Highly scarce vintage 5.5 x 8-inch three-quarter portrait, signed and inscribed in green fountain pen. A minor crease to the tip of the lower right-hand corner, but, overall, in good condition for its age. The Belgian-born beauty and her husband, Frank Orth, were stars of the Vaudeville stage in the 1910s and 1920s, and appeared onscreen in comedy shorts between 1929 and 1931. They went on to separate careers as Hollywood character players, with Codee playing scores of landladies, governesses, teaches, and grandmothers of a variety of European backgrounds. Her nearly 100 classic film credits include Jezebel (1938), Charlie Chan in City of Darkness (1939), Charlie Chan in Rio (1941), Mr. Skeffington (1944), The Clock (1945), Johnny Angel (1945), Till the Clouds Roll By (1946), An American in Paris (1951), Kiss Me Kate (1953), Daddy Long Legs (1955), and Can-Can (1960). She is remembered by horror buffs for her portrayal of Tante Berthe in The Mummy's Curse (1944), as well as her supporting roles in Dr. Renault's Secret (1942), Hangover Square (1945), and War of the Worlds (1953).
