Dorinda Stevens (16 August 1932 – 25 October 2012) was a British television and film actress of the 1950s and 1960s.

Biography

Stevens was born Doreen May Stevens in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

in the UK, the daughter of and Winifred (née Lucas). During

World War II 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 ...

aged ten she was evacuated to

Houghton Houghton may refer to: Places Australia * Houghton, South Australia, a town near Adelaide * Houghton Highway, the longest bridge in Australia, between Redcliffe and Brisbane in Queensland * Houghton Island (Queensland) Canada * Houghton Townshi ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

where she appeared in amateur dramatics to entertain the troops. She studied elocution and was teaching it by age 13. She joined the Southampton Repertory Company where she was spotted for her good looks and was booked to appear in London aged 17. Stevens was briefly married to the actor

Peter Wyngarde Peter Paul Wyngarde (born Cyril Goldbert, 23 August 1927 – 15 January 2018) was a British television, stage and film actor from the late 1940s to the mid 1990s. He was best known for portraying the character Jason King, a bestselling novelist ...

in the early 1950sPeter Wyngarde in the London, England, Electoral Registers, 1832-1965
-

Ancestry.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. In November 2018, ...

and later married Canadian cinematographer William Michael Boultbee (1933–2005) in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

in 1957 while filming for ''

African Patrol ''African Patrol'' is a 39-episode syndicated adventure television series created, directed and produced by George Breakston in conjunction with Jack J. Gross and Philip N. Krasne. It was filmed on location in Kenya for a period of 15 months b ...

''. Stevens retired from acting in 1965. Reviewing her final theatrical film, ''

Night Train to Paris ''Night Train to Paris'' is a 1964 British-American spy film starring Leslie Nielsen, Aliza Gur and Dorinda Stevens. Plot Former OSS officer Alan Holiday is visited by Catherine Carrel on New Year's Eve, Carrel says she's a close friend of Jul ...

'' (1964), in which she co-starred with

Leslie Nielsen Leslie William Nielsen (11 February 192628 November 2010) was a Canadian actor and comedian. With a career spanning 60 years, he appeared in more than 100 films and 150 television programs, portraying more than 220 characters. Nielsen was bo ...

, ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' critic Howard Thompson wrote that "the most attractive thing about the whole picture is a nifty blonde named Dorinda Stevens. The woman can act, too, which is more than can be said for most of the others." Stevens died aged 80 in 2012 in

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

as a result of complications of a stroke and was cremated at Bournemouth Crematorium.

Filmography

Selected television appearances

Notes

References

External links

*
Dorinda Stevens
at

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

Dorinda Stevens
at Aveleyman {{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, Dorinda 1932 births 2012 deaths 20th-century British businesspeople Actresses from London English film actresses English television actresses Actresses from Southampton