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Hilary Dwyer

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Hilary Dwyer
Dwyer in 2009
Born(1945-05-06)6 May 1945
Liverpool, United Kingdom
DiedApril 2020 (aged 74)[1]
Other namesHilary Heath
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1974; div. 1989)​
Children2

Hilary Dwyer (6 May 1945 – April 2020), also known as Hilary Heath, was an English actress, businessperson, and film producer. She is best known for her acting roles in films such as Witchfinder General (1968) and Wuthering Heights (1970). She also performed on the London stage. In 1974 she married the talent agent Duncan Heath, with whom she had two children, and helped to found Duncan Heath Associates, which later became the Independent Talent Group. They divorced in 1989. Later in her career, under her married name, "Hilary Heath", she produced the successful feature film An Awfully Big Adventure (1995), as well as TV remakes of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca (1997) and Tennessee Williams's The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (2003). Her final producing role was the 2014 miniseries Jamaica Inn.

Early life

Dwyer was the daughter of an orthopaedic surgeon. As a youth, she practised ballet and became a talented pianist.[2] She trained in repertory theatres and appeared on stage at the Bristol Old Vic.

Acting career

Vincent Price

Dwyer is best known for appearing in several horror films distributed by American International Pictures in the late 1960s and early 1970s, most notably her first feature film, Michael Reeves' Witchfinder General (1968), starring Vincent Price, in which she played Sara Lowes, and gave a "sensitive performance...intelligent and articulate."[3] Of the role, Dwyer later recalled "I don't think that I realised I was the star". [4] Dwyer enjoyed working with Reeves, describing him as "terrific, we became really good friends".[5] In a 2010 interview at the Southend Film Festival, Dwyer described her interview for Witchfinder General as her "first casting call", in which she was "absolutely terrified" because she "knew no-one". [6]

Dwyer also appeared in The Oblong Box (1969) and Cry of the Banshee (1970), both again featuring Price. Of working with Price, she said "I adored Vincent...I played his mistress, his daughter and his wife. And he said, 'if you ever play my mother, I'll marry you'." [6]

Dwyer also performed in Robert Fuest's Wuthering Heights (1970). Banshee was her final feature film appearance. Her many television roles included The Prisoner, The Avengers, Hadleigh and Van der Valk. Her last TV appearance was in a 1976 episode of Space: 1999.

Dwyer also had a successful career on the stage. In 1970 she appeared in The Importance of Being Earnest and in Arms and the Man at the Theatre Royal, Bath, and later on tour with the Bristol Old Vic. [7] In 1978 Dwyer performed in the play Whose Life Is It Anyway? alongside Tom Conti at the Mermaid Theatre in London.[8]

Producing career

She began a career as a producer in the mid-1980s under her married name Hilary Heath. In 1988 she won a CableAce Award for the TV movie The Worst Witch (1986). Heath is credited as either Producer or Executive Producer for several films, including feature films Criminal Law (1988) and An Awfully Big Adventure (1995), starring Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman. She also produced TV-remakes of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca (1997) and Tennessee Williams's The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (2003). In 2014 she executive produced the miniseries Jamaica Inn.

Personal life

In 1973, Dwyer set up the talent agency Duncan Heath Associates with her then husband-to-be, Duncan Heath, who is now the co-chairman of the Independent Talent Group Ltd. In a 2002 interview in the Financial Times, Heath said of Dwyer "She introduced me to a lot of people – if it wasn't for her it wouldn't have happened."[9]

Dwyer married Heath in 1974 and they divorced in 1989. They had two children, Laura and Daniel.[10]

Dwyer died around 3 April 2020 from complications related to COVID-19, according to her godson.[11]

Filmography

Feature films

Year Film Role Director
1968 Witchfinder General Sara Lowes Michael Reeves
1969 The Body Stealers Julie Slade Gerry Levy
The Oblong Box Lady Elizabeth Markham Gordon Hessler
The File of the Golden Goose Ann Marlowe Sam Wanamaker
Two Gentlemen Sharing Ethne Burrows Ted Kotcheff
1970 Wuthering Heights Isabella Linton Robert Fuest
Cry of the Banshee Maureen Whitman Gordon Hessler

Television (incomplete)

Year TV Show Role Director
1965 About Religion Gladys
1967 ITV Play of the Week Anthea Christopher Hodson
The Avengers Hilary Robert Asher
The Prisoner Number Seventy-Three Pat Jackson
1968 Z Cars Rita Pearson John Glenister
1969 Callan Jenny Lauther Robert Tronson
Special Branch Sarah Landring Jonathan Alwyn
1972 Van der Valk Nana Schneers
1973 Hadleigh Jennifer Caldwell
1976 Space 1999 Laura Adams Ray Austin

Notes

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ The Avengers-Press Releases
  3. ^ Hutchings, Peter, Hammer and Beyond: The British Horror Film, p.149 Retrieved 28 March 2020
  4. ^ Halligan, Benjamin, Michael Reeves, p.134 Retrieved 28 march 2020
  5. ^ Witchfinder General recalled at www.bbc.co.uk Retrieved 30 March 2020
  6. ^ a b Hilary Dwyer interviewed about 'Witchfinder General' at the Southend Film Festival, May 2010 Retrieved 28 March 2020
  7. ^ Hilary Dwyer at theatricalia.com Retrieved 30 March 2020
  8. ^ Whose Life is it Anyway? at theatricalia.com Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  9. ^ January 2002 article on Duncan Heath at www.ft.com Retrieved 29 August 2010
  10. ^ Article on Duncan and Laura Heath in 'Relative Values' in the Sunday Times, 2009 Retrieved 29 August 2010
  11. ^ Haring, Bruce (10 April 2020). "Hilary Heath Dies: Horror Film Actress, Producer And Agency Founder Had COVID-19 Complications, Was 74". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
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