Suzan Maxine Farmer (16 June 1942 – 17 September 2017) was an English film and television actress. She was regularly cast in movies produced by

Hammer Films 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 wi ...

Early life

The daughter of David Farmer, a trader in metals, and Eleanor (née Best), she was born in Maidstone, Kent, although the family later moved to Bray in Berkshire, near the location of

Bray Studios Bray Productions was a pioneering American animation studio that produced several popular cartoons during the years of World War I and the early interwar era, becoming a springboard for several key animators of the 20th century, including the ...

, later used by Hammer. Her younger brother is the city financier Michael Farmer, now a Conservative life peer. Both of their parents were alcoholics, as her brother related in his maiden speech in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

in 2014, and the two children "experienced the poverty, neglect and shame that are such potent drivers of social exclusion". David Farmer's company was liquidated and he died before his elder child was seven. Suzan Farmer trained at the

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. It became a ...

Career

Suzan Farmer had lead roles in several Hammer swashbuckling and horror films of the 1960s. The first of these was ''

The Scarlet Blade ''The Scarlet Blade'' (released in the United States as ''The Crimson Blade'') is a 1963 British adventure film directed by John Gilling and starring Lionel Jeffries, Oliver Reed, Jack Hedley and June Thorburn. It is a period drama set during ...

'' (US: ''The Crimson Blade'', 1963), an

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

tale with

Lionel Jeffries Lionel Charles Jeffries (10 June 1926 – 19 February 2010) was an English actor, director, and screenwriter. He appeared primarily in films and received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, Golden Globe Awa ...

and

Oliver Reed Robert Oliver Reed (13 February 1938 – 2 May 1999) was an English actor known for his well-to-do, macho image and "hellraiser" lifestyle. After making his first significant screen appearances in Hammer Horror films in the early 1960s, his ...

, while ''

The Devil-Ship Pirates ''The Devil-Ship Pirates'' is a 1964 British pirate adventure film directed by Don Sharp. The film was the first of several collaborations between Don Sharp and star Christopher Lee. Plot A pirate ship, involved in 1588 battles on the side of ...

'' (1964), concerned a ship allied with the

Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada (a.k.a. the Enterprise of England, es, Grande y Felicísima Armada, links=no, lit=Great and Most Fortunate Navy) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by the Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aris ...

and was the first of her three films with

Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a long career spanning more than 60 years, Lee often portrayed villains, and appeared as Count Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films, ultimat ...

in the lead. '' Dracula, Prince of Darkness'' (1966) and ''

Rasputin, the Mad Monk ''Rasputin the Mad Monk'' is a 1966 Hammer horror film directed by Don Sharp and starring Christopher Lee as Grigori Rasputin, the Russian peasant- mystic who gained great influence with the Tsars prior to the Russian Revolution. It also featu ...

'' (1966) were made back-to back using the same sets and an overlapping cast. In the Dracula film, she was targeted by Lee's vampire, but fought him off sending him to a cold, watery end assisted by Francis Matthews, who played her husband, and also her brother in ''Rasputin''. Another of her horror film roles, this time for a company other than Hammer, was as support in ''

Die, Monster, Die! ''Die, Monster, Die!'' (British title: ''Monster of Terror'') is a 1965 science fiction horror film directed by Daniel Haller, and starring Boris Karloff, Nick Adams, Freda Jackson, and Suzan Farmer. Its plot follows an American man who, while ...

'' (aka, ''Monster of Terror'', 1965), starring

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established h ...

as her character's father, but she found Karloff himself rather distant. The thriller ''

Persecution Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...

'' (1974), with

Ralph Bates Ralph Bates (12 February 1940 – 27 March 1991) was an English film and television actor, known for his role in the British sitcom '' Dear John'' and the original ''Poldark''. Biography Bates was born in Bristol, England. His parents were bo ...

as her husband, was a failure both critically and at the box-office. Other films include the war drama ''

633 Squadron ''633 Squadron'' is a 1964 British / American war film directed by Walter Grauman and starring Cliff Robertson, George Chakiris, and Maria Perschy. The plot, which involves the exploits of a fictional World War II British bomber squadron, was ...

'' (1964) as an RAF driver, plus the comedy ''

Doctor in Clover ''Doctor in Clover'' is a British comedy film released in 1966, starring Leslie Phillips. The film is based on the novel of the same title by Richard Gordon. It is the sixth of the seven films in the ''Doctor'' series. The film was released i ...

'' (1966). A regular performer in British television series, Farmer appeared in an episode of the

Patrick McGoohan Patrick Joseph McGoohan (; March 19, 1928 – January 13, 2009) was an Irish-American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer of film and television. Born in the United States to Irish emigrant parents, he was raised in Ireland and Engla ...

series ''

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 ...

'' ("No Marks for Servility", 1964) and also featured in other ITC series in the 1960s and 70s, including ''

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...

'' ("

Survival Survival, or the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy it. The concept can be applied to humans and other living things (or, hypotheti ...

", 1971), ''

Man in a Suitcase ''Man in a Suitcase'' is a British television private eye thriller series produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment. It originally aired in the United Kingdom on ITV from 27 September 1967 to 17 April 1968. ABC broadcast episodes of ''Man in a ...

'', ''

The Persuaders! ''The Persuaders!'' is an action-comedy series starring Tony Curtis and Roger Moore, produced by ITC Entertainment, and initially broadcast on ITV and ABC in 1971. The show has been called 'the last major entry in the cycle of adventure serie ...

