Diana Josephine Churchill (21 August 19138 October 1994) was an English actress. Churchill was a crisp, classy blonde with blue eyes who appeared in several British films, playing the sardonic heroine in a handful of comic chillers during the early 1930s. She was mainly a theatre actress into the war years and after, an actress for "all theatrical seasons" who was "renowned for her versatility in playing Shakespeare, Restoration comedy, farce, Chekhov and revue".

Early life and education

Churchill was born on 21 August 1913 in

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

, London, where her family resided in Crawford House. One of three sisters, she was the daughter of Ethel Mary Churchill (née Nunn), of the substantial "Nunn" coal merchant family, and Joseph Henry "Harry" Churchill, a doctor of medicine. She is of distant relation to

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

and his daughter, Diana, who was also an actress. Her father descended from a younger brother of

John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 O.S.) was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reign ...

, who "had an affair with an actress". On leaving school, she persuaded her father to let her train for the stage.

Career

Churchill made her professional stage debut in 1931. She spent years in "fluffy West End comedies and farces" before entering more serious productions. She was never short of work; a point of common affection was the variety in her performances. Churchill made her screen debut in 1933 and her big break came in 1935 with the British comedy film ''

Foreign Affaires ''Foreign Affaires'' is a 1935 British comedy film directed by and starring Tom Walls. It also features Ralph Lynn, Robertson Hare, Norma Varden and Cecil Parker. The screenplay is by Ben Travers, and the cast included cast members from the Wal ...

'', directed by and starring

Tom Walls Thomas Kirby Walls (18 February 1883 – 27 November 1949) was an English stage and film actor, producer and director, best known for presenting and co-starring in the Aldwych farces in the 1920s and for starring in and directing the film adapt ...

. She was one of the first three stars to have their names up in lights in the West End when lighting restrictions were lifted at the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Churchill performed in a production of ''

Love's Labours Lost ''Love's Labour's Lost'' is one of William Shakespeare's early comedies, believed to have been written in the mid-1590s for a performance at the Inns of Court before Queen Elizabeth I. It follows the King of Navarre and his three companions as ...

'' at

The Old Vic The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, nonprofit organization, not-for-profit producing house, producing theatre in Waterloo, London, Waterloo, London, England. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Th ...

opposite

Michael Redgrave Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave CBE (20 March 1908 – 21 March 1985) was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author. He received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''Mourning Becomes Elect ...

, with

Hugh Hunt Hugh Hunt (March 8, 1902 – September 1, 1988) was an American set decorator. He won two Academy Awards and was nominated for eleven more in the category Best Art Direction. Selected filmography Hunt won two Academy Awards for Best Art Di ...

directing. Churchill was cast in the starring role of

Kathleen Scott Edith Agnes Kathleen Young, Baroness Kennet, FRBS (née Bruce; formerly Scott; 27 March 1878 – 25 July 1947) was a British sculptor. Trained in London and Paris, Scott was a prolific sculptor, notably of portrait heads and busts and als ...

in Charles Frend's 1948 adventure film ''

Scott of the Antarctic Captain Robert Falcon Scott, , (6 June 1868 – c. 29 March 1912) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the ''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–1904 and the ill-fated ''Terra N ...

'' with

John Mills Sir John Mills (born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills; 22 February 190823 April 2005) was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. He excelled on camera as an appealing British everyman who often portra ...

Robert Falcon Scott Captain Robert Falcon Scott, , (6 June 1868 – c. 29 March 1912) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the ''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–1904 and the ill-fated ''Terra Nov ...

, for which she was widely praised.

Personal life

Marriages

Churchill married twice. In 1938, she married actor Barry K. Barnes. Barnes died on 12 January 1965, and she married the already-father of actress

Glynis Johns Glynis Margaret Payne Johns (born 5 October 1923) is a South African-born British former actress, dancer, musician and singer. Recognised as a film and Broadway icon, Johns has a career spanning eight decades, in which she appeared in more than ...

