Diane Clare (born Diane Dirsztay; 8 July 1938 – 21 June 2013) was an English film and television actress.

Career

Clare started acting at a very young age playing uncredited baby parts in films such as ''

The Ghosts of Berkeley Square ''The Ghosts of Berkeley Square'' is a 1947 British comedy film, directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Robert Morley and Felix Aylmer. The film is an adaptation of the 1944 novel '' No Nightingales'' by Caryl Brahms and S. J. Simon, inspired b ...

'' and ''

The Silver Fleet ''The Silver Fleet'' is a 1943 British war film written and directed by Vernon Sewell and Gordon Wellesley and produced by Powell and Pressburger under the banner of "The Archers". Plot Early during the World War II, Second World War, the Nazi ...

'', and for a time was one of the most highly paid babies in British films.
Names to watch: Diane Clare. At the age of three, Clare was too old to continue playing babies so her career came to a standstill. "I'd been longing to play in pictures from the time I was dropped all those years ago because I'd become too old to play baby parts",
Diane Clare Devotees. she told an interviewer in the late 1950s, after her comeback with roles in '' The Reluctant Debutante (film), The Reluctant Debutante'' and ''

Ice Cold in Alex ''Ice Cold in Alex'' is a 1958 British war film set during the Western Desert campaign of World War II based on the novel of the same name by Christopher Landon. Directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring John Mills, the film was a prizewinner a ...

''. She received excellent reviews from playing in the latter film, and one journalist wrote: "I forecast that Miss Diane Clare is going to be one of the big names among actresses in the future." She appeared in many horror films during the 1960s such as

Hammer Horror Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of these involve classi ...

's '' Plague of the Zombies'' during her career. In 1965 she had a small part as Julie (the girl at the food counter) in the "Death at Bargain Prices" episode of '' The Avengers''. In 1967, she was screentested for the role of

Tara King Tara King is a fictional character of British 1960s adventure television series '' The Avengers'', played by Canadian actress Linda Thorson. The sixth partner of agent John Steed (and fourth female partner), she appeared in series six (in colou ...

in '' The Avengers'', but she did not get the part.

Personal life

Diane Dirsztay was born on 8 July 1938 in

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan The London Plan is the statutory spatial development strategy for the Gre ...

, London. She lied about her age so she could study at R.A.D.A. After her film comeback in 1958, Clare attributed it to a 'lucky' black beret which she always wore to auditions. "It brings me luck," she told one journalist after appearing in ''

'', "I wore it when I went to the audition for

Anna Massey Anna Raymond Massey (11 August 19373 July 2011) was an English actress. She won a BAFTA Award for the role of Edith Hope in the 1986 TV adaptation of Anita Brookner's novel ''Hotel du Lac'', a role that one of her co-stars, Julia McKenzie, h ...

's part The_Reluctant_Debutante.html" ;"title="The Reluctant Debutante (film), The Reluctant Debutante">The Reluctant Debutante (film), The Reluctant Debutante'' and again when I went to

Elstree Studios Elstree Studios is a generic term which can refer to several current and demolished British film studios and television studios based in or around the town of Borehamwood and village of Elstree in Hertfordshire, England. Production studios ha ...

for my film test." Clare retired from acting when she married the novelist and playwright

Barry England Barry England (16 March 1932 – 21 May 2009) was an English novelist and playwright. He is chiefly known for his 1968 thriller ''Figures in a Landscape'', which was nominated for the inaugural Booker Prize. Life and work England was raised ...

(born 1932 – died 2009) in 1967; the couple had two children, Kate (born 1969) and Christopher (born 1971).Diane Clare obituary at thetimes.co.uk
(PAYWALL NOTE: subscription required for access to whole article) Her hobbies included dancing, riding, swimming and going to the cinema.

Death

Diane Clare died on 21 June 2013, aged 74, from undisclosed causes.

Filmography

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clare, Diane 1938 births 2013 deaths 20th-century English actresses Actresses from London English film actresses English television actresses Place of death missing Alumni of RADA