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Zena Walker

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Zena Walker
Zena Walker in The Marked One (1963)
Born
Zena Cecilia Walker

(1934-03-07)7 March 1934
Birmingham, England
Died24 August 2003(2003-08-24) (aged 69)
OccupationActress
Years active1950–2003
Spouses
(divorced)
(m. 1971, divorced)
  • John French (?–2003)
Children2

Zena Cecilia Walker (7 March 1934 – 24 August 2003) was an English actress in film, theatre and television.

Biography

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Walker was born in the Selly Oak district of Birmingham, the daughter of George Walker, a grocer, and his wife Elizabeth Louise (née Hammond). She attended St. Martin's School in Solihull, and then went on to train at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

She appeared twice in the TV series The Adventures of Robin Hood, the second time in the 1958 episode "Women's War".

In 1960, she starred in a TV adaptation of A. J. Cronin's novel The Citadel.

Her most memorable performance is considered that of a mother in A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (1969), a black comedy by Peter Nichols, adapted from his stage play, about a disabled child. For her performance in A Day in the Death of Joe Egg on Broadway, Walker won the 1968 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play.

She was a memorable Ophelia in Hamlet (opposite Paul Scofield in the title role), and appeared as Her Ladyship in the film version of Ronald Harwood's play The Dresser (1983). Between 1970 and 1972, she appeared in the television series Man at the Top as Susan Lampton. She had a small role in the first series of New Tricks, playing Mrs Dubrovsky.

Walker married three times. Her first two husbands were actors: Robert Urquhart, with whom she had two children, and later Julian Holloway. Her third husband was John French, a theatrical agent, who survived her. She died in 2003 in Brockenhurst, Hampshire, aged 69, from undisclosed causes. Her last role was as the messenger in Oedipus.[1]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1960 Danger Tomorrow Ginny
1960 Snowball Mary Donovan
1961 The Hellions Julie Hargis
1962 Emergency Joan Bell
1962 The Traitors Annette Lane
1963 Sammy Going South Aunt Jane
1963 Girl in the Headlines Mildred Birkett
1963 The Marked One Kay Mason
1964 Troubled Waters Janet Carswell
1964 Daylight Robbery
1965 Change Partners Anna Arkwright Edgar Wallace Mysteries
1967 The Prisoner Janet Portland Episode: "Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling"
1968 Journey to the Unknown Carrie Clark Episode: "Girl of My Dreams"
1969 The Last Shot You Hear Eileen Forbes
1970 The Reckoning Hilda Greening
1970 Callan Lady Lewis Episode: "Suddenly-At Home"
1970 Cromwell Mrs. Cromwell
1971 One of Those Things Mrs. Vinther
1971 The Chairman's Wife Margaret Howe Short
1976 The Likely Lads Laura Windsor
1983 The Dresser Her Ladyship
1993 Poirot Vanda Chevenix Episode: "Dead Man's Mirror"

References

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  1. ^ "Zena Walker" Obituary. For her performance in A Day in the Death of Joe Egg on Broadway, Zena won the 1968 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play. The Telegraph, 8 September 2003
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