# Diane Clare

Diane Clare (born Diane Dirsztay; 8 July 1938 – 21 June 2013) was an English film and television actress.

## Career

Clare started acting at a 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 3, Clare was too old to continue playing babies so her career came to a 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.

## 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, aged 74, from undisclosed causes.

## Filmography

Feature films :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1958 | Indiscreet | Young Woman | minor role, uncredited |
| 1958 | Ice Cold in Alex | Sister Denise Norton | |
| 1958 | The Reluctant Debutante | Clarissa Claremont | |
| 1960 | Let's Get Married | Glad | |
| 1961 | The Green Helmet | Pamela | |
| 1961 | Out of the Shadow | Mary Johnson | |
| 1961 | The Naked Edge | Betty | |
| 1961 | Whistle Down the Wind | Miss Lodge - Sunday School Teacher {{{last}}} | |
| 1961 | Lunch Hour | Sheila | minor role, uncredited |
| 1962 | Mrs. Gibbons' Boys | – | minor role, uncredited |
| 1962 | Go to Blazes | 'Girl lover' | |
| 1962 | The L-Shaped Room | Nurse | |
| 1963 |
| 1963 | Tamahine | – | minor role, uncredited |
| 1963 | The Haunting | Carrie Fredricks | |
| 1964 | Witchcraft | Amy Whitlock | |
| 1966 | The Plague of the Zombies | Sylvia Forbes | |
| 1966 | The Wrong Box | Mercy | |
| 1966 | The Trygon Factor | Clare O'Connor | |
| 1967 | The Vulture | Trudy Lutens | Starring role |
| 1968 | The Hand of Night | Chantal | final film role |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1959 | The Offshore Island | Mary Verney | Television film |
| 1959 | Charlie Drake | | Episode: "The Return of Uncle Henry" |
| 1959 | ITV Television Playhouse | Rosemary Doris | Episode: "My Side of the Story" Episode: "The White Sheep of the Family" Episode: "The Lean Years" |
| 1959 | Saturday Playhouse | Faustina Crayle | Episode: "Through a Glass Darkly" |
| 1959 | Dixon of Dock Green | Ellie Martin | Episode: "A Piece of Pink Ribbon" |
| 1960 | Boyd Q.C. | Helen Mackenzie | Episode: "The Decoy Chick" |
| 1960-1961 | Persuasion | Henrietta Musgrove | 3 episodes |
| 1961 | Theatre 70 | Margaret | Episode: "News from Jerico |
| 1961 | BBC Sunday-Night Play | Susan Palmer Patricia Clark | Episode: "A Kind of Strength" Episode: "Scene of the Accident" |
| 1961 | Drama 61-67 | Ann Horton | Episode: "Drama '61: The Best of Everything" |
| 1961 | Probation Officer | Jenny | 1 episode |
| 1962 | Armchair Theatre | Jennie | Episode: "Joker" |
| 1963 | It Happened Like This | Diana | Episode: "Will You Walk Into My Parlour" |
| 1963 | Walter and Connie | Waitress | Episode: "Walter and Connie at the Seaside" |
| 1963 | Hancock | Fiona | Episode: "The Politician" |
| 1963 | The Human Jungle | Miss Henry | Episode: "The Vacant Chair" |
| 1963 | The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre | Selena Osmonde | Episode: "The Double" |
| 1963 | Moonstrike | Yvette de Polin | Episode: "Death Sentence" |
| 1963 | First Night | Prudence | Episode: "A Local Boy" |
| 1964 | Sergeant Cork | Kate Carstairs | Episode: "The Case of Ormsby Diamonds" |
| 1964 | Z Cars | Marion Maynard | Episode: "First Class Citizen" |
| 1964 | Love Story | Angela Thomas | Episode: "A Girl Like Me" |
| 1964-1965 | The Brothers Karamazov | Katya | Episode: "Madonna" Episode: "Witness" Episode: "Judgement" |
| 1965 | Public Eye | Julie | Episode: "A Harsh World for Zealots" |
| 1965 | The Avengers | Julie Thompson | Episode: "Death at Bargain Prices" |
| 1965 | No Hiding Place | Shirley | Episode: "Danger: Wrong Turning" |
| 1966 | Redcap | Sue | Episode: "Strictly by the Book" |
| 1965-1966 | Court Martial | Sergeant Wendy | Episode: "Retreat from Life" Episode: "Let No Man Speak" Episode: "The Logistics of Survival" Episode: "Silence Is the Enemy" Episode: "Taps for the Sergeant" Episode: "Judge Them Gently" Episode: "Achilles' Heel" |
| 1966 | Double Image | Anne | Episode: "Impossible Odds" |
| 1957-1967 | ITV Play of the Week | Diana Messerschmann Phyllis Glenning Miss Lawson Celia | Episode: "Ring Round the Moon" Episode: "Kind Lady" Episode: "Girl with a Difference" Episode: "ITV Summer Playhouse #11: The Man Who Understood Women" |
| 1967 | Summer Playhouse | Celia | Episode: "The Man Who Understood Women" |