Imogen Hassall
Encyclopedia
Imogen Hassall was an English
actress who appeared in 33 films during the 1960s and 1970s.
heroine, she was born in Woking
, Surrey
, to a family of artists and business people. Her grandfather, John Hassall
, and her aunt, Joan Hassall
, worked as illustrators, while her father, Christopher Hassall
, was a poet and lyricist. Her godfather
was the composer Ivor Novello
.
, White Lodge, Richmond Park from 1952-1958. After having studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
, she appeared in 1960s British TV shows such as The Saint
and The Avengers
. In her first significant role she played Tara in The Long Duel (1967); she gained fame as a sexy woman in When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth
(1970
).
She was known for playing sexy, scantily-clad characters in film and on TV. This, and the revealing outfits she sometimes wore in her private life, resulted in her being publicly referred to as "the Countess of Cleavage".
She was found dead in her Wimbledon
home on the morning of 16 November 1980 when she failed to meet a friend, actress Suzanna Leigh
, with whom she was due to go on holiday that day. She had committed suicide by overdosing on Tuinal
tablets.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
actress who appeared in 33 films during the 1960s and 1970s.
Early life
Named after Shakespeare's CymbelineCymbeline
Cymbeline , also known as Cymbeline, King of Britain or The Tragedy of Cymbeline, is a play by William Shakespeare, based on legends concerning the early Celtic British King Cunobelinus. Although listed as a tragedy in the First Folio, modern critics often classify Cymbeline as a romance...
heroine, she was born in Woking
Woking
Woking is a large town and civil parish that shares its name with the surrounding local government district, located in the west of Surrey, UK. It is part of the Greater London Urban Area and the London commuter belt, with frequent trains and a journey time of 24 minutes to Waterloo station....
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, to a family of artists and business people. Her grandfather, John Hassall
John Hassall (illustrator)
John Hassall was born in Walmer, Kent on 21 May 1868, died 8 March 1948 and was an English illustrator.Hassall educated in Worthing, at Newton Abbot College and at Neuenheim College, Heidelberg. After twice failing entry to The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, he emigrated to Manitoba in Canada...
, and her aunt, Joan Hassall
Joan Hassall
Joan Hassall, was a wood engraver, book illustrator and typographer. Her subject matter ranged from natural history to illustrations for English literary classics...
, worked as illustrators, while her father, Christopher Hassall
Christopher Hassall
Christopher Vernon Hassall was an English actor, dramatist, librettist, lyricist and poet, who found his greatest fame in a memorable musical partnership with the actor and composer Ivor Novello after working together in the same touring company...
, was a poet and lyricist. Her godfather
Godparent
A godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a child's baptism. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother...
was the composer Ivor Novello
Ivor Novello
David Ivor Davies , better known as Ivor Novello, was a Welsh composer, singer and actor who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. Born into a musical family, his first successes were as a songwriter...
.
Career
Hassall was a pupil at the Royal Ballet SchoolRoyal Ballet School
The Royal Ballet School is one of the most famous classical ballet schools in the world and is the associate school of the Royal Ballet, a leading international ballet company based at the Royal Opera House in London...
, White Lodge, Richmond Park from 1952-1958. After having studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art is a leading British drama school in west London. LAMDA's president is Timothy West and its new principal is Joanna Read, who recently succeeded Peter James...
, she appeared in 1960s British TV shows such as The Saint
The Saint (TV series)
The Saint was an ITC mystery spy thriller television series that aired in the UK on ITV between 1962 and 1969. It centred on the Leslie Charteris literary character, Simon Templar, a Robin Hood-like adventurer with a penchant for disguise. The character may be nicknamed The Saint because the...
and The Avengers
The Avengers (TV series)
The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...
. In her first significant role she played Tara in The Long Duel (1967); she gained fame as a sexy woman in When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth
When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth
When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth is a 1970 movie starring Victoria Vetri, set in the time of cavemen. The film was made by Britain's Hammer Films....
(1970
1970 in film
The year 1970 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 9 - Larry Fine, the second member of The Three Stooges, suffers a massive stroke, therefore ending his career....
).
Personal life
Hassall married twice and her private life was a regular subject of interest in tabloid newspapers.She was known for playing sexy, scantily-clad characters in film and on TV. This, and the revealing outfits she sometimes wore in her private life, resulted in her being publicly referred to as "the Countess of Cleavage".
She was found dead in her Wimbledon
Wimbledon, London
Wimbledon is a district in the south west area of London, England, located south of Wandsworth, and east of Kingston upon Thames. It is situated within Greater London. It is home to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and New Wimbledon Theatre, and contains Wimbledon Common, one of the largest areas...
home on the morning of 16 November 1980 when she failed to meet a friend, actress Suzanna Leigh
Suzanna Leigh
Suzanna Leigh is a former English actress.Born to a manufacturer of car engines Suzanna Leigh grew up in the Belgrave district of Leicester, England and later went to convent schools outside London...
, with whom she was due to go on holiday that day. She had committed suicide by overdosing on Tuinal
Tuinal
Tuinal is the brand name of a combination drug composed of two barbiturate salts in equal proportions....
tablets.
Selected filmography
- The Early BirdThe Early BirdThe Early Bird is a 1965 British comedy film directed by Robert Asher and starring Norman Wisdom. It also featured Edward Chapman, Bryan Pringle, Richard Vernon, John Le Mesurier and Jerry Desmonde. It was the first Norman Wisdom film to be shot in colour...