, actor

Mervyn Johns Mervyn Johns (born David Mervyn John; 18 February 18996 September 1992) was a Welsh stage, film and television character actor who became a star of British films during the Second World War. Johns was known for his "mostly mild-mannered, lugubrio ...

, on 4 December 1976 in

Hillingdon Hillingdon is an area of Uxbridge within the London Borough of Hillingdon, centred 14.2 miles (22.8 km) west of Charing Cross. It was an ancient parish in Middlesex that included the market town of Uxbridge. During the 1920s the civil pari ...

, London. He too predeceased her, dying on 6 September 1992.

Death and funeral

Churchill was diagnosed with

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

, though even this "could not damped her spirits". She died at the age of 81 in

Denville Hall Denville Hall is a historic building in Northwood, a town in the London Borough of Hillingdon, England, which is used as a retirement home for professional actors, actresses and members of other theatrical professions. The present building inc ...

Northwood, London Northwood is an affluent area in northwest London, England. It is located within the London Borough of Hillingdon on the border with Hertfordshire and from Charing Cross. Northwood was part of the ancient parish of Ruislip, Middlesex and has f ...

on 8 October 1994. Churchill was cremated at Breakspear Crematorium in

Ruislip Ruislip ( ) is an area in the London Borough of Hillingdon in West London, and in the historic county of Middlesex. Ruislip lies west-north-west of Charing Cross, London. The manor of Ruislip appears in the Domesday Book, and some of the ear ...

, London.

Filmography

* '' Service for Ladies'' (1932) * '' Sally Bishop'' (1932) * ''

'' (1935) * ''

Sensation Sensation (psychology) refers to the processing of the senses by the sensory system. Sensation or sensations may also refer to: In arts and entertainment In literature * Sensation (fiction), a fiction writing mode * Sensation novel, a Britis ...

'' (1936) * '' Pot Luck'' (1936) * ''

Dishonour Bright ''Dishonour Bright'' is a 1936 British comedy film directed by and starring Tom Walls. It also featured Eugene Pallette, Betty Stockfeld and Diana Churchill and was based on a story by Ben Travers. It was made at Denham Studios. The film's art ...

'' (1936) * ''

The Dominant Sex ''The Dominant Sex'' is a 1937 British comedy film directed by Herbert Brenon and starring Phillips Holmes, Diana Churchill and Romney Brent. The film was based on a play by Michael Egan. It was made by British International Pictures at its main ...

'' (1937) * ''

School for Husbands ''School for Husbands'' is a 1937 British comedy film directed by Andrew Marton and starring Rex Harrison, Diana Churchill and June Clyde.Wood p.97 The film was an independent production which was shot at Shepperton Studios. It was distributed b ...

'' (1937) * '' Jane Steps Out'' (1938) * ''

Housemaster {{refimprove, date=September 2018 In British education, a housemaster is a schoolmaster in charge of a boarding house, normally at a boarding school and especially at a public school. The housemaster is responsible for the supervision and care o ...

'' (1938) * ''

Yes, Madam? ''Yes, Madam?'' is a 1938 British musical comedy film directed by Norman Lee and starring Bobby Howes, Diana Churchill and Wylie Watson. Background The film was adapted from a play by K.R.G. Browne, itself based on a novel by the same author.Ex ...

'' (1939) * ''

The Spider The Spider is an American pulp-magazine hero of the 1930s and 1940s. The character was created by editor Harry Steeger and written by a variety of authors for 118 monthly issues of '' The Spider'' from 1933 to 1943. A 119th Spider novel manuscr ...

'' (1940) * '' Law and Disorder'' (1940) * '' The House of the Arrow'' (1940) * ''

'' (1948) * '' The History of Mr. Polly'' (1949) * ''

The Winter's Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some criti ...

'' (1967) * '' The New Avengers,'' 1 episode (1977)

References

External links

*
Diana Churchill
at Theatricalia {{DEFAULTSORT:Churchill, Diana 1913 births 1994 deaths 20th-century English actresses Actors from Wembley British film actresses Deaths from multiple sclerosis English film actresses English stage actresses English television actresses Neurological disease deaths in England