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Hazel Ascot (born 10 May 1928) was a tap-dancing British child-star in the 1930s who was billed as the "British
Shirley Temple Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple;While Temple occasionally used "Jane" as a middle name, her birth certificate reads "Shirley Temple". Her birth certificate was altered to prolong her babyhood shortly after she signed with Fox in ...
". She starred in two films before abandoning her theatrical career.


Career

Ascot was born in Manchester, the daughter of Duggie Ascot, who created a dance troupe with his family called "The Petite Ascots". Film director John Baxter discovered Hazel at her father's dance studio in London. She was made the star of his upcoming film ''
Talking Feet ''Talking Feet'' is a 1937 British musical film directed by John Baxter and starring Hazel Ascot, Enid Stamp-Taylor and Jack Barty. It was made at Shepperton Studios. The film's sets were designed by John Bryan. ''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' ...
'' (1937), a "
quota quickie The Cinematograph Films Act of 1927 ('' 17 & 18 Geo. V'') was an act of the United Kingdom Parliament designed to stimulate the declining British film industry. It received Royal Assent on 20 December 1927 and came into force on 1 April 1928. D ...
" about a girl's attempt to raise money for a local hospital by putting on a show. The film was a success and so Hazel was given another starring role in ''
Stepping Toes ''Stepping Toes'' is a 1938 British musical film directed by John Baxter and starring Hazel Ascot, Enid Stamp-Taylor and Jack Barty. The screenplay concerns a young girl who achieves her ambition to become a tap dancer. The film was made by Tw ...
'' (1938), about a child dancer who wins a contest and goes on to star in a London show. After these films, it was intended that Hazel would appear in a third feature, a more expensive venture, to be shot in colour, provisionally titled "Hazel of the Sawdust" but the outbreak of
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 ...
made this untenable.Threadgall, D, ''Shepperton studios: an independent view'', British Film Institute, 1994, pp.16-18. Ascot was one of two child stars at the time who were billed as the "British Shirley Temple", the other being
Binkie Stuart Binkie Stuart (March 11, 1932 – August 4, 2001) was a Scottish film actress. During the 1930s she enjoyed brief fame as a child actress and was considered Britain's answer to Shirley Temple. Early life She was born as Elizabeth Alison Fra ...
.


Later life

In 1943, Ascot appeared in "Magic Carpet", a West End revue at the
Princes Theatre The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. Opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, it was the last theatre to be built in Shaftesbury Avenue. History The theatre was d ...
, alongside
Kay Kendall Kay Kendall (21 May 1927 – 6 September 1959) was an English actress and comedienne. She began her film career in the musical film '' London Town'' (1946), a financial failure. Kendall worked regularly until her appearance in the comedy film ...
and her sister Kim. After the war she abandoned performing to marry her childhood sweetheart Peter Banting, an architect. Hazel worked as a school-teacher and had three children. She was interviewed about her memories of the film studios on several occasions, most notably for a 1982 episode of the Anglia Television series ''Movie Memories'' and in 1994 at the
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, ...
.


Appreciation society

In 1970, the Hazel Ascot Appreciation Society was created by Tony Willis, who tracked Ascot down via her brother. The society supported events for budding child performers. Though originally a genuine appreciation society, by the late 1990s it had become a front for a network of
paedophiles Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty a ...
. In 2002, a series of arrests were made of members of the society. According to the police, paedophiles "used the fan club as a cover to communicate with each other via the internet." The police emphasised that Ascot was not aware of or associated in any way with the activities of the gang, but "though she has nothing to do with these deviants, she has become an icon for paedophiles."


References


External links

*
2017 video interview with Hazel Ascot
by the
British Entertainment History Project The British Entertainment History Project (BEHP) records and preserves interviews with the men and women who have worked in British film, television, radio and theatre industries over the last 100 years "to ensure that their lives and experiences ...

''Hazel Ascot: The UK's Answer to Shirley Temple?''
article by Grahame L. Newnham {{DEFAULTSORT:Ascot, Hazel 1928 births Living people English child actresses Actresses from Manchester