'', and in four episodes of ''

The Saint The Saint may refer to: Fiction * Simon Templar, also known as "The Saint", the protagonist of a book series by Leslie Charteris and subsequent adaptations: ** ''The Saint'' (film series) (1938–43), starring Louis Hayward, George Sanders an ...

'' playing four different characters. She appeared in a BBC television adaptation of

Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...

's ''

The Idiot ''The Idiot'' ( pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Идиот, Idiót) is a novel by the 19th-century Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was first published serially in the journal ''The Russian Messenger'' in 1868–69. The title is an ...

'' (1966) and played Sally Carstairs in their version of

Edmund Crispin Edmund Crispin was the pseudonym of Robert Bruce Montgomery (usually credited as Bruce Montgomery) (2 October 1921 – 15 September 1978), an English crime writer and composer known for his Gervase Fen novels and for his musical scores for ...

's detective novel ''

The Moving Toyshop ''The Moving Toyshop'' (1946) is a work of detective fiction by Edmund Crispin, featuring his recurrent sleuth, Gervase Fen, an Oxford professor of English Language and Literature. Title The title comes from Pope's '' The Rape of the Lock ...

'' (1964). Other television appearances were in the 1968 series '' The Caesars'' (1968), an episode of the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

science fiction

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a differ ...

Out of the Unknown ''Out of the Unknown'' is a British television science fiction anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and broadcast on BBC2 in four series between 1965 and 1971. Most episodes of the first three series were a dramatisation of a science f ...

'' (1969), an episode of the ATV series '' Thriller'' ("Death in Deep Water", 1975) and in the

's science fiction series ''

Blake's 7 ''Blake's 7'' (sometimes styled ''Blakes7'') is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. Four 13-episode series were broadcast on BBC1 between 1978 and 1981. It was created by Terry Nation, who also wrote the first ...

'' ("Deliverance", 1978). For a month in 1978, Farmer was a cast member of ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...

'' playing a divorced chiropodist who treated

Albert Tatlock Albert Tatlock is a fictional character on the British television soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Albert was played by actor Jack Howarth from 1960 to 1984. The character became something of a cultural institution, so much that grumpy old m ...

, who briefly went out with

Ken Barlow Ken Barlow is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by William Roache. He was created by Tony Warren as one of ''Coronation Street''s original characters and December 2020 marked Ken's 60th annive ...

's girlfriends. On stage, she was a founding member of

John Fraser John Fraser may refer to: Politics *John Simon Frederick Fraser (1765–1803), commanded the Fraser Fencibles in Ireland and was (M.P.) for Inverness-shire *John James Fraser (1829–1896), 5th Premier of the Canadian province of New Brunswick, 18 ...

's London Shakespeare Group, playing Olivia in a production of ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vio ...

'' which opened in

Beijing, China } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

and had a residency at the

Donmar Warehouse The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977. Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage and Josie Rourke have all served as artistic director, a post held since 2019 by Micha ...

in 1982. The group toured West Africa performing extracts from the plays for 60,000 children.

Personal life and death

Farmer was married to the actor

Ian McShane Ian David McShane (born 29 September 1942) is an English actor, producer and director. He is known for his television performances, particularly as the title role in the BBC series ''Lovejoy'' (1986–1994), Al Swearengen in '' Deadwood'' (2004 ...

from 1965 to 1968. Her acting career had ended by the mid-1980s, and she later became reclusive and suffered from depression and alcoholism. Farmer died of cancer on 17 September 2017, aged 75.

Selected filmography

*''The Supreme Secret'' (1958) – Tess *''The Dawn Killer'' (1959) – Cathy Hawkes *''

The Wild and the Willing ''The Wild and the Willing'' is a 1962 British romantic drama film, directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Virginia Maskell, Paul Rogers, and Samantha Eggar. It is the film debuts of Ian McShane, John Hurt, and Samantha Eggar. It depicts a grou ...

'' (1962) – Susan (uncredited) *''Wings of Mystery'' (1963) – Worker at English Steel Corporation Ltd. (uncredited) *''

80,000 Suspects ''80,000 Suspects'' is a 1963 British drama film directed by Val Guest and starring Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, Yolande Donlan, and Cyril Cusack. It concerns an outbreak of smallpox in Bath, England. Plot Commencing on New Year's Eve in th ...

'' (1963) – Carole (uncredited) *''

'' (1963) – Constance Beverley *''

'' (1964) – Angela Smeeton *''

'' (1964) – WAAF Sgt. Mary Blake / Bissell *''

'' (1965) – Susan Witley *'' Dracula, Prince of Darkness'' (1966) – Diana Kent *''

'' (1966) – Nurse Holliday *''

'' (1966) – Vanessa *''

Where the Bullets Fly ''Where the Bullets Fly'' is a 1966 British comedy spy film directed by John Gilling and starring Tom Adams as Charles Vine and John Arnatt reprising their roles from '' Licensed to Kill''. It also stars Dawn Addams, Tim Barrett and Michael R ...

'' (1966) – Caron *''

'' (1967) - Episode "Brainwash" - Judy *''

'' (1970) - Episode "Survival" - Tina Duval *''

'' (1971) - Episode "That's Me Over There" - Ann Summers *''

'' (1974) – Janie Masters

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Farmer, Suzan 1942 births 2017 deaths English television actresses English film actresses Actresses from Kent People from Maidstone Deaths from cancer in England