Hyacinth Hazel O'Higgins (4 October 1919 – 10 May 1970), stage name Hy Hazell, was a British actress of theatre, musicals and revue as well as a contralto singer and

film 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 (), lite ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

described her as "an exuberant comic actor and lively singer and dancer". A pretty brunette, with long legs, she was billed as Britain's answer to

Betty Grable Elizabeth Ruth Grable (December 18, 1916 – July 2, 1973) was an American actress, pin-up girl, dancer, model, and singer. Her 42 films during the 1930s and 1940s grossed more than $100 million; for 10 consecutive years (1942–1951) she reign ...

Career

Hazell was born in

Streatham Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...

in South London on 4 October 1919. As a teenager, she started life as a performer in the chorus of the West End production of

Rodgers and Hart Rodgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership between composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and the lyricist Lorenz Hart (1895–1943). They worked together on 28 stage musicals and more than 500 songs from 1919 until Hart ...

's ''

On Your Toes ''On Your Toes'' (1936) is a musical with a book by Richard Rodgers, George Abbott, and Lorenz Hart, music by Rodgers, and lyrics by Hart. It was adapted into a film in 1939. While teaching music at Knickerbocker University, Phil "Junior" Dol ...

'' (1937). She later had a long and successful run of leading roles in musicals, including ''

Expresso Bongo ''Expresso Bongo'' is a 1958 West End musical and a satire of the music industry. It was first produced on the stage at the Saville Theatre, London, on 23 April 1958. Its book was written by Wolf Mankowitz and Julian More, with music by Davi ...

'' at the

Saville Theatre ODEON Covent Garden is a four-screen cinema in the heart of London's West End. Formerly known as The Saville Theatre, a former West End theatre at 135 Shaftesbury Avenue in the London Borough of Camden. The theatre opened in 1931, and became a ...

in 1958, as heartless Dixie Collins; as Mrs Squeezum in the

Mermaid Theatre The Mermaid Theatre was a theatre encompassing the site of Puddle Dock and Curriers' Alley at Blackfriars in the City of London, and the first built in the City since the time of Shakespeare. It was, importantly, also one of the first new thea ...

's '' Lock Up Your Daughters'' in 1959 (playing for almost 2,000 performances); as ex- Cochran girl Kay Connor in ''

Charlie Girl ''Charlie Girl'' is a musical comedy which premiered in the West End of London at the Adelphi Theatre on December 15, 1965 and became one of the most successful theatre shows of the day running for 2,202 performances. It closed on 27 March 1971. ...

'' at the

Adelphi Theatre The Adelphi Theatre is a West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster, central London. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiv ...

from 1965 ; and as Mrs Peachum in a notable ''

Beggar's Opera ''The Beggar's Opera'' is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of sat ...

'' by the

Prospect Theatre Company The Prospect Theatre Company was an English company founded, as Prospect Productions, in 1961. Based at the Arts Theatre, Cambridge from 1964 until 1969, the company, with Toby Robertson as artistic director and Richard Cottrell as associate direc ...

in 1968. Her appearances also include: * ''A Talent to Amuse''; 1969 – 1970, Phoenix Theatre, London. * Miss Miniver, ''Ann Veronica''; 17th April – May 1969, Cambridge Theatre, London. * ''The Beggar’s Opera''; 1968 – 1969, Apollo Theatre (Shaftesbury Avenue), London. * ''The Confederacy''; 19th – 24th October 1964, Cambridge Arts Theatre. * Mollie Plummer, ''No Strings''; 30th December 1963 – March 1964, Her / His Majesty’s Theatre, London. * Dixie Collins, ''Expresso Bongo''; started 31st March 1958, Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham and Saville Theatre, London. * Esmeralda Leigh,'' Dead On Nine''; started 24th August 1955, Westminster Theatre, London. * Anne Etherton, ''Ten Men And A Miss''; 18th June – 13th October 1951, Aldwych Theatre, London and Opera House, Manchester.

