance 3, Drama 2, Comedy 1
- **Screen time:** 5 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $3m across 1 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecil_Cunningham, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q520824, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0192258/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/77160

## Streaming the US now

- **The Roku Channel:** [*The Awful Truth*](https://film.one/film/the-awful-truth.md) (89)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Cecil Cunningham, also credited as Edna Cecil Cunningham, was an American stage and film actress. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, she began her career in the chorus of *Mlle. Modiste* at age eighteen, trained as a singer and performed in opera, and worked as a vaudeville comedian at the Palace Theatre in New York before entering films in 1929.

She appeared in more than eighty films between 1929 and 1946, many uncredited, often in character roles. She is known for parts in *Mr. Deeds Goes to Town* (1936), *The Awful Truth* (1937) as Aunt Patsy, *Kitty Foyle* (1940) and *In Old Oklahoma* (1943). She was married to screenwriter Jean C. Havez from 1915 to 1918.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (4)

### Performed in (3) — the average rests on these

- *Blossoms in the Dust* (1941), Fi1m 58, as Mrs. Marcus Gilworth — [page](https://film.one/film/blossoms-in-the-dust.md)
- *Kitty Foyle* (1940), Fi1m 70, as Grandmother — [page](https://film.one/film/kitty-foyle.md)
- *The Awful Truth* (1937), Fi1m 89, as Aunt Patsy — [page](https://film.one/film/the-awful-truth.md)

### Also credited (1) — thanks, archive footage, uncredited

- *Mr. Deeds Goes to Town* (1936), Fi1m 82, as (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/mr-deeds-goes-to-town.md)

## Complete filmography (74)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Four Star Playhouse* (1952), series, as Woman (Hotel)
- *My Reputation* (1946), as Stella Thompson
- *In Old Oklahoma* (1943), as Mrs. Ames
- *Du Barry Was a Lady* (1943), as Wife Checking Her Coat (uncredited)
- *Above Suspicion* (1943), as Countess
- *The Hidden Hand* (1942), as Lorinda Channing
- *My Heart Belongs to Daddy* (1942), as Mrs. Whitman
- *Cairo* (1942), as Mme. Laruga
- *The Affairs of Martha* (1942), as Mrs. Llewellyn Castle
- *Twin Beds* (1942), as Miss MacMahon, Secretary
- *The Wife Takes a Flyer* (1942), as Countess Oldenburg
- *Cowboy Serenade* (1942), as Priscilla Lock
- *The Feminine Touch* (1941), as Party Guest (uncredited)
- *Blossoms in the Dust* (1941), as Mrs. Marcus Gilworth — Fi1m 58, [page](https://film.one/film/blossoms-in-the-dust.md)
- *Hurry, Charlie, Hurry* (1941), as Mrs. Diana Boone
- *Repent at Leisure* (1941), as Mrs. Morgan
- *Back Street* (1941), as Mrs. Miller
- *Play Girl* (1941), as Dowager at Concert (uncredited)
- *Kitty Foyle* (1940), as Grandmother — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/kitty-foyle.md)
- *New Moon* (1940), as Governor's Wife
- *The Captain is a Lady* (1940), as Mrs. Jane Homans
- *Lillian Russell* (1940), as Mrs. Hobbs
- *Abe Lincoln in Illinois* (1940), as Undetermined Supporting Role (uncredited)
- *Laugh It Off* (1939), as Tess Gibson
- *Lady of the Tropics* (1939), as Countess Berichi
- *Winter Carnival* (1939), as Miss Ainsley
- *It's a Wonderful World* (1939), as Madame J. L. Chambers
- *The Family Next Door* (1939), as Cora Stewart
- *Girls' School* (1938), as Miss Brewster
- *Marie Antoinette* (1938), as Mme. 'Feldy' de Lerchenfeld (uncredited)
- *Blond Cheat* (1938), as Genevieve Trent
- *Wives Under Suspicion* (1938), as Sharpy
- *You and Me* (1938), as Mrs. Morris
- *Kentucky Moonshine* (1938), as Landlady
- *Four Men and a Prayer* (1938), as Piper
- *College Swing* (1938), as Dean Sleet
- *Scandal Street* (1938), as Maybelle Murphy
- *Daughter of Shanghai* (1937), as Mrs. Mary Hunt
- *Night Club Scandal* (1937), as Mrs. Alvin
- *The Awful Truth* (1937), as Aunt Patsy — Fi1m 89, [page](https://film.one/film/the-awful-truth.md)
- *This Way Please* (1937), as Miss Eberhardt
- *Artists & Models* (1937), as Stella
- *King of Gamblers* (1937), as Big Edna
- *Swing High, Swing Low* (1937), as Murphy
- *Come and Get It* (1936), as Josie
- *Mr. Deeds Goes to Town* (1936), as (uncredited) — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/mr-deeds-goes-to-town.md)
- *People Will Talk* (1935), as Nellie Simpson
- *We Live Again* (1934), as Theodosia
- *Return of the Terror* (1934), as Miss Doolittle
- *The Life of Vergie Winters* (1934), as Pearl Turner
- *Manhattan Love Song* (1934), as Pancake Annie Jones
- *The Druggist's Dilemma* (1933), as Mrs. Finch
- *From Hell to Heaven* (1933), as Mrs. Chadman
- *Ladies They Talk About* (1933), as Mrs. Arlington (uncredited)
- *If I Had a Million* (1932), as Agnes - Emily's Friend (uncredited)
- *Blonde Venus* (1932), as Cabaret Manager in Norfolk (uncredited)
- *Those We Love* (1932), as Mrs. Henry Abbott
- *Love Me Tonight* (1932), as Laundress (uncredited)
- *The Candid Camera* (1932), as Mrs. Townes' Aunty
- *Love is a Racket* (1932), as Aunt Hattie Donovan
- *Is My Face Red?* (1932), as Millionaire's Wife
- *The Rich Are Always with Us* (1932), as Woman Talking with Julian at Party (uncredited)
- *Just a Pain in the Parlor* (1932), as Mrs. Smith
- *The Wet Parade* (1932), as Mrs. Twombey - Hotel Guest (uncredited)
- *The Impatient Maiden* (1932), as Mrs. Rosy
- *Never the Twins Shall Meet* (1932), as Mrs. Carp
- *Mata Hari* (1931), as Gambler Selling Ring (uncredited)
- *Safe in Hell* (1931), as Angie
- *The Age for Love* (1931), as Pamela
- *Susan Lenox* (1931), as Madame Panoramia aka Pansy
- *Playboy of Paris* (1930), as Mlle. Hedwige
- *Anybody's Woman* (1930), as Dot
- *Paramount on Parade* (1930), as Society Woman ('Impulses') (uncredited)
- *Their Own Desire* (1929), as Aunt Caroline

