SAD NEWS TO REPORT, another one of the Hammer family has passed away,
actress Suzanna Leigh who starred in the Hammer Films 'THE LOST CONTINENT'
(1968) and 'LUST FOR A VAMPIRE' (1971)
Born Suzanna Smyth, the daughter of an auto engine manufacturer, Suzanna
Leigh grew up in Belgrave, England, and in convent schools outside
London. She began working in movies while still a pre-teen, appearing as
an extra in 1958's Tom Thumb (1958) (film-debuting in the "Dancing Shoes" sequence), 1960's Oscar Wilde
(1960) with 'Robert Morley' and other English productions. A few years
later, she was the star of the 13-episode French TV series, Trois étoiles en Touraine
(1966), which every week featured Leigh, her racing car and a different
male lead (the "Three Stars" of the series' translated title).
Planning to attend London's Opera Ball, costumed as "Madame Du Barry",
Leigh had a sedan chair made, along with costumes for five footmen who
carried it (and her) through the streets of the city. Movie producer Hal B. Wallis saw newspaper photos of Leigh's elaborate stunt and imported the 20-year-old blonde to Hollywood for Boeing, Boeing
(1965). Following her brush with major studio stardom, she resumed her
English acting career, showing up on movie screens, most regularly in
chillers. Her 1998 autobiography is entitled "Paradise, Suzanna Style".
"Elvis Presley's
kisses held an intensity that melted my very being. I slipped my arms
around his neck and our bodies entwined. This was all madness, but we
didn't stop. A person could go to the gallows with such a kiss lingering
on their lips, knowing life had been good...." Suzanna Leigh
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