Maxine Audley | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Maxine Hecht (1923-04-29)29 April 1923 London, England |
| Died | 23 July 1992(1992-07-23) (aged 69) Fulham, London, England |
| Other names | Violet M. Hecht |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1947–1992 |
| Spouses |
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| Children | 1 |
Maxine Audley (29 April 1923 – 23 July 1992) was an English theatre and film actress. She made her professional stage debut in July 1940 at theOpen Air Theatre. Audley performed with theOld Vic company and theRoyal Shakespeare Company many times. She appeared in more than 20 films, the first of which was the1948 adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's novelAnna Karenina.
Maxine Audley was born in London on 29 April 1923. Her parents were Henry Julius Hecht and Katherine Arkandy, acoloratura soprano. Audley attended theWestonbirt School inGloucestershire. She trained for the stage at the Tamara Daykharhanova School in New York City and the London Mask Theatre School.[1]
Audley was married four times, to the pianist Leonard Cassini, to company manager Andrew Broughton, to Frederick Granville the impresario, with whom she had a daughter, Deborah Jane, and to Glasgow born actor Leo Maguire 1938-1992 (not to be confused with Irish songwriter of the same name).[1][2] Audley died in London on 23 July 1992.[2]
Audley made her first professional stage appearance in July 1940 at theOpen Air Theatre in a walk-on role in a production ofA Midsummer Night's Dream. From 1940 to 1942, Audley performed withrepertory companies inTonbridge,Maidenhead andBirmingham. She again performed at the Open Air Theatre in 1942 and 1943, appearing in such roles as Nerissa inThe Merchant of Venice and Hippolyta inA Midsummer Night's Dream.[1] After theSecond World War, Audley toured with theOld Vic company inArms and the Man and made herWest End theatre debut in the 1948 musicalCarissima.[2]
From 1948 to 1949, Audley performed in repertory theatre at theNottingham Playhouse. The following year, she joined the company of what was then known as theShakespeare Memorial Theatre, touring Germany in the roles of Goneril inKing Lear, Mariana inMeasure for Measure and Ursula inMuch Ado About Nothing. Audley continued to work with this company throughout her career, appearing with them again for their 1955 and 1957 seasons.[3] In the 1955 season, Audley appeared as Lady Macduff inMacbeth, a performance that was praised byKenneth Tynan as having "exceptional power".[2] Audley portrayed Tamora in the 1957 production ofTitus Andronicus, a role that she would later list as one of her favourites, along with Amanda inPrivate Lives and Blanche du Bois inA Streetcar Named Desire.[2][1] In 1960 she appeared at theStrand Theatre inSettled Out of Court.
In 1961, Audley joined theOld Vic company, appearing as Constance inKing John at theRoyal Lyceum Theatre and the Old Vic. The following year, she performed with theRoyal Shakespeare Company at theEdinburgh Festival. Audley played the role of Marina, an aristocrat's concubine, in Iris Murdoch's playThe Servants and the Snow (1970).[4] She worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company again in 1977, playing Volumnia inCoriolanus in Stratford and at theAldwych Theatre. Other venues at which Audley appeared included theHaymarket Theatre in 1963, thePalace Theatre,Watford in 1968 and theWarehouse Theatre in 1978.[1]
Maxine Audley appeared in more than 20 films, her first appearance being in the1948 adaptation ofAnna Karenina.[2] She then appeared inThe Prince and the Showgirl,A King in New York (both 1957),The Vikings,Dunkirk (both 1958),Our Man in Havana (1959) andPeeping Tom (1960). Her other films includeThe Trials of Oscar Wilde (also 1960) asAda Leverson,The Battle of the Villa Fiorita (1965),Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush (1968),House of Cards (1968),Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed,Sinful Davey,The Looking Glass War (1970) andRunning Scared (1972). Her television appearances includedInternational Detective andDanger Man (1960), "The Edgar Wallace Mysteries" and "Man at the Carlton Tower" (1961),Great Expectations (1967),Mr. Rose (1967),The Adventures of Black Beauty (1972),Space: 1999 (1976) and the television miniseries adaptations ofZastrozzi, A Romance (1986) andA Ghost in Monte Carlo (1990).
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | Anna Karenina | Minor Role | Uncredited |
| 1953 | The Pleasure Garden | Lady Ennui | |
| 1954 | The Sleeping Tiger | Carol | |
| 1957 | The Barretts of Wimpole Street | Arabel Barrett | |
| 1957 | The Prince and the Showgirl | Lady Sunningdale | |
| 1957 | A King in New York | Queen Irene | |
| 1958 | Dunkirk | Diana Foreman | |
| 1958 | The Vikings | Enid | |
| 1959 | Our Man in Havana | Teresa | |
| 1960 | Bluebeard's Ten Honeymoons | Cynthia | |
| 1960 | Peeping Tom | Mrs. Stephens | |
| 1960 | Hell Is a City | Julia Martineau | |
| 1960 | The Trials of Oscar Wilde | Ada Leverson | |
| 1961 | Petticoat Pirates | Mary - Superintendent | |
| 1961 | Man at the Carlton Tower | Lydia Daney | |
| 1962 | The Brain | Marion Fane | |
| 1963 | Ricochet | Yvonne Phipps | |
| 1964 | A Jolly Bad Fellow | Clarinda Bowles-Ottery | |
| 1964 | Never Mention Murder | Liz Teasdale | Edgar Wallace Mysteries |
| 1965 | The Battle of the Villa Fiorita | Charmian | |
| 1968 | Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush | Mrs. Beauchamp | |
| 1968 | House of Cards | Mathilde Rosier | |
| 1969 | Sinful Davey | Duchess of Argyll | |
| 1969 | Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed | Ella Brandt | |
| 1970 | The Looking Glass War | Mrs. Leclerc | |
| 1972 | Running Scared | Mrs. Betancourt |
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