Susannah York | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Susannah Yolande Fletcher (1939-01-09)9 January 1939 Chelsea, London, England |
| Died | 15 January 2011(2011-01-15) (aged 72) Brompton, London, England |
| Alma mater | Royal Academy of Dramatic Art |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1959–2011 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2, includingOrlando Wells |
Susannah Yolande Fletcher (9 January 1939[1][2] – 15 January 2011), known professionally asSusannah York, was an English actress. Her appearances in various films of the 1960s, includingTom Jones (1963) andThey Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969), formed the basis of her international reputation.[3] An obituary inThe Telegraph characterised her as "the blue-eyed English rose with the china-white skin and cupid lips who epitomised the sensuality of theswinging sixties", who later "proved that she was a real actor of extraordinary emotional range".[4]
York's early films includedThe Greengage Summer (1961) andFreud (1962). She received a nomination for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress forThey Shoot Horses, Don't They? She also won the 1972Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress forImages. Her other film appearances includedSands of the Kalahari (1965),A Man for All Seasons (1966),The Killing of Sister George (1968),Battle of Britain (1969),Jane Eyre (1970),X Y & Zee (1972),Gold (1974),The Maids (1975),Conduct Unbecoming (1975),Eliza Fraser (1976),The Shout (1978),The Silent Partner (1978) andSuperman (1978). She was appointed anOfficier de L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1991.[5]
York was born inChelsea, London, in 1939, the younger daughter of Simon William Peel Vickers Fletcher (1910–2002), a merchant banker and steel magnate, and his first wife, the former Joan Nita Mary Bowring. They married in 1935, and divorced prior to 1943.[6][7][8][9] Her maternal grandfather was Walter Andrew Bowring,CBE, a British diplomat who served asAdministrator of Dominica (1933–1935); she was a great-great-granddaughter of political economist SirJohn Bowring.[4][7][10][11] York had an elder sister, as well as a half-brother, Eugene Xavier Charles William Peel Fletcher, from her father's second marriage to Pauline de Bearnez de Morton de La Chapelle.[6][12][13][14][15]
In early 1943, York's mother married a Scottish businessman, Adam M. Hamilton, and moved, with her daughter, to Scotland.[16][17] At the age of 11, York enteredMarr College inTroon,Ayrshire.[4][18] Later, she became a boarder atWispers School in Midhurst, Sussex. At 13, she was removed, effectively expelled, from Wispers after admitting to a nude midnight swim in the school pool, and she transferred toEast Haddon Hall School inNorthamptonshire.[4][18]
Enthusiastic about her experiences of acting at school (she had played anugly sister inCinderella at the age of nine), York first decided to apply to theGlasgow College of Dramatic Art, but after her mother had separated from her stepfather and moved to London, she instead auditioned for theRoyal Academy of Dramatic Art.[5][4][18][19] At RADA, where her classmates includedPeter O'Toole,Albert Finney,Tom Courtenay and futureBeatles managerBrian Epstein, she won the Ronson award for most promising student[20] before graduating in 1958.[21]
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Her film career began withTunes of Glory (1960), co-starring withAlec Guinness andJohn Mills. In 1961, she played the leading role inThe Greengage Summer, which co-starredKenneth More andDanielle Darrieux. In 1962, she performed inFreud: The Secret Passion withMontgomery Clift in the title role.
York played Sophie Western oppositeAlbert Finney in the Oscar-winning Best FilmTom Jones (1963). She had turned the part down three times and only agreed to participate because she felt guilty over cooking a disastrous meal for the directorTony Richardson, who was determined not to accept her refusal.[3] She also appeared inThe 7th Dawn (1964) with William Holden,Kaleidescope (1966),A Man for All Seasons (1966),The Killing of Sister George (1968) andBattle of Britain (1969). In 1970 she co-starred withGeorge C. Scott (asEdward Rochester), playing the title role in an American television movie ofJane Eyre, and played oppositePeter O'Toole inCountry Dance.
York was nominated for aBest Supporting Actress Oscar forThey Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969). She snubbed theAcademy when, regarding her nomination, she declared it offended her to be nominated without being asked. She was highly praised for her performance, though she said "I don't think much of the film, or of myself in it." She did attend the ceremony but lost toGoldie Hawn for her role inCactus Flower.[22]
In 1972, she won theBest Actress award at theCannes Film Festival for her role inImages.[23] She playedSuperman's motherLara on the doomed planet Krypton inSuperman (1978) and its sequels,Superman II (1980) andSuperman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987, voice role). York made extensive appearances in British television series, includingPrince Regent (1979), asMaria Fitzherbert, the clandestine wife of the futureGeorge IV, andWe'll Meet Again (1982).
In 1984, York starred as Mrs. Cratchit inA Christmas Carol (1984), based on the novel byCharles Dickens. She again co-starred withGeorge C. Scott (asEbenezer Scrooge),David Warner (Bob Cratchit),Frank Finlay (Jacob Marley),Angela Pleasence (The Ghost of Christmas Past) and Anthony Walters(Tiny Tim).
