Olive McFarland (born Brenda McFarland 1929 – 24 August 2011) was a British

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a 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 term is (), li ...

who appeared in film and television dramas from the 1950s to the 1970s. She starred opposite Sean Connery in the 1961 film ''

The Frightened City ''The Frightened City'' is a 1961 British neo-noir gangster film about extortion rackets and gang warfare in the West End of London. It stars Herbert Lom, John Gregson and a pre-Bond Sean Connery, who plays a burglar called Paddy Damion. He ...

.'' McFarland's television appearances included ''

Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again b ...

'', ''

Sir Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( – 28 January 1596) was an English explorer, sea captain, privateer, slave trader, naval officer, and politician. Drake is best known for his circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 1580 ( ...

'','' The Sweeney'', ''

The Troubleshooters ''The Troubleshooters'' (titled ''Mogul'' for the first series) is a British television series made by the BBC between 1965 and 1972, created by John Elliot. It recounted events in an international oil company – the "Mogul" of the title. Th ...

'', ''

The Champions ''The Champions'' is a British espionage thriller/science fiction/occult detective fiction adventure television series. It was produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company, and consists of 30 episodes broadcast in the UK on IT ...

'' and ''

Dixon of Dock Green ''Dixon of Dock Green'' was a BBC police procedural television series about daily life at a fictional London police station, with the emphasis on petty crime, successfully controlled through common sense and human understanding. It ran from 19 ...

'' and she also had a film role in '' Alive and Kicking'' (1959). She left acting to restore properties and breed horses. In 1998 following an

RSPCA The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity operating in England and Wales that promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest a ...

inspection of her farm she was found guilty of neglecting her horses and received a one-month suspended jail sentence. In January 2010 she moved to a care home at Eye, Suffolk, not far from her farm at Creeting St Mary near

Needham Market Needham Market is a town in Suffolk, England. The town of Needham, Massachusetts, was named after Needham Market. History It initially grew around the wool combing industry, until the onset of the plague, which swept the town from 1663 to 166 ...

. She was killed when she was hit by a train at a nearby railway crossing the following year. In September 2016,

Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...

were fined £4 million at

Ipswich Crown Court Ipswich Crown Court is a Crown Court venue which deals with criminal cases at Russell Road, Ipswich, England. It was completed in 2004. History Until the early 21st century, crown court hearings were held in the Civic Centre complex in Crown ...

over health and safety failures in connection with McFarland's death.

Filmography

* '' Alive and Kicking'' (1959) * ''

So Evil, So Young ''So Evil, So Young'' is a 1961 British Technicolor reform school prison film produced by the Danzigers, directed by Godfrey Grayson, and starring Jill Ireland and Ellen Pollock. Synopsis Lucy and Claire are at a house where Lucy used to w ...

'' (1961) * ''

Naughty! ''Naughty'' is a 1971 British dramatised documentary film directed by Stanley Long.Long said although the movie was sold as a sex film it was "a fairly serious film" which "had some purpose". It mixed interviews with archived footage and re-enact ...

'' (1971) * ''

On the Game ''On the Game'' (also known as Sex Through the Ages) is a 1974 British film directed by Stanley Long. It was a dramatised documentary about prostitution. The film was researched and written by Suzanne Mercer. Mercer spent two years researching it. ...

'' (1974)

References

External links

* British film actresses British television actresses 1929 births 2011 deaths Railway accident deaths in England People from Creeting St Mary {{Film-actor-stub