Lydia the Tattooed Lady Lydia the Tattooed Lady "Lydia, the Tattooed Lady" is a 1939 song written by Yip Harburg and Harold Arlen. It first appeared in the Marx Brothers movie "At the Circus" (1939) and became one of Groucho Marx's signature tunes. The complex lyrics by Harburg – with clever rhymes such as "Lydia/encyclopedia" and "Amazon/pajamas on" – were inspired by W. S. Gilbert. Harburg made many contemporary references to topical personalities such as Grover Whalen, who opened the 1939 New York World's Fair. Among the items, persons, and scenes tattooed on Lydia's body are the Battle of Waterloo (on her back), "The
Lydia Simmonds Lydia "a cantankerous, rich old bag of a grannie", but added that she was "a lady bountiful, selfless philanthropist and all-round good egg." The writer went on to say that the bond between Janine and Lydia turned into "one of the most touching and entertaining in Soapland." The "Metro's" Rachel Tarley deemed Lydia "brilliantly funny." Lydia Simmonds Lydia Simmonds is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera "EastEnders", initially played by Margaret Tyzack and then by Heather Chasen. She is the maternal grandmother of Ricky (Sid Owen) and Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks). She made her first appearance on 5