Jane Merrow
Encyclopedia
Jane Merrow is a British
actress, born in London
to an English mother and German refugee, who was active in the 1960s and 1970s in England
and the US. She is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
. Her most notable role was as Alais
, the mistress of Henry II
(played by Peter O'Toole
) in The Lion in Winter
(1968), for which she received a Golden Globe nomination in the category of actress in a supporting role, losing to Ruth Gordon
who won for Rosemary's Baby
.
. She subsequently had roles in British TV series such as Danger Man
,Gerry Anderson's UFO, The Saint
, The Baron
, The Prisoner
and The Avengers
where, having appeared in the penultimate episode of the 1967 series, she was considered as the replacement for a departing Diana Rigg
. The role went to Linda Thorson
instead. She also appeared in Who Killed Cock Robin? (Randall and Hopkirk Deceased)
in 1969. In 1971 she played Anne Hepton in the second series of Hadleigh
who became the romantic interest of the lead character.
In the 1970s, she moved to America where she guest starred in many American television dramas, mysteries and adventure programs. They included Mission Impossible, Bearcats!, Mannix
, Emergency!
, Police Woman
, The Six Million Dollar Man
, Cannon
, Barnaby Jones
, Airwolf
, MacGyver
, Hart to Hart
, Magnum, P.I.
, The Incredible Hulk, The Greatest American Hero
, and several others.
in North Wales
to celebrate The Prisoner.
In 2008 she was star guest at Portmeiricon, the annual "The Prisoner" convention held at Portmeirion by The Prisoner Appreciation Society.
The summer of 2009 saw Jane return to the stage, playing Emilia in Shakespeare's play "The Comedy Of Errors" with the Idaho Shakespeare Company.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actress, born in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to an English mother and German refugee, who was active in the 1960s and 1970s in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and the US. She is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
. Her most notable role was as Alais
Alys, Countess of the Vexin
Alys, Countess of the Vexin was the daughter of King Louis VII of France and his second wife Constance of Castile.- Life :...
, the mistress of Henry II
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
(played by Peter O'Toole
Peter O'Toole
Peter Seamus Lorcan O'Toole is an Irish actor of stage and screen. O'Toole achieved stardom in 1962 playing T. E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia, and then went on to become a highly-honoured film and stage actor. He has been nominated for eight Academy Awards, and holds the record for most...
) in The Lion in Winter
The Lion in Winter (1968 film)
The Lion in Winter is a 1968 historical drama made by Avco Embassy Pictures, based on the Broadway play by James Goldman. It was directed by Anthony Harvey and produced by Joseph E...
(1968), for which she received a Golden Globe nomination in the category of actress in a supporting role, losing to Ruth Gordon
Ruth Gordon
Ruth Gordon Jones , better known as Ruth Gordon, was an American actress and writer. She was perhaps best known for her film roles such as Minnie Castevet, Rosemary's overly solicitous neighbor in Rosemary's Baby, as the eccentric Maude in Harold and Maude and as the mother of Orville Boggs in the...
who won for Rosemary's Baby
Rosemary's Baby (film)
Rosemary's Baby is a 1968 American horror film written and directed by Roman Polanski, based on the bestselling 1967 novel Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin...
.
Television career
In 1963, Merrow came to TV prominence when she starred in the BBC adaptation of Lorna DooneLorna Doone
Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor is a novel by Richard Doddridge Blackmore. It is a romance based on a group of historical characters and set in the late 17th century in Devon and Somerset, particularly around the East Lyn Valley area of Exmoor....
. She subsequently had roles in British TV series such as Danger Man
Danger Man
Danger Man is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again between 1964 and 1968. The series featured Patrick McGoohan as secret agent John Drake. Ralph Smart created the program and wrote many of the scripts...
,Gerry Anderson's UFO, 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...
, The Baron
The Baron
The Baron is a British television series, made in 1965/66 based on the book series by John Creasey, written under the pseudonym Anthony Morton, and produced by ITC Entertainment. It was the first ITC show without marionettes to be produced entirely in colour...
, The Prisoner
The Prisoner
The Prisoner is a 17-episode British television series first broadcast in the UK from 29 September 1967 to 1 February 1968. Starring and co-created by Patrick McGoohan, it combined spy fiction with elements of science fiction, allegory and psychological drama.The series follows a British former...
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...
where, having appeared in the penultimate episode of the 1967 series, she was considered as the replacement for a departing Diana Rigg
Diana Rigg
Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg, DBE is an English actress. She is probably best known for her portrayals of Emma Peel in The Avengers and Countess Teresa di Vicenzo in the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service....
