Claire Gordon (16 January 1941 – 13 April 2015) was an English film actress and comedian known for leading and cameo roles in many British films from the late 1950s to the mid-1980s, and for working with most of the television comedy stars of that time. She was best known for her leading roles in the cult films ''

Konga Konga () is a locality situated in Tingsryd Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of ...

'' and '' Beat Girl'', Gordon was the subject of singer Scott Walker's song "Archangel".

Career

Gordon was born in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, in England. Her father was a doctor and her mother a make-up artist who worked for

Max Factor Max Factor is a line of cosmetics from Coty, Inc. It was founded in 1909 as Max Factor & Company by Maksymilian Faktorowicz. Max Factor specialized in movie make-up. Until its 1973 sale for US$500 million (approximately $ billion in 2017 dolla ...

. After being photographed by chance at the Queens Ice Rink,

Bayswater Bayswater is an area within the City of Westminster in West London. It is a built-up district with a population density of 17,500 per square kilometre, and is located between Kensington Gardens to the south, Paddington to the north-east, and ...

, for the cover of the magazine '' Lilliput'', she was signed to a five-year contract with film agent Bill Watts and played a harem girl in the

Bernard Bresslaw Bernard Bresslaw (25 February 193411 June 1993) was a British actor. He is best known as a member of the ''Carry On'' film franchise. Bresslaw also worked on television and stage, did recordings and wrote a series of poetry. Biography Bernard B ...

film ''

I Only Arsked! ''I Only Arsked!'' is a 1958 British comedy film directed by Montgomery Tully and starring Bernard Bresslaw, Michael Medwin and Alfie Bass. It was based on the television series '' The Army Game'' and was made by Hammer Films. Plot Slapstick e ...

'' (1958), before making her first stage appearance, still aged only seventeen, in ''Meet the Cousin'', which starred

Cicely Courtneidge Dame Esmerelda Cicely Courtneidge, (1 April 1893 – 26 April 1980) was an Australian-born British actress, comedian and singer. The daughter of the producer and playwright Robert Courtneidge, she was appearing in his productions in the West En ...

and

Jack Hulbert John Norman Hulbert (24 April 189225 March 1978) was a British actor, director, screenwriter and singer, specializing primarily in comedy productions, and often working alongside his wife (Dame) Cicely Courtneidge. Biography Born in Ely, Ca ...

.Terence Blacker, ''You Cannot Live as I Have Lived and Not End Up Like This'' (2007) The show opened at the Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, and it was there that she met her husband-to-be

William Donaldson Charles William Donaldson (4 January 1935 – 22 June 2005) was a British satirist, writer, playboy and, under the pseudonym of Henry Root, author of '' The Henry Root Letters''. Life and career Son of Charles Glen Donaldson (1904–1956) an ...

, later better known as Henry Root, who was just starting out as a theatrical producer. Following a spell in repertory at the

New Theatre Royal The New Theatre Royal is a Victorian Grade II* listed theatre in the heart of Portsmouth, England, with a capacity of 667. The theatre building was constructed in 1854 as Landport Hall. It was converted to a theatre two years later. It was ...

, Portsmouth, playing a Russian spy in

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

's ''Verdict'' and a gum-chewing blonde in ''Brighton Rock'' and some pre-London tours, she made her

West End theatre West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes, "West End" in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1 ...

debut on a motorbike in '' The Darling Buds of May'' at the

Saville Theatre ODEON Covent Garden is a four-screen cinema in the heart of London's West End. Formerly known as The Saville Theatre, a former West End theatre at 135 Shaftesbury Avenue in the London Borough of Camden. The theatre opened in 1931, and became a ...

; and then played the role of Peggy, a dumb blonde film starlet, in a show-stopping scene with

Michael Crawford Michael Patrick Smith, (born 19 January 1942), known professionally as Michael Crawford, is an English tenor, actor and comedian. Crawford is best known for playing both the hapless Frank Spencer in the sitcom ''Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'' an ...

Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He has received mo ...

's first hit ''Come Blow Your Horn'' at London's

Prince of Wales Theatre The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre in Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in London. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner. The theatre ...

