Pamela Mary Brown (8 July 1917 – 19 September 1975) was a British actress. For her portrayal of Queen Victoria's mother Princess Victoria, Duchess of Kent in Victoria Regina (1961) she was awarded the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.
Pamela Brown | |
|---|---|
 Still of Brown from Bram Stoker's Dracula (1974) | |
| Born | Pamela Mary Brown 8 July 1917 Hampstead, London, England |
| Died | 19 September 1975 (aged 58) Avening, Gloucestershire, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1942–1975 |
| Spouse | |
| Partner | Michael Powell (1962; died 1975)[1] |
Early life
editBrown was born in Hampstead, London, to George Edward Brown, a journalist, and his wife, Helen Blanche (née Ellerton).[2] Growing up as a Roman Catholic, she attended St Mary's School, Ascot.[3]
Career
editAfter attending the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Brown made her stage debut in 1936 as Juliet in a Stratford-upon-Avon production of Romeo and Juliet.[4] Three of her early film roles were in Powell and Pressburger films: her first screen part in One of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1942), a memorable supporting role in I Know Where I'm Going! (1945), and in the fantasy film-opera The Tales of Hoffmann (1951). She played a bitter spinster in Personal Affair, starring Gene Tierney (1953).
From the early 1950s, Brown's arthritic condition (first appearing when she was sixteen) began to make playing on the stage difficult; her mobility was restricted and she was in great pain, which was kept at bay by drugs. Nevertheless, she was a notable success as Jennet in the London production of Christopher Fry's The Lady's Not For Burning, opposite Richard Burton, Claire Bloom and John Gielgud (1949), which transferred to Broadway for an extended run (1950–51).[5][6] Time magazine wrote (20 November 1950): "As the lady, Pamela Brown proves that Fry did not write the part for her in vain. No one has a more gloriously uppity charm; no voice can simultaneously so rasp and thrill; no one ever made standoffishness more come-hitherable."[7]
Brown's success in film continued as Jane Shore in Laurence Olivier's Richard III (1955) and opposite Kirk Douglas in the Van Gogh biopic Lust for Life (1956). Highlights of her 1960s work include the epic Cleopatra (High Priestess; 1963), Becket (Eleanor of Aquitaine; 1964) and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (High Priestess; 1966). Brown played Lady Bessborough in Lady Caroline Lamb (1972) and Archduchess Sophia of Austria in Fall of Eagles (1974).
Personal life
editIn February 1953, Brown divorced her husband, Peter Copley, for infidelity.[citation needed] They had no children. A devout Roman Catholic, she could not remarry while Copley was still alive but chose to live with her partner Michael Powell, the director who had given her early film roles. They remained together until her death from pancreatic cancer in 1975, aged 58, in Avening, Gloucestershire. Brown was buried in Holy Cross churchyard, Avening.[8]
Complete filmography
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References
edit- ^ Thorpe, Vanessa (10 February 2019). "Scorsese editor Thelma Schoonmaker plans Michael Powell tribute". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
- ^ "Brown, Pamela Mary (1917–1975)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/40455. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ "26 famous people who went to school in Berkshire". berksandbuckslife.co.uk. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
- ^ "Shakespeare Festival at Stratford". The Times. London. 23 March 1936. p. 10.
- ^ Ellis, Samantha (28 May 2003). "The Lady's Not For Burning, Globe Theatre, May 1949". The Guardian.
- ^ Zolotow, Sam (8 November 1950). "Play by Fry bows tonight at Royale; 'The Lady's Not for Burning,' a British Importation, Stars John Gielgud, Pamela Brown". The New York Times. p. 49.
- ^ "New Play in Manhattan". Time. Vol. 56, no. 21. 20 November 1950. p. 60 – via EBSCO.
- ^ Thomson, David (1 October 1995). "Cinema: A genius without a job". The Independent. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2009.
External links
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