Natasha Parry (2 December 1930 – 22 July 2015) was an English actress of Russian descent. The daughter of film director Gordon Parry, she was married to theatre director Peter Brook from 1951 until her death, and is the mother of filmmakers Irina Brook and Simon Brook.
Natasha Parry | |
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Born | Natalie Wills 2 December 1930 London, England |
Died | 22 July 2015 La Baule, France | (aged 84)
Resting place | Jouars-Pontchartrain Churchyard, Île-de-France |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1949–2014 |
Spouse | |
Children | Irina Brook Simon Brook |
Parent |
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Early life
editBorn in London,[1] Parry was the daughter of the Anglo-Greek film director Gordon Parry and his Russian wife.[2] (Some sources say Gordon Parry was her stepfather.[3])
Stage
editParry made her stage debut at age 12[4] in The Wingless Victory. At 14, she was in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and later she played in Big Ben and Bless the Bride.[5] On Broadway she appeared in The Fighting Cock (1959–1960).[6] Toward the end of her career, she was in The Tragedy of Hamlet at the Young Vic in London.[1]
Film
editParry made her screen debut in Dance Hall (1950).[7] She appeared in many of her husband's productions including a live American television version of King Lear (1953) opposite Orson Welles,[8] in Anouilh's The Fighting Cock with Rex Harrison,[9] Meetings with Remarkable Men, The Cherry Orchard, and Happy Days.[10]
Personal life
editParry stopped performing for a year after contracting tuberculosis in 1952.[3]
Marriage
editIn 1951, she married director Peter Brook at the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Dormition of the Mother of God and All Saints, Ennismore Gardens, Knightsbridge, London.[11] The couple had two children, Irina and Simon.[12][13]
Death
editParry died on 22 July 2015 (Some sources say 23 July 2015[1]) while on holiday in La Baule, Brittany, France, at the age of 84 after a stroke.[2]
Filmography
editYear | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1949 | Golden Arrow | Betty Felton | |
1950 | Dance Hall | Eve | |
1950 | Midnight Episode | Jill Harris | |
1951 | The Dark Man | Molly Lester | |
1952 | Crow Hollow | Ann Amour | |
1953 | King Lear | Cordelia | |
1954 | Knave of Hearts | Patricia | |
1957 | Windom's Way | Anna Vidal | |
1959 | The Rough and the Smooth | Margaret Goreham | |
1960 | Midnight Lace | Peggy Thompson | |
1961 | The Fourth Square | Sandra Martin | |
1963 | Girl in the Headlines | Perlita Barker | |
1968 | Romeo and Juliet | Lady Capulet | |
1969 | Oh! What a Lovely War | Sir William Robertson's Lady | |
1979 | Meetings with Remarkable Men | Vitvitskaia | |
1981 | La fille prodigue | La mère | |
1982 | Le Lit | Eva | |
2014 | Le goût des myrtilles | Jeanne |
Selected television
edit- Sir Francis Drake – The Prisoner (1961) as Countess Inez
- The Count of Monte Cristo (1964) as Mercédès
Selected theatre
edit- King Lear (1953)
- Tchin-Tchin (1984, Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, Paris)
References
edit- ^ a b c "Natasha Parry obituary". The Guardian. 26 July 2015. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
- ^ a b Chazan, David (24 July 2015). "Actress Natasha Parry dies aged 84". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
- ^ a b "Natasha Parry: Actress hailed for her grace and control who forged a solo career while also working with husband Peter Brook". The Independent. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
- ^ Shulman (5 June 1953). "The Beauties of 1953". London Evening Standard.
- ^ "English Girl Has Enviable Stage Credits". The Odessa American. 28 September 1968. p. 24. Retrieved 15 October 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Natasha Parry". Playbill Vault. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
- ^ Charles Barr (1998). Ealing Studios. University of California Press. pp. 201–. ISBN 978-0-520-21554-2.
- ^ King Lear, Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
- ^ R. Helfer; G. Loney (12 November 2012). Peter Brook: Oxford to Orghast. Routledge. pp. 103–. ISBN 978-1-136-65040-6.
- ^ Happy Dats with Natasha Parry: review, The Guardian. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
- ^ Kustow, Michael (2006). Peter Brook: a biography. London: Bloomsbury. p. 62. ISBN 0-7475-7913-X.
- ^ Profile, Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
- ^ Profile, ftvdb.bfi.org.uk. Retrieved 24 July 2015.