June Ada Rose Duprez (14 May 1918 – 30 October 1984) was an English film actress.

Early life

The daughter of American comedian

Fred Duprez Fred Duprez (September 6, 1884 – October 27, 1938) was an American actor, comedian and singer who performed in vaudeville, phonograph record and film. He made phonograph recordings in the US and the UK in the 1900s, 1910s, and 1920s. Most of t ...

and Australian Florence Isabelle Matthews, she was born in

Teddington Teddington is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. In 2021, Teddington was named as the best place to live in London by ''The Sunday Times''. Historically in Middlesex, Teddington is situated on a long m ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

, England, during an air raid in the final months of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Career

She began acting in her adolescence with the Coventry Repertory Company after studying at the Froebel Institute, and appeared in '' The Crimson Circle'' in 1936. Her next film was ''

The Cardinal ''The Cardinal'' is a 1963 American drama film produced independently, directed by Otto Preminger and distributed by Columbia Pictures. The screenplay was written by Robert Dozier, based on the novel of the same name (1950) by Henry Morton Robi ...

'' (1936), and she had a small role in ''

The Spy in Black ''The Spy in Black'' (US: ''U-Boat 29'') is a 1939 British film, and the first collaboration between the British filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. They were brought together by Alexander Korda to make the World War I spy thrill ...

'' (1939), but it was the adaptation of

A.E.W. Mason Alfred Edward Woodley Mason (7 May 1865 – 22 November 1948) was an English author and politician. He is best remembered for his 1902 novel of courage and cowardice in wartime, ''The Four Feathers'' and is also known as the creator of Inspecto ...

's ''

The Four Feathers ''The Four Feathers'' is a 1902 adventure novel by British writer A. E. W. Mason that has inspired many films of the same title. In December 1901, ''Cornhill Magazine'' announced the title as one of two new serial stories to be published in t ...

'' (1939), that made her a film star. Her peak of success came with the fantasy film '' The Thief of Bagdad'' (1940), which she made for

Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; hu, Korda Sándor; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)London Films London Films Productions is a British film and television production company founded in 1932 by Alexander Korda and from 1936 based at Denham Film Studios in Buckinghamshire, near London. The company's productions included ''The Private Life o ...

(on locations in the United Kingdom, northern Africa, and the Grand Canyon in Arizona). Tiger Fangs (1943) film still 02

Korda took charge of her career after this point and brought her to Hollywood, where he set her asking price at $50,000 per film. However, as Duprez had not yet achieved the level of popularity in the United States that she had in the United Kingdom, this tactic placed her out of contention for most roles. When she was released from Korda's contract, she appeared in low-budget fare, such as ''

They Raid by Night ''They Raid by Night'' is a 1942 American low-budget World War II film directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet and starring Lyle Talbot and June Duprez. It was from Producers Releasing Corporation. Plot summary The story follows the insertion of Br ...

'' (1942), ''

Little Tokyo, U.S.A. ''Little Tokyo, U.S.A.'' is a 1942 American film. Produced in the period just after the United States entered World War II, it was meant to alert Americans to the dangers of foreign agents. It is now controversial for its largely negative portraya ...

'' (1942), and ''

Tiger Fangs ''Tiger Fangs'' is a 1943 American adventure/thriller film directed by Sam Newfield and starring Frank Buck and June Duprez. It was distributed Producers Releasing Corporation. The film's sets were designed by the art director Paul Palmentola. P ...

'' (1943).

Clifford Odets Clifford Odets (July 18, 1906 – August 14, 1963) was an American playwright, screenwriter, and actor. In the mid-1930s, he was widely seen as the potential successor to Nobel Prize-winning playwright Eugene O'Neill, as O'Neill began to withdra ...

' grim '' None But the Lonely Heart'' (1944), in which she co-starred with

Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one o ...

and

Ethel Barrymore Ethel Barrymore (born Ethel Mae Blythe; August 15, 1879 – June 18, 1959) was an American actress and a member of the Barrymore family of actors. Barrymore was a stage, screen and radio actress whose career spanned six decades, and was regarde ...

, started a brief return to films of higher production values. Duprez joined an ensemble cast in

René Clair René Clair (11 November 1898 – 15 March 1981), born René-Lucien Chomette, was a French filmmaker and writer. He first established his reputation in the 1920s as a director of silent films in which comedy was often mingled with fantasy. He wen ...

's film version of

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 ''

And Then There Were None ''And Then There Were None'' is a mystery novel by the English writer Agatha Christie, described by her as the most difficult of her books to write. It was first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 6 November 1939, as ...

'' (1945). The same year, she appeared opposite John Loder in ''

The Brighton Strangler ''The Brighton Strangler'' is a 1945 American crime film directed by Max Nosseck and starring John Loder, June Duprez and Michael St. Angel. During the blitz in wartime London, an actor suffers concussion and believes himself to be the characte ...

