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1-12 of 12
- Actress
- Writer
- Director
Diane Cilento was an Australian actress from Queensland. She had partial Italian descent. She was once nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. For a theatrical role as Helen of Troy, Cilento was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play.
In 1932, Cilento was born in Brisbane, Queensland's state capital, to a relatively affluent family. Her maternal grandfather was the prominent merchant Charles Thomas McGlew (1870-1931), founder of the Liberty Motor Oil Company. Cliento's father was the medical practitioner Raphael "Ray" Cilento (1893-1985). He became famous as the director of the Australian Institute of Tropical Medicine, the director of the Commonwealth Government's Division of Tropical Hygiene, the Director-General of Health and Medical Services, the president of the Queensland's Medical Board, a high-ranking member of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, the Director for Refugees and Displaced Persons, and director of disaster relief in Palestine. Raphael spend much of his career combating malaria and other tropical diseases.
Cilento's mother was the medical practitioner and medical journalist Phyllis Cilento (née McGlew, 1894 - 1987). Phylis became famous for advocating family planning, contraception, and the legalization of abortion in Australia. She wrote many books on health matters. Her medical research involved the use of Vitamin E in therapy, and as a method for preventing blood clots.
Cilento was the fifth of six children born to her famous parents. Four or her siblings followed their parents' footsteps as medical practitioners. Cilento's most famous sibling was the professional painter and print-maker Margaret Cilento (1923-2006). Margaret's works are preserved in both the National Gallery of Victoria and the National Gallery of Australia.
Cilento was expelled from school while living in Australia. She then studied abroad, spending part of her school years in the U.S. state of New York. She decided to follow an acting career and won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), located in London. She settled in England during the early 1950s.
Following her graduation from RADA, Cilento started a career as a theatrical actress. She was eventually offered a five-year contract by the British film producer Alexander Korda (1893-1956), and took the offer. She started out with several small roles in film. Her first leading role was playing British governess Ruth Elton in the romantic drama "Passage Home" (1955). In the film, Elton rejects a marriage proposal from Captain Lucky Ryland (played by Peter Finch), who she barely knows. Ryland then tries to rape her. She eventually marries another man, but she is secretly in love with her would-be rapist.
During the late 1950s, Cilento found steady work in British films. She played the only woman in a love triangle in the circus-themed "The Woman for Joe" (1955). She played the between maid in the castaway-themed "The Admirable Crichton" (1957), an adaptation of a play by J. M. Barrie (1860-1937). She played a free-thinker in the romantic comedy "The Truth About Women" (1957),concerning the memories of an old man. She also had a role in the aviation disaster film "Jet Storm" (1959), in which a man has placed a bomb on a passenger airplane.
In the early 1960s, Cilento continued to have notable roles. She played the female lead Denise Colby in the psychological thriller "The Full Treatment" (1960). In the film Denise's husband struggles with mood swings and the dark impulse to kill his wife, which makes him fear for his sanity. The film was one of the murder-themed films produced by Hammer Film Productions.
Cilento played the supporting role of a murder suspect's wife in the thriller film "The Naked Edge" (1961). The film is mainly remembered as the last film role for protagonist Gary Cooper (1901-1961), who died of prostate cancer following the film's completion. Cilento played the murder victim Liane Dane in the crime film "I Thank a Fool" (1962), where a female doctor is suspected of killing her own patient.
Cilento played the most acclaimed role of her career as Molly Seagrim in the comedy film "Tom Jones" (1963), the title character's first love. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, but the award was instead won by rival actress Margaret Rutherford (1892 - 1972).
Cilento next played one of the murder suspects in the crime film "The Third Secret" (1964). In the film a well-known psychoanalyst is found murdered within his own residence, and a number of his patients are suspected of killing him. The main plot twist is that the victim was killed by someone much closer to him than his patients.
Cilento also played the prostitute Cyrenne in the comedy-drama film "Rattle of a Simple Man" (1964). The film concerns the efforts of 39-year-old virgin man to finally have sex. She next played the Italian noblewoman Contessina Antonia Romola de' Medici in the historical film "The Agony and the Ecstasy" (1965), a fictionalized version of the life of the artist Michelangelo (1475-1564). The film was critically acclaimed and nominated for awards, but under-performed at the box office. The struggling studio 20th Century Fox reportedly lost over 5 million dollars due to this box office flop.
Cilento had the supporting role of the caretaker Jessie in the revisionist Western film "Hombre" (1967). The film depicted the relations between the Apache and the white men in 19th-century Arizona. The film earned 12 million dollars in the worldwide box office, one of the greatest hits in its year for release.
Cilento's last film role in the 1960s was the photographer Reingard in the film "Negatives" (1968). The film concerned a couple who liked to role-play as part of their erotic fantasies, however they chose to play the role of famous murderer Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen (1862-1910) and his lover. This film is remembered as the directorial debut of Hungarian expatriate Peter Medak (1937-), who later had a lengthy career.
Cilento gained her first regular television role when cast as Lady Sarah Bellasize in the prison-themed television series "Rogues' Gallery" (1968-1969). It depicted life in the famous Newgate Prison (1188 -1902) of London during the 18th century. The series lasted 2 seasons and a total of 10 episodes.
Following a hiatus in her film career, Cilento returned in the dystopian science fiction film "Z.P.G." ( "Zero Population Growth", 1972). The film depicted a future Earth suffering from overpopulation and environmental destruction. The world's government has decreed than no new child must be born over the next 30 years, but a couple decide to illegally procreate. Cilento played the supporting role of Edna Borden. Borden offers to help conceal the new baby from the world, while she actually wants to keep it for herself. The film's was well received in its time, and lead actress Geraldine Chaplin (1944-) won an award for this role.