In 1992, she was a member of the jury at the42nd Berlin International Film Festival.[24]
In 1997, York starred as Olivia in the British comedyLoop co-starring withAndy Serkis, based on the script byTim Pears.
In 2003, York had a recurring role as hospital manager Helen Grant in the BBC1 television drama seriesHolby City. She reprised this role in two episodes ofHolby City's sister seriesCasualty in May 2004. Her last film wasThe Calling, released in 2010 in the UK.
She was a patron of theChildren's Film Unit and appeared in several of their films.
"York's greatest achievement was to escape the pigeonholing that is the curse of her profession and to overcome the perception of her as the flaxen-haired beauty of 1960s British movies. In her richly fulfilled later career, she proved that she was a real actor of extraordinary emotional range, not just a movie star."[3]
In 1978, York appeared on stage at theNew End Theatre in London inThe Singular Life of Albert Nobbs withLucinda Childs, directed by French directorSimone Benmussa. This was the first of 10 projects she completed with the producer Richard Jackson.[3] The following year, she appeared in Paris,speaking French in a play byHenry James:Appearances, withSami Frey. The play was again directed by Benmussa.[3]
In the 1980s, again with Benmussa, York played inFor No Good Reason, an adaptation ofGeorge Moore's short story, withSusan Hampshire. In 1985, she appeared inFatal Attraction byBernard Slade at theTheatre Royal Haymarket. In 1986-87, York starred as Mary in Claire Boothe'sThe Women at theOld Vic, a production that includedMaria Aitken,Diana Quick andGeorgina Hale.[25]
In 2007, she appeared in the UK tour ofThe Wings of the Dove, and continued performing her internationally well-received solo show,The Loves of Shakespeare's Women. Also in 2007, she guest starred in theDoctor Who audio playValhalla. In 2008, she played the part of Nelly in an adaptation byApril De Angelis ofWuthering Heights.[26]
According to the website of Italiansymphonic metal bandRhapsody of Fire (previously known as Rhapsody), York had been recruited for a narrated part on the band's next full-length albumTriumph or Agony. In 2009, she starred alongsideJos Vantyler in theTennessee Williams season at theNew End Theatre, London for which she received critical acclaim.[27]
York's last stage performance was as Jean inRonald Harwood'sQuartet, at theOxford Playhouse in August 2010.[28]
In the 1970s, York wrote two children'sfantasy novels,In Search of Unicorns (1973, revised 1984) which was excerpted in the filmImages, andLark's Castle (1976, revised 1986).[29]
She was a guest, along withDavid Puttnam on theBBC Radio 4 documentaryI Had The Misery Thursday, a tribute programme to film actor Montgomery Clift, which was aired in 1986, on the 20th anniversary of Clift's death.[30] York had co-starred with him inFreud: The Secret Passion,John Huston's 1962 film biography of the psychoanalyst.[29]
In 1959, York married Michael Wells, with whom she had two children: daughter Sasha (born May 1972), and sonOrlando (born June 1973). They divorced in 1976. In the 1984 TV adaptation ofA Christmas Carol, she played Mrs. Cratchit and both of her children co-starred as Cratchit offspring. York's first grandchild by way of Orlando was born in 2007.[31]
Politically, York wasleft-leaning, and publicly supportedMordechai Vanunu, the Israeli dissident who revealed Israel'snuclear weapons programme.[32] While performingThe Loves of Shakespeare's Women at theCameri Theatre inTel Aviv in June 2007, York dedicated the performance to Vanunu, evoking both cheers and jeers from the audience.[33]
Diagnosed with cancer late in 2010, York refusedchemotherapy and honoured a contractual obligation to appear inRonald Harwood'sQuartet.[3] She died at theRoyal Marsden Hospital in London[34][35] frommultiple myeloma on 15 January 2011, aged 72.[36][37]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | The Richest Man in the World | Martine Herrault | |
| There Was a Crooked Man | Ellen | ||
| Tunes of Glory | Morag Sinclair | ||
| 1961 | ITV Television Playhouse | Eva Sinding Abigail Williams | Episodes: "Midnight", "The Crucible" |
| The Greengage Summer | Joss Grey | ||
| The First Gentleman | Princess Charlotte | ||
| 1962 | The Slaughter of St. Teresa's Day | Thelma Maguire | |
| Freud: The Secret Passion | Cecily Koertner | Nominated –Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama | |
| 1963 | Tom Jones | Sophie Western | |
| 1964 | The 7th Dawn | Candace Trumpey | |
| Scene Nun, Take One | The Actress | ||
