Hazel Court
Hazel Court (10 February 1926 – 15 April 2008) was an English actress. She is known for her roles in British and American horror films during the 1950s and early 1960s, including Terence Fisher's "The Curse of Frankenstein" (1957) and "The Man Who Could Cheat Death" (1959) for Hammer Film Productions, and three of Roger Corman's adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe stories for American International Pictures: "The Premature Burial" (1962), "The Raven" (1963) and "The Masque of the Red Death" (1964). Early life. Court was born in Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire. Her father, G.W. Court, was a cricketer  who played for Durham CCC. She attended Boldmere School and Highclare College, and later studied drama at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre and the Alexandra Theatre. Career. At the age of sixteen, Court met film director Anthony Asquith in London; the meeting gained her a brief part in "Champagne Charlie" (1944). Court won a British Critics Award for her role as a crippled girl in "Carnival" (1946) and also appeared in "Holiday Camp" (1947) and "Bond Street" (1948). Her first role in a fantasy film was in "Ghost Ship" (1952). "Devil Girl from Mars" (1954) was a low-budget film produced  by the Danziger Brothers. Court trained at the Rank Organisation's "charm school". She wanted to act in comedy films but also continued to appear in horror films and, in 1957, had what was to become a career-defining role in the first colour Hammer Horror film "The Curse of Frankenstein" (1957). In the 1957–58 television season, she co-starred in a CBS sitcom filmed in Britain, "Dick and the Duchess", as Jane Starrett, a patrician British woman married to insurance claims investigator (Patrick O'Neal). Court travelled back and forth between North America and Britain, appearing in four episodes of  Alfred Hitchcock Presents. She had parts in "A Woman of Mystery" (1958), "The Man Who Could Cheat Death" (1959), an entry in the British film series the "Edgar Wallace Mysteries" (US: "The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre") being "The Man Who Was Nobody" (1960), and in "Doctor Blood's Coffin" (1961) among others. By the early 1960s, Court was based in the United States. She featured in the Edgar Allan Poe horror films "The Premature Burial" (1962) with Ray Milland, "The Raven" (1963) with Peter Lorre and Boris Karloff and "The Masque of the Red Death" (1964), the last two with  Vincent Price. She appeared on occasion in the early 1960s TV anthology series, "The Dick Powell Show" (aka, "The Dick Powell Theatre"). Court also appeared in episodes of several TV series, including "Adventures in Paradise", "", "Bonanza", "Dr. Kildare", "Danger Man", "Twelve O'Clock High", "Burke's Law" with Gene Barry, "Sam Benedict" starring Edmond O'Brien, "Gidget" with Sally Field, "McMillan and Wife" with Rock Hudson, "Mannix", "The Wild Wild West", "Thriller" hosted by Boris Karloff, "Rawhide" ("Incident of the Dowry Dundee") with Clint Eastwood, and in "The Fear", the penultimate episode of the original 1959-1964 "The Twilight Zone" hosted by  Rod Serling. Court appeared briefly in "" (uncredited, 1981). In addition to acting, she studied sculpting in Italy and was a painter and sculptor. Personal life. Court was married to actor Dermot Walsh from 1949 until 1963. They had a daughter, Sally Walsh, who appeared with her mother in "The Curse of Frankenstein". In 1964, Court married actor and director Don Taylor, whom she met while they were shooting an episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents". They had two children. They were married until Taylor's death in 1998. Death. Court died of a heart attack at her home near Lake Tahoe , California, on 15 April 2008, aged 82. Her autobiography, "Horror Queen", was released in the UK by Tomahawk Press a week after her death.