Maureen Ward, Countess of Dudley (25 November 1932 – 16 November 2011), was a British

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

. Born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, Lady Dudley was the daughter of James Swanson. As Maureen Swanson, she featured in British pictures during the 1950s and retired from acting in 1961, following her marriage to Viscount Ednam.

Early life and career

Maureen Swanson was born in

on 25 November 1932. After her parents emigrated to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, she became a ward of Lady Phyllis Griffith-Boscawen. Swanson initially trained as a classical ballerina at the

Sadler's Wells Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue in Clerkenwell, London, England located on Rosebery Avenue next to New River Head. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500-sea ...

Ballet School, before moving into musical theatre and film. Swanson had a role in ''

Moulin Rouge Moulin Rouge (, ; ) is a cabaret in Paris, on Boulevard de Clichy, at Place Blanche, the intersection of, and terminus of Rue Blanche. In 1889, the Moulin Rouge was co-founded by Charles Zidler and Joseph Oller, who also owned the Olympia (P ...

'' (1952), then a larger part in ''

Valley of Song ''Valley of Song'' is a 1953 British comedy drama film directed by Gilbert Gunn and starring Mervyn Johns, Clifford Evans, Maureen Swanson and the London Welsh Association Choral Society. It marked the film debut of actress Rachel Roberts. It ...

'' (1953). She had a strong support role in MGM's ''

Knights of the Round Table The Knights of the Round Table ( cy, Marchogion y Ford Gron, kw, Marghekyon an Moos Krenn, br, Marc'hegien an Daol Grenn) are the knights of the fellowship of King Arthur in the literary cycle of the Matter of Britain. First appearing in lit ...

'' (1953), and was the female lead in

Hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as w ...

's film noir ''

Third Party Risk ''Third Party Risk'' is a 1954 British crime drama film directed by Daniel Birt and starring Lloyd Bridges, Simone Silva and Finlay Currie.Chibnall & McFarlane p.82 It is based on the 1953 novel of the same name by Nicholas Bentley. It was p ...

'' (1954). Swanson was also in episodes of ''The Vise'', and had a supporting part in '' Orders Are Orders'' (1954).

Rank Organisation

Swanson was signed to a long-term contract by the Rank Organisation, who put her in support roles in ''

A Town Like Alice ''A Town Like Alice'' (United States title: ''The Legacy'') is a romance novel by Nevil Shute, published in 1950 when Shute had newly settled in Australia. Jean Paget, a young Englishwoman, becomes romantically interested in a fellow prisoner ...

'' (1956) and ''

Jacqueline Jacqueline may refer to: People * Jacqueline (given name), including a list of people with the name * Jacqueline Moore (born 1964), ring name "Jacqueline", American professional wrestler Arts and entertainment * ''Jacqueline'' (1923 film), ...

'' (1956). She was

Norman Wisdom Sir Norman Joseph Wisdom, (4 February 1915 – 4 October 2010) was an English actor, comedian, musician and singer best known for a series of comedy films produced between 1953 and 1966 featuring a hapless onscreen character often called Norman ...

's leading lady in ''

Up in the World ''Up in the World'' is a 1956 black and white comedy film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Norman Wisdom, Maureen Swanson and Jerry Desmonde. It was produced by Rank. Plot Norman is given a job as a window cleaner at a stately hom ...

'' (1956), and

Dirk Bogarde Sir Dirk Bogarde (born Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde; 28 March 1921 – 8 May 1999) was an English actor, novelist and screenwriter. Initially a matinée idol in films such as ''Doctor in the House'' (1954) for the Rank Organ ...

's leading lady in '' The Spanish Gardener'' (1956). Swanson was the female lead in ''

Robbery Under Arms ''Robbery Under Arms'' is a bushranger novel by Thomas Alexander Browne, published under his pen name Rolf Boldrewood. It was first published in serialised form by ''The Sydney Mail'' between July 1882 and August 1883, then in three volumes in ...

'' (1957). She then appeared on television in ''The Happiest Millionaire'' and a version of ''

The Importance of Being Earnest ''The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious ...

''. In October 1956, John Davis, managing director of Rank, announced her as one of the actors under contract that Davis thought would become an international star.

Marriage and children

She married Viscount Ednam on 24 August 1961 at

Amersham Amersham ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, in the Chiltern Hills, northwest of central London, from Aylesbury and from High Wycombe. Amersham is part of the London commuter belt. ...

registry office. She was his second wife. Initially titled Viscountess Ednam, she was styled as the Countess of Dudley on 26 December 1969, following her husband's succession to the earldom. They had seven children: * Hon. William Ward (born and died

stillborn Stillbirth is typically defined as fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without signs of life. A stillbirth can result in the feeling of guilt or grief in the mother. The term i ...

21 October 1961) * Lady Susanna Louise Ward (born 23 May 1963), unmarried and without issue * Lady Melissa Patricia Eileen Ward (born 18 July 1964), married in 1991 to Simon Puxley; has daughter (India Ward Puxley; born 1991) * Lady Victoria Larissa Cecilia Ward (born 28 May 1966), unmarried and has son (George Ward-Carstairs; born 18-12-96) * Lady Amelia Maureen Erica Ward (born 5 September 1967), unmarried and without issue * Lady Cressida Emma Sophia Ward (born 7 January 1970), married on 29 June 1996 to Oliver Preston, without issue, divorced 1998. She married, secondly, in a civil service in July 2011 in London, and on 1 October 2011 in Sicily in a Roman Catholic wedding, to Dr. Ludovic Toro; Ward has a daughter from a prior relationship (Lily Rose Ward Davis; born 2 November 2004) * Hon. Leander Grenville Dudley Ward (born 31 October 1971), married British journalist Laura Sevier on 23 July 2011

Later life

As the Countess of Dudley, she managed the couple's homes in Cottesmore Gardens, Kensington, London and Devon. She also served as a lady in waiting to

Princess Michael of Kent Princess Michael of Kent (born Baroness Marie-Christine Anna Agnes Hedwig Ida von Reibnitz, 15 January 1945) is a member of the British royal family of German, Austrian, Czech and Hungarian descent. She is married to Prince Michael of Kent, ...