| 1965 | Thursday Theatre | Milly Theale | Episode: "The Wings of the Dove" |
| Sands of the Kalahari | Grace Munkton | ||
| Scruggs | Susan | ||
| 1966 | The Fall of the House of Usher | Madeleine Usher | |
| Kaleidoscope | Angel McGinnis | Laurel Award for Favorite Female Comedy Performance (5th place) | |
| A Man for All Seasons | Margaret More | ||
| Jackanory | Storyteller | Five episodes: "The Children of Green Knowe" | |
| 1966–1967 | Theatre 625 | Bronwen Jane | Episodes: "The Winner", "Kiss on a Grass Green Pillow" |
| 1968 | Sebastian | Rebecca Howard | |
| ITV Playhouse | Grace | Episode: "The Photographer" | |
| The Killing of Sister George | Alice 'Childie' McNaught | ||
| Duffy | Segolene | ||
| 1969 | Lock Up Your Daughters | Hilaret | |
| Oh! What a Lovely War | Eleanor | ||
| Battle of Britain | Section Officer Maggie Harvey | ||
| They Shoot Horses, Don't They? | Alice | BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role Nominated –Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated –Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture | |
| 1970 | Country Dance | Hilary Dow | |
| Jane Eyre | Jane Eyre | Nominated –Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role | |
| 1971 | Happy Birthday, Wanda June | Penelope Ryan | |
| 1972 | X Y & Zee | Stella | |
| Images | Cathryn | Best Actress Award (Cannes Film Festival) | |
| 1959–1972 | Armchair Theatre | Tekla Mandy Hope Cecily Cardew Kathleen Caroline | Seven episodes |
| 1973 | Orson Welles Great Mysteries | Countess Josephine | Episode: "La Grande Breteche" |
| 1974 | Fallen Angels | Julia Sterroll | |
| Gold | Terry Steyner | ||
| Jackanory | Storyteller | Five episodes – Reading from her novel,In Search of Unicorns | |
| 1975 | The Maids | Claire | |
| That Lucky Touch | Julia Richardson | ||
| Conduct Unbecoming | Mrs. Marjorie Scarlett | ||
| 1976 | Sky Riders | Ellen Bracken | |
| Eliza Fraser | Eliza Fraser | ||
| 1977 | A Month in the Country | Natalia | |
| 1978 | The Shout | Rachel Fielding | |
| The Silent Partner | Julie Carver | ||
| Long Shot | An Actress | ||
| Superman | Lara | ||
| 1979 | Prince Regent | Maria Fitzherbert | |
| The Golden Gate Murders | Sister Benecia | ||
| 1980 | The Awakening | Jane Turner | |
| Falling in Love Again | Sue Lewis | ||
| Superman II | Lara | ||
| 1981 | Second Chance | Kate Hurst | Episode: "April II" |
| Loophole | Dinah Booker | ||
| 1982 | We'll Meet Again | Dr. Helen Dereham | 13 episodes |
| Alice | Queenie | ||
| 1983 | Nelly's Version | Narrator (voice) | |
| Yellowbeard | Lady Churchill | ||
| 1984 | A Christmas Carol | Mrs. Cratchit | |
| 1985 | Star Quality | Lorraine Barry | |
| The Love Boat | Kay Webber | Episodes: "Girl of the Midnight Sun", "There'll Be Some Changes Made", "Too Many Isaacs, "Mr. Smith Goes to Stockholm" | |
| Daemon | Rachel | ||
| 1986 | The Two Ronnies | My Lady | Episode 12.2 |
| 1987 | Prettykill | Toni | |
| Mio min Mio | Seamstress | ||
| Superman IV: The Quest for Peace | Lara | Voice | |
| Barbablù, Barbablù | Teresa | ||
| 1988 | A Summer Story | Mrs. Narracombe | |
| Just Ask for Diamond | Lauren Bacardi | ||
| 1989 | Melancholia [de] | Catherine Lanham Franck | |
| After the War | Irene Jameson | Episodes: "Yesterday and Tomorrow", "Partners" | |
| A Handful of Time | Susanne Walker | ||
| The Ray Bradbury Theater | Nora | Episode: "The Haunting of the New" | |
| 1990 | Screen Two | Amy Wallace | Episode: "The Man from the Pru" |
| Boon | Lady Tessa Bolton | Episode: "Daddy's Girl" | |
| Fate | |||
| 1991 | Devices and Desires | Meg Dennison | Six episodes |
| 1991–1992 | Trainer | Rachel Ware | 23 episodes |
| 1992 | Illusions | Dr. Sinclair | |
| 1993 | The Higher Mortals | Miss Thorogood | |
| Piccolo Grande Amore | Queen Christina | ||
| 1997 | The Ruth Rendell Mysteries | Liz | Episode: "A Dark Blue Perfume" |
| So This Is Romance? | Mike's Mum | ||
| Loop | Olivia | ||
| 2000 | St. Patrick: The Irish Legend | Concessa | |
| 2002 | Highway | ||
| The Book of Eve | May | ||
| 2003 | Visitors | Carolyn Perry | Nominated –DVD Exclusive Award for Best Actress in a DVD Premiere Movie |
| Holby City | Helen Grant | Nine episodes | |
| 2004 | Casualty | Helen Grant | Episodes: "Don't Go There", "Breaking Point" |
| 2006 | The Gigolos | Tessa Harrington | |
| The Stoning | Jean Fielding | ||
| 2008 | Franklyn | Margaret | |
| 2009 | The Calling | The Prioress | |
| 2010 | Missing | Marjorie Claye | Episode 2.9 |
| Doctors | Lorna Robson | Episode: "Gibberish" (final appearance) |
…actor Susannah York in 1939
