Imogen Hassall
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
Related e |
Featured: |
Imogen Hassall (25 August 1942 — 16 November 1980) was a British actress who appeared in several films during the 1960s and 1970s.
Contents |
Early life
Hassall, whose name was inspired by Shakespeare's heroine featured in Cymbeline, was born in Woking, Surrey, to a family of artists and business people. Her grandfather, John Hassall, and her aunt, Joan, worked as illustrators, while her father, Christopher Hassall, was a poet and lyricist. Her godfather was the composer Ivor Novello.
Career
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), but her fame became consolidated as a sexy primitive woman in When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970).
Personal life
Hassall married twice, though she acquired a reputation for promiscuity that made her a favourite object of British tabloid newspapers' pages. She was often referred to by the nickname The Countess of Cleavage which was given to her due to her habit of appearing at film premieres in revealing dresses.
She was found dead in her Wimbledon home on the morning of Sunday 16 November 1980 when she failed to meet a friend, actor Suzanna Leigh, with whom she was due to go on holiday that day. She had committed suicide by overdosing on Tuinal tablets.
Selected filmography
- The Early Bird (1965)
- Press for Time (Uncredited, 1966)
- The Long Duel (1967)
- When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1969)
- Mummy, Nanny, Sonny and Girly (1969)
- Carry On Loving (1970)
- Incense for the Damned (1970)
- The Virgin and the Gypsy (1970)
- Toomorrow (1970)
- El Condor (1970)
- Take a Girl Like You (1971)
- Images (1972)
- White Cargo (1974)
- License to Love and Kill (1979)
Television
- The Sentimental Agent (1 episode, 1963)
- The Saint (3 episodes, 1964-1968)
- No Hiding Place (1 episode, 1965)
- Theatre 625 (1 episode, 1967)
- The Avengers (1 episode, 1967)
- Champion House (1 episode, 1967)
- The Wednesday Play (1 episode, 1967)
- Play of the Month (1 episode, 1967)
- The Troubleshooters (1 episode, 1967)
- The Champions (1 episode, 1968)
- Softly, Softly (1 episode, 1970)
- The Persuaders! (1 episode, 1972)
- Jason King (1 episode, 1972)