(1965) - Press for TimePress for TimePress for Time is a 1966 British film starring Norman Wisdom. The screenplay was written by Eddie Leslie and Norman Wisdom, based on the 1963 novel Yea Yea Yea, by Angus McGill. It was partly filmed in Teignmouth in Devon. It was the last film Wisdom made for the Rank Organisation.- Plot :Norman...
(Uncredited, 1966) - The Long DuelThe Long DuelThe Long Duel is a 1967 British adventure film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Yul Brynner, Trevor Howard, Charlotte Rampling and Harry Andrews...
(1967) - Mummy, Nanny, Sonny and Girly (1969)
- When Dinosaurs Ruled the EarthWhen Dinosaurs Ruled the EarthWhen Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth is a 1970 movie starring Victoria Vetri, set in the time of cavemen. The film was made by Britain's Hammer Films....
(1970) - Carry On LovingCarry On LovingCarry On Loving is the twentieth Carry On film, and was released in 1970. It features series regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Hattie Jacques, Terry Scott and Bernard Bresslaw alongside newcomers Richard O'Callaghan and Jacki Piper . Carry On Loving featured...
(1970) - Incense for the Damned (1970)
- The Virgin and the GypsyThe Virgin and the Gypsy (film)The Virgin and the Gypsy is a 1970 British drama film directed by Christopher Miles, based on the novel of the same name. It was screened at the 1970 Cannes Film Festival, but wasn't entered into the main competition.-Cast:* Joanna Shimkus – Yvette...
(1970) - Toomorrow (1970)
- El Condor (1970)
- Take a Girl Like YouTake a Girl Like You (film)Take a Girl Like You is a 1970 British comedy film directed by Jonathan Miller and starring Hayley Mills, Oliver Reed, Sheila Hancock, Ronald Lacey, John Bird, Noel Harrison, Aimi MacDonald and Penelope Keith. It was based on the 1960 novel Take a Girl Like You by Kingsley Amis, and was adapted by...
(1971) - ImagesImages (film)Images is a 1972 British-American psychological thriller film directed by Robert Altman.-Plot:Wealthy housewife and children's author Cathryn receives a series of disturbing and eerie phone calls in her home in London one dreary night...
(1972) - White Cargo (1974)
- License to Love and Kill (1979)
Television
- The Sentimental AgentThe Sentimental AgentThe Sentimental Agent is a television drama series spin-off from Man of the World. It was produced in the UK in 1963 by Associated TeleVision and distributed by ITC Entertainment. It stars Carlos Thompson as Argentinian Carlos Varela, a successful import-export agent based in London.The series ran...
(1 episode, 1963) - The SaintThe Saint (TV series)The Saint was an ITC mystery spy thriller television series that aired in the UK on ITV between 1962 and 1969. It centred on the Leslie Charteris literary character, Simon Templar, a Robin Hood-like adventurer with a penchant for disguise. The character may be nicknamed The Saint because the...
(3 episodes, 1964–1968) - No Hiding PlaceNo Hiding PlaceNo Hiding Place is a British television series that was produced at Wembley Studios by Associated-Rediffusion for the ITV network between 16 September 1959 and 22 June 1967....
(1 episode, 1965) - Theatre 625Theatre 625Theatre 625 is a British television drama anthology series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC2 from 1964 to 1968. It was one of the first regular programmes in the line-up of the channel, and the title referred to its production and transmission being in the higher-definition 625-line...
(1 episode, 1967) - The AvengersThe Avengers (TV series)The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...
(1 episode, 1967) - Champion HouseChampion HouseChampion House is a BBC television drama series.The series dealt with the Yorkshire-based Champion family and the dramas surrounding the family textiles firm, Champion Mills. Two series were made between 1967 and 1968...
(1 episode, 1967) - The Wednesday PlayThe Wednesday PlayThe Wednesday Play was an anthology series of British television plays which ran on BBC1 from October 1964 to May 1970. Every week's play was usually written for television, although adaptations from other sources also featured...
(1 episode, 1967) - Play of the MonthPlay of the MonthPlay of the Month is a BBC television anthology series featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays which were usually broadcast on BBC1. Each production featured a different work, often using prominent British stage actors in the leading roles...
(1 episode, 1967) - The Troubleshooters (1 episode, 1967)
- The ChampionsThe ChampionsThe Champions is a British espionage/science fiction/occult detective fiction adventure series consisting of 30 episodes broadcast on the UK network ITV during 1968–1969, produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company...
(1 episode, 1968) - Softly, SoftlySoftly, Softly (TV series)Softly, Softly is a British television drama series, produced by the BBC and screened on BBC 1 from January 1966. It centred around the work of regional crime squads, plain-clothes CID officers based in the fictional region of Wyvern - supposedly in the Bristol and Chepstow area of the UK...
(1 episode, 1970) - The Persuaders!The Persuaders!The Persuaders! is a 1971 action/adventure series, produced by ITC Entertainment for initial broadcast on ITV and ABC. It has been called "the last major entry in the cycle of adventure series that had begun eleven years earlier with Danger Man in 1960", as well as "the most ambitious and most...
(1 episode, 1972) - Jason KingJason King (TV series)Jason King was a British television series produced from 1971 to 1972. Each episode was one hour in duration , and the series had a run of one season of 26 episodes. As well as its native UK, the series was also screened in countries as far afield as Australia, Norway, Argentina and Peru...
(1 episode, 1972)
External links
- Imogen Hassall at HorrorStars