. The Countess died on 16 November 2011 and was laid to rest in the private burial ground of the Earls of Dudley at the rear of the parish church at

Himley Himley is a small village and civil parish in the English ceremonial county of Staffordshire, situated 4 miles west of Dudley and 5 miles southwest of Wolverhampton. At the time of the 2011 Census, Himley had a population of 802.It is most n ...

Filmography

* ''

'' (1952) .... Denise de Frontiac * ''

'' (1953) .... Olwen Davies * ''

'' (1953) .... Elaine * '' One Just Man'' (1954) * ''

'' (1954) .... Marina * '' Orders Are Orders'' (1954) .... Joanne Delamere * '' Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Presents'' (1954, Episode: "Rehearsal") .... Marguerite * ''

The Vise ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' (1954–1955, TV Series) .... Susan, Craig's daughter / Maria / Maria / Susan Allerton * '' Three Cornered Fate'' (1955) .... Maria * ''

The Bob Hope Show ''The Pepsodent Show'' is an American radio comedy program broadcast during the Golden Age of Radio. The program starred comedian Bob Hope and his sidekick Jerry Colonna along with Blanche Stewart and Elvia Allman as high-society crazies Brenda a ...

'' (1956, Episode: "Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Cornel Wilde, Elsa Martinelli, Jean Wallace") .... Herself * ''

'' (1956) .... Ellen * ''

'' (1956) .... Maggie * ''

'' (1956) .... Jeannie Andrews * '' The Spanish Gardener'' (1956) .... Maria * ''

'' (1957) .... Kate Morrison Mullockson * ''

The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre The ''Edgar Wallace Mysteries'' is a British second-feature film series mainly produced at Merton Park Studios for Anglo-Amalgamated. There were 48 films in the series, which were released between 1960 and 1965. The series was screened as ''The ...

'' (1960, Episode: " The Malpas Mystery") .... Audrey Bedford * ''

No Hiding Place ''No Hiding Place'' is a British television series that was produced at Wembley Studios by Associated-Rediffusion for the ITV network between 16 September 1959 and 22 June 1967. It was the sequel to the series ''Murder Bag'' (1957–1958) an ...

'' (1961, Episode: "A Warrant for Joe Roberts") .... Ann Evans (final appearance)

Theatre

* ''The Happiest Millionaire'' * ''Who's Your Father?'' by Dennis Cannan, opposite

Donald Sinden Sir Donald Alfred Sinden (9 October 1923 – 12 September 2014) was a British actor. Sinden featured in the film ''Mogambo'' (1953), and achieved early fame as a Rank Organisation film star in the 1950s in films including ''The Cruel Sea (195 ...

, at the

Cambridge Theatre The Cambridge Theatre is a West End theatre, on a corner site in Earlham Street facing Seven Dials, in the London Borough of Camden, built in 1929–30 for Bertie Meyer on an "irregular triangular site". Design and construction It was des ...

Libel case

In a 1989 libel case, Lady Dudley testified that she had an affair in the early 1950s with

Stephen Ward Stephen Thomas Ward (19 October 1912 – 3 August 1963) was an English osteopath and artist who was one of the central figures in the 1963 Profumo affair, a British political scandal which brought about the resignation of John Profumo, the Sec ...

,Obituary: The Countess of Dudley
''Daily Telegraph'', 26 November 2011 the osteopath and artist who was one of the central figures in the 1963

Profumo affair The Profumo affair was a major scandal in twentieth-century Politics of the United Kingdom, British politics. John Profumo, the Secretary of State for War in Harold Macmillan's Conservative Party (UK), Conservative government, had an extramar ...

. They became friends when he was commissioned to draw her portrait in 1953 – 10 years before the Profumo scandal. From the 1989 court case, Lady Dudley won "substantial" damages from the publishers of ''Honeytrap: the Secret Worlds of Stephen Ward'' by Anthony Summer and Stephen Dorril, in which the authors suggested that she had been one of the "popsies" whom Ward had procured for his influential friends. In 2002, the Countess of Dudley again accepted substantial libel damages from the publishers of ''Christine Keeler: The Truth At Last'', Keeler's own account of the events surrounding her notorious affair with the former war minister

John Profumo John Dennis Profumo, CBE,( ; 30 January 1915 – 9 March 2006) was a British politician whose career ended in 1963 after a sexual relationship with the 19-year-old model Christine Keeler in 1961. The scandal, which became known as the Profumo a ...

, in which she referred to Lady Dudley as having been "one of Stephen's girls".

References

External links

*
The Peerage profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swanson, Maureen 1932 births 2011 deaths

Dudley Dudley is a large market town and administrative centre in the county of West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically an exclave of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the ...

Actresses from Glasgow Scottish film actresses Scottish television actresses

Maureen Maureen is a female given name. In Gaelic, it is Máirín, a pet form of ''Máire'' (the Irish cognate of Mary), which is derived from the Hebrew Miriam. The name has sometimes been regarded as corresponding to the male given name Maurice. Some ...