Lynne Frederick
Lynne Frederick | |
|---|---|
| Born | Lynne Maria Frederick 25 July 1954 |
| Died | 27 April 1994 (aged 39) |
| Years active | 1970 - 1979 |
| Spouse(s) | Peter Sellers (1977–1980) David Frost (1981–1982) Barry Unger (1982–1991) 1 child |
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2009) |
Lynne Maria Frederick (25 July 1954 – 27 April 1994) was an English film actress. In a career spanning ten years she made thirty films, but she is best remembered as the last wife of Peter Sellers. She was married twice after his death.
Career
Frederick was born in Hillingdon, Middlesex, England, the daughter of Andrew and Iris Frederick. Her film debut role was as Mary Custance in No Blade of Grass (1970) when she was 16 years old. However her best-known film appearance came a year later in the 1971 biographical film Nicholas and Alexandra, in which she played Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna of Russia, second eldest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II. Frederick would go on to pursue a successful career in films through the 70s. Her next role was also an historical character, Catherine Howard in Henry VIII and His Six Wives. Her next role was in the 1972 children's film The Amazing Mr. Blunden. In 1973 she won an award for "Most Promising Newcomer – Actress of 1973".
Other notable films included Saul Bass' science fiction thriller Phase IV, 1976 Schizo and the Spanish romance A Long Return (1975). Her last role came in the 1979 film The Prisoner of Zenda, in which she worked with her first husband Peter Sellers.
Personal life
She was married to Peter Sellers on February 18, 1977 but they divorced in 1980. Though Sellers and Frederick had come to a financial agreement in their divorce and the actor was in the process of excluding her from his will a week before he died of a heart attack on July 24 1980, she inherited almost his entire estate worth an estimated £4.5 million because the divorce decree had not been finalized.
During her marriage to Sellers and subsequently, she was accused of being a "gold digger" and a "professional wife" [1]; however she suffered from severe depression due to Sellers' death and attempted suicide numerous times. She also won nearly $1.5 million in a lawsuit against the makers of the Trail of the Pink Panther (1982), made after Sellers' death, claiming the film tarnished her late husband's memory.
She briefly married David Frost (January 25, 1981) but they divorced a year later. She then married Barry Unger in December 1982; they were divorced in 1991. By him she had one child, a daughter named Cassie.
In her later years she gained weight and abused drugs which led to her death in 1994 at the age of 39. It was believed that she died of alcoholism but her mother reported that she had died of a seizure in her sleep. Frederick was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium in London and her ashes were interred with those of Peter Sellers. When she died, her mother Iris inherited the Sellers legacy, including all of the income and royalties from his work. By contrast, Sellers left his two children by actress Anne Howe just £750 each; the same amount was left to his daughter, Victoria, by his former wife actress Britt Ekland.
Movies and Television Work
No Blade of Grass (1970) .... Mary Custance
"Comedy Playhouse" .... Jenny Love (1 episode, 1971) - Just Harry and Me (1971) TV episode .... Jenny Love
"Fathers and Sons" .... Dunyasha (1 episode, 1971) - Episode #1.1 (1971) TV episode .... Dunyasha
Nicholas and Alexandra (1971) .... Tatiana
"Opportunity Knocks" .... Never Again (1 episode, 1972) - The Script Writers Chart Show (1972) TV episode .... Never Again
Henry VIII and His Six Wives (1972) .... Katherine Howard
"Softly Softly" .... Judith Oram (1 episode, 1972) ... aka "Softly, Softly: Task Force" (UK: new title) - Anywhere in the Wide World (1972) TV episode .... Judith Oram
Vampire Circus (1972) .... Dora Mueller
"No Exit" .... Girl (1 episode, 1972) - A Man's Fair Share of Days (1972) TV episode .... Girl
The Amazing Mr. Blunden (1972) .... Lucy Allen
Keep an Eye on Denise (1973) (TV)
"Follyfoot" .... Tina (2 episodes, 1973) - Uncle Joe (1973) TV episode .... Tina - The Bridge Builder (1973) TV episode .... Tina
"Wessex Tales" .... Rosa Harlborough (1 episode, 1973) - A Tragedy of Two Ambitions (1973) TV episode .... Rosa Harlborough
"Bruce Forsyth and the Generation Game" .... Cinderella (1 episode, 1973) - Episode dated 25 December 1973 (1973) TV episode .... Cinderella
The Canterville Ghost (1974) (TV) .... Virginia Otis
Giubbe rosse (1974) .... Elizabeth ... aka Cormack of the Mounties (USA: informal English alternative title) ... aka Red Coat (USA: informal English title) (USA) ... aka Killers of the Savage North (USA: dubbed version) ... aka Royal Mounted Police (USA)
The Lady from the Sea (1974) (TV) .... Hilde
"Masquerade" .... Natalie Fieldman (1 episode, 1974) - Mützen ab! (1974) TV episode .... Natalie Fieldman
Phase IV (1974) .... Kendra Eldridge ... aka Phase Four (UK)
"The Pallisers" .... Isabel Boncassen (1 episode, 1974) - Episode #1.25 (1974) TV episode .... Isabel Boncassen
El vicio y la virtud (1975)
Largo retorno (1975) .... Anna ... aka A Long Return
I quattro dell'apocalisse (1975) .... Emanuelle 'Bunny' O'Neill ... aka Four Gunmen of the Apocalypse ... aka Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse ... aka Four of the Apocalypse ... aka The Four of the Apocalypse... (USA: DVD title)
"Play for Today" .... Niki (1 episode, 1976) - The Other Woman (1976) TV episode .... Niki
Schizo (1976) .... Samantha ... aka Amok ... aka Blood of the Undead
"Space: 1999" .... Shermeen Williams (1 episode, 1976) ... aka "Spazio: 1999" (Italy) - A Matter of Balance (1976) TV episode .... Shermeen Williams
Voyage of the Damned (1976) .... Anna Rosen
The Prisoner of Zenda (1979) .... Princess Flavia
External links
- Lynne Frederick at IMDb
- Lynne Frederick at Find a Grave
- "Tribute to Lynne Frederick" (Site en Anglais et Français)
- Fan page
- Fan page
- Tribute to Lynne Frederick
References
- Notes
- ^ IMDb, Lynne Frederick: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0292802/bio