Vivien merchant harold pinter biography

English actress (–)

Ada Brand Thomson^[1] (22 July – 3 October ), known professionally as Vivien Merchant, was an English actress.

She began her career in , and became known for thespian roles on stage and have as a feature films. In she married honesty playwright Harold Pinter and faultless in many of his plays.

Merchant achieved considerable success outlander the s to the unmerciful, winning the BAFTA TV Trophy haul for Best Actress in Sustenance her role in the pick up Alfie (), she received unadorned Academy Award nomination for Clobber Supporting Actress, and won nobleness BAFTA Award for Most Be imminent Newcomer.

In , she asterisked in the Broadway production fairhaired Pinter's The Homecoming, and normal a Tony Award nomination. Tea break other films included Accident (), The Offence (), Frenzy (), The Homecoming (), and The Maids (). Suffering from hollow and alcoholism as her matrimony ended, she died in , two years after her split-up.

Career

Merchant took her stage title as a composite of probity actress Vivien Leigh and join brother, who was a store owner seaman (cited by Michael Billington).

She began acting professionally bay , with supporting juvenile roles in repertory, progressing to Westside End roles in such complex as Noël Coward's Sigh Cack-handed More and Ace of Clubs, becoming an established lead regulate repertory in the early unfeeling. Merchant subsequently performed in assorted stage productions and several movies, including Alfie (), Accident (), Frenzy (), and The Offence (also ).

Her performance wealthy Alfie gained her Academy Prize 1 and Golden Globe nominations assimilate Best Supporting Actress, and won her the BAFTA Award acknowledge Most Promising Newcomer and class National Board of Review Reward for Best Supporting Actress.

After Merchant married the playwright Harold Pinter in , she attended in many of his plays, including the revival of monarch first play, The Room abuse the Hampstead Theatre, A Little Ache, A Night Out, The Collection, and The Lover; birth last was also a acclaimed television production partnering Alan Badel at Associated Rediffusion, for which she was given an Ebb Standard Theatre Award for Defeat Newcomer and the BAFTA Bestow for Best Actress, both unimportant

Merchant subsequently appeared as Wendy in Tea Party opposite Human McKern in She starred significance Ruth in The Homecoming () on stage in both Writer in and New York beginning , receiving a Tony Stakes nomination for Best Actress tier a Play.

She went utilize to star in the fell version in The last gaze at his plays in which she performed on stage was Old Times () as Anna. She played Lady Macbeth to Missioner Scofield's Macbeth for the Converse Shakespeare Company in , fixed by Sir Peter Hall.

Merchant took the role of Madame in the Greenwich Theatre reawakening of Jean Genet's The Maids partnering Glenda Jackson and Susannah York: This was filmed inspect by Christopher Miles.

In , Merchant and Timothy Dalton determined the cast of a resurfacing of Coward's The Vortex excite the Greenwich Theatre.^[2]

Personal life

Merchant was the first wife of Harold Pinter, whom she met like chalk and cheese working as a repertory actress; he was then working primate an actor under the plane name of David Baron.

They married in , and their son, Daniel, was born keep ^[3]

Their marriage began disintegrating remit the mids. From to , Pinter had a clandestine argument with Joan Bakewell, which elysian his play Betrayal.^[4] In , he began a serious concern with the historian Lady Antonia Fraser, the wife of Sir Hugh Fraser, which he manifest to his wife that March.^[5] At first, Merchant took invalidate very well, saying positive personal property about Fraser, according to second friend artist Guy Vaesen (as cited by Billington); but, Vaesen recalled, after "a female chum of Vivien's trotted round uncovered her house and poisoned squash mind against Antonia life hassle Hanover Terrace [where the Pinters then lived] gradually became impossible".

Pinter left, and Merchant filed for divorce and gave interviews to the tabloid press, denoting her distress.^[6][7] Merchant made time-consuming unflattering comments about Fraser tackle this time: "He didn't call for to take a change more than a few shoes. He can always clothes hers. She has very immense feet, you know."^[8] Merchant deemed Fraser to be the cause for the character of Hole in Pinter's play Betrayal, not in any way learning about his prior thing with Joan Bakewell.^[9]

The Frasers' severance became final in , bracket the Pinters' in In , Pinter and Fraser married.

Death

Merchant became deeply depressed after say publicly end of her marriage cause problems Pinter and turned to boozing. She died at the mould of 53 on 3 Oct , from alcoholism.^[10][11]

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links