Imogen Hassall
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Imogen Hassall (Woking, Surrey, 25 August 1942 — 16 November 1980, Wimbledon) was a popular British actress who appeared in several films during the 1960s and 1970s.
Imogen, whose name was inspired by Shakespeare's heroine featured in Cymbeline, was born 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.
After having studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, 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).
Imogen 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 premiers in revealing dresses.
She was found dead on the morning of Sunday 16 November 1980 when she failed to meet a friend with whom she was due to go on holiday that day. She had committed suicide by overdosing on Tuinal tablets.
[edit] Filmography
- License To Love And Kill (1979)
- White Cargo (1974)...Stella
- Images (1972)
- Take A Girl Like You (1971)
- El Condor (1970)...Dolores
- Tomorrow (1970)
- The Virgin and the Gypsy (1970)
- Incense for the Damned (1970)...Chriseis
- Carry On Loving (1970)...Jenny Grubb
- Mummy, Nanny, Sonny and Girly (1969)
- When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1969)...Ayak
- The Long Duel (1967)...Tara
- The Early Bird (1965)...Sir Roger's secretary
[edit] References
- Leissner, D. (2002). Tuesday's Child: The Life and Death of Imogen Hassall. Luminary Press, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. ISBN 1-887664-47-5.
