Mary Ure | |
|---|---|
 Ure inWhere Eagles Dare (1968) | |
| Born | Eileen Mary Ure (1933-02-18)18 February 1933 Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland |
| Died | 3 April 1975(1975-04-03) (aged 42) London, England |
| Resting place | London Road Cemetery[citation needed] |
| Alma mater | Royal Central School of Speech and Drama |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1955–1975 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 4, includingIan Shaw |
Eileen Mary Ure (18 February 1933 – 3 April 1975) was a British actress. She was the second Scottish-born actress (afterDeborah Kerr) to be nominated for anAcademy Award, for her role in the 1960 filmSons and Lovers.
Born inGlasgow, Ure was the daughter of civil engineer Colin McGregor Ure and Edith Swinburne. She went to the independentMount School inYork, where in 1951 she played the role of the Virgin Mary in theYork Cycle of Mystery Plays, revived for theFestival of Britain.[1] She trained for the stage at theRoyal Central School of Speech and Drama, then based at theRoyal Albert Hall, London, where her classmates included the actressWendy Craig.[2] In her final year, 1954, she won theCarleton Hobbs Bursary to join theRadio Drama Company, but declined it.[3] Known for her beauty, Ure began performing on the London stage and quickly developed a reputation for her abilities as a dramatic actress.
Ure made her London debut as Amanda inTime Remembered (1954). Ure first appeared on screen inStorm Over The Nile (1955) playing the love interest of heroAnthony Steel. It was made byAlexander Korda who put Ure under contract; when he died the contract was taken over by Rank.[4]
She wasOphelia in a 1955 stage production ofHamlet starringPaul Scofield that was filmed the following year for television. She appeared in a London stage production ofA View from the Bridge (1956).
Ure played a leading role as Alison Porter inJohn Osborne's new playLook Back in Anger (1956). She and Osborne married and in 1958, she was in theBroadway production ofLook Back in Anger and earned aTony Award nomination for Best Dramatic Actress.
Her second film wasWindom's Way (1957), made for Rank, where she played the wife ofPeter Finch.[5] After doingThe Lady's Not for Burning (1958) on British TV she transferred her fragile, captivating portrayal of "Alison Porter" from stage to screen in the 1959 film adaptation ofLook Back in Anger.
Ure did a season atStratford, appearing inA Midsummer Night's Dream (1959) andOthello (1959). She appeared in the filmSons and Lovers (1960) as Clara Dawes, earning nominations for both theGolden Globe Award and theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
After making the movie Ure performed inDuel of Angels in London and Broadway. While pregnant she performed in the 1960 London production ofThe Changeling at theRoyal Court.[6] The success ofSons and Lovers meant for a time Ure was seen as a possible major movie star in America.[7]
In 1963, after an absence of three years, she returned to film with a performance in the sci-fi dramaThe Mind Benders, playing the wife ofDirk Bogarde.
She appeared several times on screen with then-husbandRobert Shaw:A Florentine Tragedy (1964) for television, based on a script by Shaw;The Luck of Ginger Coffey (1964); andCuster of the West (1967), playing Custer's wife.[8][9]
After 1968'sWhere Eagles Dare it would be three years before Ure's next and last film appearance, in 1971'sA Reflection of Fear, co-starring her husband. However, she did appear inA Bit of Family Feeling (1971) for television.
She returned to Broadway inOld Times (1971). Her growingalcoholism affected her stage career to the point that she was fired from the 1974 pre-Broadway production ofLove for Love and was replaced by her understudy,Glenn Close.[10][11] Her last screen appearance was on TV inThe Break (1974).[12]
She returned to the London stage after a 12-year break to appear inThe Exorcism.[13]
In 1956, Ure began an affair with married playwrightJohn Osborne while working on the initial production of his playLook Back in Anger. The couple married in 1957, had a son in 1961, but divorced in 1963.[14][15] Osborne had continued having affairs during the marriage, and Ure started an affair with her co-starRobert Shaw in 1959, while the two were performing in the London stage production ofThe Changeling. It is believed that Shaw was her son's biological father.[10]
Ure and Shaw married in 1963, with Shaw adopting Ure's son.[16] Ure and Shaw had three more children together, including the actorIan Shaw (born 1969).[10] Ure and Shaw were still married at the time of her death.
Ure experienced alcohol dependence and other mental health challenges throughout the early 1970s.[17] On Wednesday 2 April 1975, she appeared on the London stage withHonor Blackman,Ronald Hines andBrian Blessed in an adaptation of theteleplayThe Exorcism byDon Taylor and "within hours of a triumphant opening [night]"[18] was found dead, aged 42, from anoverdose of alcohol andbarbiturates. Her body was discovered by her husband, Robert Shaw, in their London home.[19][20][21]
The Irish poetRichard Murphy includes a poem about Mary Ure in hisCollected Poems,[22] wherein she is depicted as a nymph-like figure on the shores ofLough Mask on a summer afternoon.