## Gallery

- ![Holiday greeting advertisement by actress Cecil Cunningham, on page 2 of the December 22, 1916 Variety.](https://film.one/media/person/1229161/gallery-3f80418368ef.jpg) Holiday greeting advertisement by actress Cecil Cunningham, on page 2 of the December 22, 1916 Variety. — Unknown photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Cecil_Cunningham_-_Dec_1916_Variety.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Stage comedienne Cecil Cunningham. Subjects (LCTGM): vaudeville (1929)](https://film.one/media/person/1229161/gallery-4777c7f6e764.jpg) Stage comedienne Cecil Cunningham. Subjects (LCTGM): vaudeville (1929) — Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/60/Stage_comedienne_Cecil_Cunningham_%28SAYRE_22201%29.jpg/1280px-Stage_comedienne_Cecil_Cunningham_%28SAYRE_22201%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Vaudeville headliner Cecil Cunningham. Subjects: vaudeville (1922)](https://film.one/media/person/1229161/gallery-c2f7841101d2.jpg) Vaudeville headliner Cecil Cunningham. Subjects: vaudeville (1922) — James Hargis Connelly, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/76/Vaudeville_headliner_Cecil_Cunningham_%28SAYRE_21975%29.jpg/1280px-Vaudeville_headliner_Cecil_Cunningham_%28SAYRE_21975%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Cecil Cunningham](https://film.one/media/person/1229161/gallery-339360fb5564.jpg) Cecil Cunningham — Unknown photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Cecil_Cunningham_1918.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Actress Cecil Cunningham (1919)](https://film.one/media/person/1229161/gallery-6cda87afe53b.jpg) Actress Cecil Cunningham (1919) — Unknown photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/Cecil_Cunningham_1919.jpg/1280px-Cecil_Cunningham_1919.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Cecil Cunningham in "Dancing Around," at the Winter Garden](https://film.one/media/person/1229161/gallery-5b92b43f6cab.jpg) Cecil Cunningham in "Dancing Around," at the Winter Garden — Herman Mishkin, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Cecil_Cunningham_in_%22Dancing_Around%22.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/cecil-cunningham