Cilento played the role of the famous German test pilot Hanna Reitsch (1912-1979) in the historical film "Hitler: The Last Ten Days". (1973) The film depicted the last few days in the life of Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), based on the eye-witness account of Gerhard Boldt (1918 - 1981). The authenticity of the source book has since been questioned.
Cilento had a supporting role in the classic horror film "The Wicker Man" (1973), concerning a neo-pagan cult which practices Celtic paganism. The film was based on a novel by David Pinner (1940-). The film won the 1978 Saturn Award for Best Horror Film, and has often been listed among the best British films. It was one of the most acclaimed films of Cilento's career.
The lesser known film "The Tiger Lily" (1975) included Cilento's last film role in the 1970s. She gained another regular role in the television series "Tycoon" (1978), which only lasted a single season and a total of 13 episodes.
Her film career was in decline during the 1980s, and Cilento chose to return to her native Queensland. She settled in the small town of Mossman, named after the Mossman River which flows though it. She built the outdoor theater Karnak in the local rain-forest, which she operated for the rest of her life. She used the theater as a venue for experimental drama.
In 2001, Cilento was awarded with Australian's Centenary Medal for her services to theater. In 2007, Cilento published her autobiography "My Nine Lives". In her last years she was suffering from cancer. In 2011, she died due to this disease while hospitalized in the Cairns Base Hospital. The hospital was the largest major hospital in Far North Queensland. Cilento was 79-years-old at the time of her death.
Cilento was survived by her daughter Giovanna Volpe and her son Jason Connery (1963-), her only heirs. A collection of items from her personal estate was donated by her heirs to the Queensland University of Technology. The collection reportedly included "hundreds of books, memorabilia, posters, furniture". Also included were original scripts which Cilento had inherited from her last husband, the playwright Anthony Shaffer. Original scripts by both Cilento and Shaffer have been digitized, and made available to scholars through the University's digital collections.- Actress
- Writer
Shirley Prestia was born on 18 August 1947 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. She was an actress and writer, known for Species (1995), Wag the Dog (1997) and What Women Want (2000). She died on 6 October 2011 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.- Actress
- Casting Department
Marilyn Nash was planning on a career as a doctor when, while a student at the University of Arizona, she visited Los Angeles and met Charles Chaplin, who placed her under contract (starting at $50 a week) and cast her in his production Monsieur Verdoux (1947). She appeared in a second and last film, the science-fiction Unknown World (1951), four years later. She also acted on live TV and in many plays during this period. Nash later relocated to Oroville, California, where she was so active in the community that she was soon nicknamed "Mrs. Oroville." She also became a location casting director for films shot in that area.- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Producer
Missing, presumed dead, near Tanumshede on the Swedish west coast. While doing research for an upcoming movie and taking photos, Daniel Lind Lagerlöf disappeared from two other members of the crew, and has not been seen since 6 October 2011.
The search for Lind Lagerlöf was cancelled after more than two days extensive search with police, sea rescue service and military in the rather limited area where he disappeared. It is believed that he has fallen into the sea and perished.- Birgit Rosengren was born on 27 November 1912 in Stockholm, Sweden. She was an actress, known for Moderskapets kval och lycka (1945), Send Home Number 7 (1937) and Efterlyst (1939). She was married to Elof Ahrle and Eric Gustafson. She died on 6 October 2011 in Bromma, Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden.
- Director
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Paul Dickson was born on 18 January 1920 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. He was a director and writer, known for The Undefeated (1951), Department S (1969) and The Avengers (1961). He died on 6 October 2011 in the UK.- Igor Shmakov was born on 9 September 1985 in Lipetsk, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia]. He was an actor, known for Na Verkhney Maslovke (2005), Law & Order: Operational Investigations Division (2006) and Burnt by the Sun 2 (2010). He was married to Elena Shmakova. He died on 6 October 2011 in München, Germany.
- One of the two blond sex kittens of the sixties Estonian cinema (the other being Eve Kivi), she was not only glamorous to look at, but also an immensely talented actress. However, she seemed to lack the determination to become a superstar, and unlike Eve Kivi, who clawed her way to the very top of the Socialist cinema ladder, Miss Lundver seemed to enjoy a relaxed lifestyle, which makes her acting style very pleasant and modern. Often cast as a tart with a hear of gold, she had ample opportunity to show off her gorgeous décolletage. Her many relationships with her leading men, her drinking problem and several abortions about which she bravely spoke on a talk show when faced with the question unexpectedly, always gave the public something to talk about. She made about a dozen films in her heyday, many of these TV productions (including the first ever Estonian TV serial The Outlaws, which was banned for almost twenty years during the Soviet regime). She was also a sought after cabaret performer and toured with troupes around the Socialist world. Sadly her looks faded away in the seventies and she all but disappeared from the big screen. A woman with great sense of humor and great appetite for life, she has enriched the Estonian cinema with magical moments. It is sad that because of the iron curtain international stardom eluded her. Her looks and her talent would have made her a great star.
- Beverly Banfield was born on 8 August 1941 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She was an actress, known for Startime (1959). She died on 6 October 2011 in Scarborough, Maine, USA.
- Writer
- Actor
Jan Jílek was born on 24 November 1933 in Dlouhomilov, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic]. He was a writer and actor, known for Osení (1961), Zalobnici (1961) and Oci pro plác (1984). He died on 6 October 2011 in Prague, Czech Republic.- Additional Crew
Nonie Fagatt is known for Search for Haunted Hollywood (1989). She died on 6 October 2011 in the USA.- Art Department
Michael Lawlor was born on 29 December 1948 in Canada. Michael is known for Turbulence 2: Fear of Flying (1999), Stark Raving Mad (2002) and Suddenly Naked (2001). Michael was married to Ruth Scheuing. Michael died on 6 October 2011 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.