Diane 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
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1958–1968
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

She started acting at a very 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 three, Clare was too old to continue playing babies so her career went on 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. In 1967, she was screentested for the role of Tara King in The Avengers, but she did not get the part.

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, age 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	Starring role
	The Naked Edge	Betty
	Whistle Down the Wind	Miss Lodge
	Lunch Hour	Sheila	minor role, Uncredited
1962	Mrs. Gibbons' Boys	–	minor role, Uncredited
	Go to Blazes	'Girl lover'
	The L-Shaped Room	Nurse
1963	The Double	Selena Osmonde
	Tamahine	–	minor role, Uncredited
	The Haunting	Carrie Fredricks
1964	Witchcraft	Amy Whitlock
1966	The Plague of the Zombies	Sylvia Forbes	Starring role
	The Wrong Box	Mercy
	The Trygon Factor	Clare O'Connor
1967	The Vulture	Trudy Lutens	Starring role
1968	The Hand of Night	Chantal	Starring role, (final film role)

External links

• Diane Clare at Find a Grave