Vickery Turner (3 April 1940 in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey – 4 April 2006), born Christine Hazel Turner, was a British actress, playwright, author and theatre director.

Career

She started out on stage and her first breakthrough role was in the first production of '' The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'' opposite

Vanessa Redgrave Dame Vanessa Redgrave (born 30 January 1937) is an English actress and activist. Throughout her career spanning over seven decades, Redgrave has garnered numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Television Award, tw ...

. For that role Turner received the

Clarence Derwent Award The Clarence Derwent Awards are theatre awards given annually by the Actors' Equity Association on Broadway in the United States and by Equity, the performers' union, in the West End in the United Kingdom. Clarence Derwent (23 March 1884 – 6 Aug ...

for the best supporting performance and the London Critics Award for the most promising newcomer. Her television work began with

Ken Loach Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a British film director and screenwriter. His socially critical directing style and socialist ideals are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty ('' Poor Cow'', 1967), homelessn ...

's once controversial ''

Up The Junction ''Up the Junction'' is a 1963 collection of short stories by Nell Dunn that depicts contemporary life in the industrial slums of Battersea and Clapham Junction. The book uses colloquial speech, and its portrayal of petty thieving, sexual encoun ...

'' (1965) for the BBC's '' Wednesday play'' series. She acted in many of the more famous British plays of the 1960s. The plays she wrote for the BBC's ''

Thirty-Minute Theatre ''Thirty-Minute Theatre'' was a British anthology drama series of short plays shown on BBC Television between 1965 and 1973, which was used in part at least as a training ground for new writers, on account of its short running length, and which t ...

'' series were "Keep on Running" and "Magnolia Summer" and for ''The Wednesday Play'' "Kippers & Curtains". Her film career included roles in ''

Prudence and the Pill ''Prudence and the Pill'' is a 1968 British comedy film made by Twentieth Century-Fox. It was directed by Fielder Cook and Ronald Neame and produced by Kenneth Harper and Ronald J. Kahn from a screenplay by Hugh Mills, based on his 1965 novel. ...

'' (1968), '' Crooks and Coronets'' (1969), '' The Mind of Mr. Soames'' (1970), '' Chandler'' (1971), ''

Ruby and Oswald ''Ruby and Oswald'' is a 1978 American made-for-television drama film about the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy. It stars Michael Lerner and Frederic Forrest. Overview Jack Ruby (Michael Lerner) is a warm-hearted but ...

'' (1978), ''

The Good Soldier ''The Good Soldier: A Tale of Passion'' is a 1915 novel by the British writer Ford Madox Ford. It is set just before World War I, and chronicles the tragedy of Edward Ashburnham and his seemingly perfect marriage, along with that of his two A ...

'' (1981), and '' The Return of the Soldier'' (1982). Her American television appearances include a 1977 episode of ''

The Waltons ''The Waltons'' is an American historical drama television series about a family in rural Virginia during the Great Depression and World War II. It was created by Earl Hamner Jr., based on his 1961 book '' Spencer's Mountain'' and the 1963 fil ...

'' titled "The Seashore" where she guest starred as Lisa, a troubled student who fled England to escape turmoil and personal tragedy during the onset of World War II. In 1969 she met

Warren Oates Warren Mercer Oates (July 5, 1928 – April 3, 1982) was an American actor best known for his performances in several films directed by Sam Peckinpah, including ''The Wild Bunch'' (1969) and ''Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia'' (1974). A ...

while filming ''Crooks and Coronets'' and they married. They were divorced in 1974. She was also a successful novelist and her published novels included ''Focussing'','' Lovers of Africa'' (''Love & Hunger'' in the USA), ''The Testimony of Daniel Pagels'' and ''Delicate Matters''. Turner's fifth novel—''Lost Heir''—was scheduled to be published around the time of her death. Another role that she was famous for was "The Brontes of Haworth", where she played Charlotte Brontë. Her second husband was the actor Michael J. Shannon, whom she met and fell in love with during the American season of Frith Banbury's production of Frank Harvey's ''The Day After the Fair'', in which they both acted''.'' Their daughter Caitlin is an actress and writer.

Death

She died in Los Angeles on April 4, 2006, a day after her 66th birthday.

Filmography

References

External links

* 1945 births 2006 deaths Clarence Derwent Award winners English stage actresses People from Sunbury-on-Thames 20th-century British actresses British women dramatists and playwrights English television writers 20th-century British women writers 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights British women television writers 20th-century English screenwriters 20th-century English women 20th-century English people {{UK-film-director-stub