, Later, at Donaldson's request, she appeared as an entirely French-speaking Lady Fifi de Winter in an improvised production of ''The Three Musketeers'' with

Bruce Lacey Bruce Lacey (31 March 1927 – 18 February 2016) was a British artist, performer and eccentric. After completing his national service in the Navy he became established on the avantgarde scene with his performance art and mechanical constructs. He ...

and

The Alberts The Alberts were a British music/comedy troupe of the mid-1950s to mid-1960s, featuring brothers Anthony "Tony" and Douglas "Dougie" Gray, along with Bruce Lacey. They were notable for their surreal performances. Career Educated at the Oratory ...

, at the

Arts Theatre The Arts Theatre is a theatre in Great Newport Street, in Westminster, Central London. History It opened on 20 April 1927 as a members-only club for the performance of unlicensed plays, thus avoiding theatre censorship by the Lord Chamberl ...

. Donaldson's talent for presenting controversial and often money-losing shows didn't desert him; the show ran for two weeks; and Gordon made theatrical history as the first actress to appear naked on stage. ("Watch out for the bath scene; it's a breakthrough", wrote the ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...

''.) Most recently, she played the Fairy Godmother in ''

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

'' at the Princess Theatre, Hunstanton, and worked with Sarah Louise Young in Clive Evans's two woman show ''The Nunnery''.

Personal life

Gordon married Donaldson on 1 September 1967. A year later he inherited a fortune on the death of his grandmother. Donaldson's biographer later noted that the marriage was "not an easy one". After it broke down, Gordon joined the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...

and went on to graduate from

Middlesex University Middlesex University London (legally Middlesex University and abbreviated MDX) is a public research university in Hendon, northwest London, England. The name of the university is taken from its location within the historic county boundaries ...

with a BA degree in English and American History and Literature. Gordon was with Dr Stephen Ward the night that he met Christine Keeler, and with William Donaldson when the police raided and planted hash in their Chelsea flat; for which the policemen were later jailed. By the end of her life, she had been working on her memoirs and a documentary about her experiences while living in Egypt before and after the 2011 revolution.

Death

Claire Gordon died of a brain tumour on 13 April 2015 in a nursing home in west London. After her death, two former "property consultants" were sent for trial on charges of fraud and conspiracy to defraud by altering her will.

Filmography

* 1958: ''

'' * 1960: ''

And Women Shall Weep ''And Women Shall Weep'' is a 1960 British drama film directed by John Lemont and starring Ruth Dunning, Max Butterfield and Richard O'Sullivan. Its plot is about a mother who tries to prevent her younger son being led astray by his delinquent ...

'' * 1960: ''

Never Let Go ''Never Let Go'' is a 1960 British thriller film starring Richard Todd, Peter Sellers and Elizabeth Sellars. It concerns a man's attempt to recover his stolen Ford Anglia car. Sellers plays a London villain, in one of his rare serious roles. P ...

'' * 1960: '' Beat Girl'' * 1960: ''

The Bulldog Breed ''The Bulldog Breed'' is a 1960 British comedy film starring Norman Wisdom and directed by Robert Asher. Plot Norman Puckle (Norman Wisdom), a well-meaning but clumsy grocer's assistant, cannot seem to do anything right. After being rejected b ...

'' * 1960: ''

Make Mine Mink ''Make Mine Mink'' is a 1960 British comedy farce film directed by Robert Asher (director), Robert Asher and featuring Terry-Thomas, Athene Seyler, Hattie Jacques and Billie Whitelaw. The screenplay concerns a group of eccentric misfits who go o ...

'' * 1961: '' Ticket to Paradise'' * 1961: ''

'' * 1964: ''I due evasi di Sing Sing'' * 1965: '' Licensed to Kill'' * 1968: '' Great Catherine'' * 1970: ''

Cool It Carol! ''Cool it Carol!'' is a 1970 British sex comedy-drama film directed and produced by Pete Walker, starring Robin Askwith and Janet Lynn. It was released in the US as ''Dirtiest Girl I Ever Met''. Plot The cautionary tale of Joe and Carol, a ...

'' * 1971: '' Suburban Wives'' * 1972: ''

Commuter Husbands ''Commuter Husbands'' is a 1972 comedy film by noted British sexploitation director Derek Ford, and a semi sequel to his 1971 film '' Suburban Wives''. The film was directed and written by Derek Ford, and stars Gabrielle Drake, Robin Bailey, an ...

'' * 1973: ''Sex Farm''

Notes

External links

*
Photograph on the cover of ''Picturegoer'' magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Claire 1941 births 2015 deaths Actresses from Cambridgeshire Alumni of Middlesex University Neurological disease deaths in England Deaths from brain cancer in England English film actresses English stage actresses