Hermione Gingold

Gingold was ideal in Dickensian territory as part of the motley crew of eccentrics in the 1952 film adaptation of "The Pickwick Papers." By contrast, in "Gigi" (1958), she was warm, wise and witty as Leslie Caron's sympathetic, solicitous grandmother, joining Maurice Chevalier for an enchanting and moving duet on the perils and joys of human memory and the twilight of romance, "I Remember It Well." The unique Gingold was a splendid trouper on the stage well into her later years (as in Stephen Sondheim's marvelous "A Little Night Music" in the 70s), and her very occasional feature credits extend up until shortly before her death.