. The role went to Linda Thorson
Linda Thorson
Linda Thorson is a Canadian actress, most famous for her work as Tara King in The Avengers.-Personal life:...
instead. She also appeared in Who Killed Cock Robin? (Randall and Hopkirk Deceased)
Who Killed Cock Robin? (Randall and Hopkirk Deceased)
Who Killed Cock Robin? is the fourteenth episode of the ITC British television series Randall and Hopkirk , starring Mike Pratt, Kenneth Cope and Annette Andre. The episode was first broadcast on December 21, 1969 on ITV.-Synopsis:...
in 1969. In 1971 she played Anne Hepton in the second series of Hadleigh
Hadleigh (TV series)
Hadleigh was a British television series made by Yorkshire Television which originally ran from 1969 to 1976. Developed by Robert Barr, it was a sequel to the writer's earlier Gazette for the same company...
who became the romantic interest of the lead character.
In the 1970s, she moved to America where she guest starred in many American television dramas, mysteries and adventure programs. They included Mission Impossible, Bearcats!, Mannix
Mannix
Mannix is an American television detective series that ran from 1967 through 1975 on CBS. Created by Richard Levinson and William Link and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller, the title character, Joe Mannix, is a private investigator. He is played by Mike Connors...
, Emergency!
Emergency!
Emergency! is an American television series that combines the medical drama and action-adventure genres. It was produced by Mark VII Limited and distributed by Universal Studios...
, Police Woman
Police Woman (TV series)
Police Woman is an American television police drama starring Angie Dickinson that ran on NBC for four seasons, from September 13, 1974, to March 29, 1978.-Synopsis:...
, The Six Million Dollar Man
The Six Million Dollar Man
The Six Million Dollar Man is an American television series about a former astronaut with bionic implants working for the OSI...
, Cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
, Barnaby Jones
Barnaby Jones
Barnaby Jones is a television detective series starring Buddy Ebsen and Lee Meriwether as father- and daughter-in-law who run a private detective firm in Los Angeles. A spin-off from Cannon, the show ran on CBS from January 28, 1973 to April 3, 1980, beginning as a midseason replacement...
, Airwolf
Airwolf
Airwolf is an American television series that ran from 1984 until 1987. The program centers on a high-tech military helicopter, code named Airwolf, and its crew as they undertake various missions, many involving espionage, with a Cold War theme....
, MacGyver
MacGyver
MacGyver is an American action-adventure television series created by Lee David Zlotoff. Henry Winkler and John Rich were the executive producers. The show ran for seven seasons on ABC in the United States and various other networks abroad from 1985 to 1992. The series was filmed in Los Angeles...
, Hart to Hart
Hart to Hart
Hart to Hart is an American television series, starring Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers as Jonathan and Jennifer Hart, a wealthy couple who also moonlighted as amateur detectives. The series was created by writer Sidney Sheldon and produced by Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg...
, Magnum, P.I.
Magnum, P.I.
Magnum, P.I. is an American television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from 1980 to 1988 in first-run broadcast on the American CBS television network....
, The Incredible Hulk, The Greatest American Hero
The Greatest American Hero
The Greatest American Hero is an American comedy-drama television series that aired for three seasons from 1981 to 1983 on ABC. Created by producer Stephen J. Cannell, it premiered as a two-hour movie pilot on March 18, 1981...
, and several others.
Later life
Merrow returned to England after living for years in the US to run a family business in the 1990s. In 2006 she took part in an event at PortmeirionPortmeirion
Portmeirion is a popular tourist village in Gwynedd, North Wales. It was designed and built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis between 1925 and 1975 in the style of an Italian village and is now owned by a charitable trust....
in North Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
to celebrate The Prisoner.
In 2008 she was star guest at Portmeiricon, the annual "The Prisoner" convention held at Portmeirion by The Prisoner Appreciation Society.
The summer of 2009 saw Jane return to the stage, playing Emilia in Shakespeare's play "The Comedy Of Errors" with the Idaho Shakespeare Company.
Selected filmography
- The Lion in WinterThe Lion in Winter (1968 film)The Lion in Winter is a 1968 historical drama made by Avco Embassy Pictures, based on the Broadway play by James Goldman. It was directed by Anthony Harvey and produced by Joseph E...
(1968) - Adam's WomanAdam's WomanAdam's Woman is a 1970 Australian-American historical drama film directed by Philip Leacock and starring Beau Bridges, Jane Merrow and John Mills...
(1970) - The Girl Getters (1964)