.'' In the ''

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

'' (1947), she starred with

Alan Ladd Alan Walbridge Ladd (September 3, 1913 – January 29, 1964) was an American actor and film producer. Ladd found success in film in the 1940s and early 1950s, particularly in films noir and Westerns. He was often paired with Veronica Lake ...

Gail Russell Gail Russell (born Betty Gale Russell; September 21, 1924 – August 26, 1961) was an American film and television actress. Early years Gail Russell was born to George and Gladys (Barnet) Russell in Chicago and then moved to the Los Angeles ...

, and

William Bendix William Bendix (January 14, 1906 – December 14, 1964) was an American film, radio, and television actor, who typically played rough, blue-collar characters. He is best remembered for his role in ''Wake Island'', which earned him an Academy ...

. After a few more motion pictures, Duprez moved to New York City for a brief career on and off Broadway. She appeared in "The Last Tycoon," an episode of the TV show ''

Robert Montgomery Presents ''Robert Montgomery Presents'' is an American dramatic television series which was produced by NBC from January 30, 1950, until June 24, 1957. The live show had several sponsors during its eight-year run, and the title was altered to feature the ...

'' in 1951, and her final credited film performance was in ''One Plus One'' (1961), also titled ''Exploring the Kinsey Reports.''

Music

Duprez composed "I Woke Up and Started Dreaming", a song that Bing Crosby's music company bought and published.

Radio

On 10 September 1944, Duprez starred in "Forever Walking Free," an episode of ''

Silver Theater Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

'' on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

radio. She also starred in the 20 June 1946 episode of ''Suspense'', titled "Your Devoted Wife," also on CBS radio.

Personal life and death

During World War II, after her father's death, Duprez and her mother, living then in the U.S., were unable to access money they had in England. They sold or pawned jewels to stay afloat financially, and eventually Duprez sent her mother to Australia, where she had access to the British funds. Duprez married her first husband Frederick Beauchamp, a wealthy

Harley Street Harley Street is a street in Marylebone, Central London, which has, since the 19th century housed a large number of private specialists in medicine and surgery. It was named after Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer.< ...

doctor in 1935, and they divorced in 1942 when his jealousy of her film stardom had eroded their marriage. She married for a second time in October 1948 to George Moffett, Jr., a wealthy sportsman. They had two daughters, and divorced in 1965. Duprez lived in Rome for several years, then returned to London to live the remainder of her life in a flat in the affluent Knightsbridge area, having a close relationship with an English nobleman. She died there after a long period of illness on 30 October 1984 at age 66 and was buried at

Streatham Park Cemetery South London Crematorium and Streatham Park Cemetery is a cemetery and crematorium on Rowan Road in Streatham Vale. It has always been privately owned and managed and is now part of the Dignity plc group . The South London Crematorium is situ ...

Partial filmography

* ''

The Amateur Gentleman ''The Amateur Gentleman'' is a novel by Jeffery Farnol, published in 1913. It was made into a silent film in 1920 and again in 1926 and a talking film in 1936 with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. starring as the protagonist, Barnabas Barty. Plot summ ...

'' (1936, uncredited) * ''

'' (1936) - Francesca Monterosa * '' The Crimson Circle'' (1936) - Sylvia Hammond * ''

'' (1939) - Ethne Burroughs * ''

'' (1939) - Anne Burnett * ''

The Lion Has Wings ''The Lion Has Wings'' is a 1939 British, black-and-white, documentary-style, propaganda film, propaganda war film that was directed by Adrian Brunel, Brian Desmond Hurst, Alexander Korda and Michael Powell. The film was produced by London Film ...

'' (1939) - June * '' The Thief of Bagdad'' (1940) - Princess * ''

'' (1942) - Inga Beckering * ''

'' (1942) - Teru * '' Forever and a Day'' (1943) - Julia Trimble-Pomfret * ''

Don Winslow of the Coast Guard ''Don Winslow of the Coast Guard'' is a 1943 Universal Pictures Serial film based on the comic strip '' Don Winslow of the Navy'' by Frank V. Martinbek. Plot After service at Pearl Harbor, Naval Commander Don Winslow, and his friend and junior o ...

'' (1943) - Tasmia * ''

'' (1943) - Linda MacCardle * '' None but the Lonely Heart'' (1944) - Ada Brantline * ''

'' (1945) - April Manby Carson * ''

'' (1945) - Vera Claythorne * ''

That Brennan Girl ''That Brennan Girl'', also known as ''Tough Girl'', is a 1946 Melodrama#Film, melodrama film produced and directed by Alfred Santell and starring James Dunn (actor), James Dunn, Mona Freeman, William Marshall (bandleader), William Marshall, and J ...

'' (1946) - Natalie Brennan * ''

'' (1947) - Marina Tanev * '' One Plus One'' (1961) - Margaret Gaylord - segment: "Average Man"

References

External links

* *
June Duprez photos
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Duprez, June 1918 births 1984 deaths English film actresses English stage actresses English radio actresses Actresses from London People from Teddington English people of American descent 20th-century English actresses Burials at Streatham Park Cemetery