Diane Clare

Not to be confused with Esther Coleman, also known as Diana Clare.

Diane Clare
Born	Diane Olga Claire Georgine Dirsztay (1938-07-08)8 July 1938 London, England
Died	21 June 2013(2013-06-21) (aged 74) UK
Alma mater	Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1958–1968
Known for	The Haunting Persuasion The Reluctant Debutante
Spouse	Barry England (1967–2009; his death)
Children	Kate (born 1969) Christopher (born 1971)

Diane Clare (born Diane Dirsztay; 8 July 1938 – 21 June 2013) was an English film and television actress.

Career

Clare started acting at a young age playing uncredited baby parts in films such as The Ghosts of Berkeley Square and The Silver Fleet, and for a time was one of the most highly paid babies in British films.

At the age of 3, Clare was too old to continue playing babies so her career came to a standstill. "I'd been longing to play in pictures from the time I was dropped all those years ago because I'd become too old to play baby parts", she told an interviewer in the late 1950s, after her comeback with roles in The Reluctant Debutante and Ice Cold in Alex. She received excellent reviews from playing in the latter film, and one journalist wrote: "I forecast that Miss Diane Clare is going to be one of the big names among actresses in the future."

She appeared in many horror films during the 1960s such as Hammer Horror's Plague of the Zombies during her career. In 1965, she had a small part as Julie (the girl at the food counter) in the "Death at Bargain Prices" episode of The Avengers.

Personal life

Diane Dirsztay was born on 8 July 1938 in Wandsworth, London. She lied about her age so she could study at R.A.D.A. After her film comeback in 1958, Clare attributed it to a 'lucky' black beret which she always wore to auditions. "It brings me luck," she told one journalist after appearing in Ice Cold in Alex, "I wore it when I went to the audition for Anna Massey's part [in The Reluctant Debutante], and again when I went to Elstree Studios for my film test." Clare retired from acting when she married the novelist and playwright Barry England (born 1932 – died 2009) in 1967; the couple had two children, Kate (born 1969) and Christopher (born 1971). Her hobbies included dancing, riding, swimming and going to the cinema.

Death

Diane Clare died on 21 June 2013, aged 74, from undisclosed causes.

Filmography

Feature films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1958	Indiscreet	Young Woman	minor role, uncredited
	Ice Cold in Alex	Sister Denise Norton
	The Reluctant Debutante	Clarissa Claremont
1960	Let's Get Married	Glad
1961	The Green Helmet	Pamela
	Out of the Shadow	Mary Johnson
	The Naked Edge	Betty
	Whistle Down the Wind	Miss Lodge - Sunday School Teacher {{{last}}}
	Lunch Hour	Sheila	minor role, uncredited
1962	Mrs. Gibbons' Boys	–	minor role, uncredited
	Go to Blazes	'Girl lover'
	The L-Shaped Room	Nurse
1963
	Tamahine	–	minor role, uncredited
	The Haunting	Carrie Fredricks
1964	Witchcraft	Amy Whitlock
1966	The Plague of the Zombies	Sylvia Forbes
	The Wrong Box	Mercy
	The Trygon Factor	Clare O'Connor
1967	The Vulture	Trudy Lutens	Starring role
1968	The Hand of Night	Chantal	final film role

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1959	The Offshore Island	Mary Verney	Television film
	Charlie Drake		Episode: "The Return of Uncle Henry"
	ITV Television Playhouse	Rosemary Doris	Episode: "My Side of the Story" Episode: "The White Sheep of the Family" Episode: "The Lean Years"
	Saturday Playhouse	Faustina Crayle	Episode: "Through a Glass Darkly"
	Dixon of Dock Green	Ellie Martin	Episode: "A Piece of Pink Ribbon"
1960	Boyd Q.C.	Helen Mackenzie	Episode: "The Decoy Chick"
1960-1961	Persuasion	Henrietta Musgrove	3 episodes
1961	Theatre 70	Margaret	Episode: "News from Jerico
	BBC Sunday-Night Play	Susan Palmer Patricia Clark	Episode: "A Kind of Strength" Episode: "Scene of the Accident"
	Drama 61-67	Ann Horton	Episode: "Drama '61: The Best of Everything"
	Probation Officer	Jenny	1 episode
1962	Armchair Theatre	Jennie	Episode: "Joker"
1963	It Happened Like This	Diana	Episode: "Will You Walk Into My Parlour"
	Walter and Connie	Waitress	Episode: "Walter and Connie at the Seaside"
	Hancock	Fiona	Episode: "The Politician"
	The Human Jungle	Miss Henry	Episode: "The Vacant Chair"
	The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre	Selena Osmonde	Episode: "The Double"
	Moonstrike	Yvette de Polin	Episode: "Death Sentence"
	First Night	Prudence	Episode: "A Local Boy"
1964	Sergeant Cork	Kate Carstairs	Episode: "The Case of Ormsby Diamonds"
	Z Cars	Marion Maynard	Episode: "First Class Citizen"
	Love Story	Angela Thomas	Episode: "A Girl Like Me"
1964-1965	The Brothers Karamazov	Katya	Episode: "Madonna" Episode: "Witness" Episode: "Judgement"
1965	Public Eye	Julie	Episode: "A Harsh World for Zealots"
	The Avengers	Julie Thompson	Episode: "Death at Bargain Prices"
	No Hiding Place	Shirley	Episode: "Danger: Wrong Turning"
1966	Redcap	Sue	Episode: "Strictly by the Book"
1965-1966	Court Martial	Sergeant Wendy	Episode: "Retreat from Life" Episode: "Let No Man Speak" Episode: "The Logistics of Survival" Episode: "Silence Is the Enemy" Episode: "Taps for the Sergeant" Episode: "Judge Them Gently" Episode: "Achilles' Heel"
1966	Double Image	Anne	Episode: "Impossible Odds"
1957-1967	ITV Play of the Week	Diana Messerschmann Phyllis Glenning Miss Lawson Celia	Episode: "Ring Round the Moon" Episode: "Kind Lady" Episode: "Girl with a Difference" Episode: "ITV Summer Playhouse #11: The Man Who Understood Women"
1967	Summer Playhouse	Celia	Episode: "The Man Who Understood Women"

External links

• Diane Clare at Rotten Tomatoes
• Diane Clare at IMDb
• Diane Clare at AllMovie