Films

Hazell was in British films ''

Meet Me at Dawn Meet may refer to: People with the name * Janek Meet (born 1974), Estonian footballer * Meet Mukhi (born 2005), Indian child actor Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Meet'' (TV series), an early Australian television series which aired on ABC du ...

'' (1946), '' The Yellow Balloon'' (1953), and

B-movies A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double featur ...

like ''

The Body Said No! ''The Body Said No!'' is a 1950 British crime comedy film directed by Val Guest and starring Michael Rennie, Yolande Donlan, and Hy Hazell. It was shot at Walton Studios near London and distributed by Eros Films. Premise In a British TV studio ...

'' and ''

The Lady Craved Excitement ''The Lady Craved Excitement'' is a 1950 British comedy film directed by Francis Searle and written by John Gilling. It featured Hy Hazell, Michael Medwin and Sid James. An early Hammer film, it is significant as one of five films shot at Oakle ...

'' (both 1950), the latter part allowing her to sing. Within the British tradition of having glamorous young women play the

principal boy In pantomime, a principal boy role is the young male protagonist of the play, traditionally played by a young actress in boy's clothes. The earliest example is Miss Ellington who in 1852 appeared in ''The Good Woman in the Wood'' by James Planch ...

in pantos, she became a favourite. She established a reputation as "English

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

's most distinguished post war principal boy". For years she was extremely popular in this seasonal form of theatre.

Personal life

Hazell's given named of Hyacinth was abbreviated to "Hy" by

Nigel Patrick Nigel Patrick (born Nigel Dennis Patrick Wemyss-Gorman; 2 May 1912 – 21 September 1981) was an English actor and stage director born into a theatrical family. During the late 1940s and 1950s, he became known as a debonair leading man in Brit ...

when they were in Italy during World War II entertaining troops. She married Edward Adam Primrose Jenkins,

land agent Land agent may be used in at least three different contexts. Traditionally, a land agent was a managerial employee who conducted the business affairs of a large estate (house), landed estate for a member of the landed gentry, supervising the farmi ...

to the

Duke of Marlborough General (United Kingdom), General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) was an Engl ...

, in 1950; he died in June 1960 at age 50. In the summer of 1969, Hazell began playing Golde in ''

Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in or around 1905. It is based on ''Tevye and his Daughters'' (or ''Tevye the ...

'' in London's West End. On 10 May 1970, a Sunday when there was no performance, she died accidentally by choking to death whilst eating a steak at a friend's house. An inquest found that her blood showed a very high alcohol level: "A high enough level to account for some carelessness about eating and possibly the swallowing of food and therefore to have been almost a certain reason for her choking."Fiddler on the Roof, thisistheatre.com
/ref>

Selected filmography

* ''

The Dummy Talks ''The Dummy Talks'' is a 1943 British crime film directed by Oswald Mitchell and starring Jack Warner, Claude Hulbert and Beryl Orde. It marked the film debut of Jack Warner. Synopsis Set over the course of one night, the story takes place in ...

'' (1943) (credited as Derna Hazell) * ''

'' (1947) * '' Just William's Luck'' (1947) * ''

Paper Orchid ''Paper Orchid'' is a 1949 British crime film directed by Roy Ward Baker, with a script written by Val Guest. It featured Hugh Williams, Hy Hazell and Garry Marsh, and was based on the 1948 novel of the same title by Arthur La Bern. It featur ...

'' (1949) * '' Celia'' (1949) * ''

'' (1950) * ''

'' (1950) * '' The Franchise Affair'' (1951) * ''

The Night Won't Talk ''The Night Won't Talk'' is a 1952 British crime film directed by Daniel Birt and starring John Bailey, Hy Hazell and Mary Germaine. The murder of an artist's model leads the police to investigate the artistic community of Chelsea. It was mad ...

'' (1952) * '' The Yellow Balloon'' (1953) * '' Forces' Sweetheart'' (1953) * ''

Stolen Assignment ''Stolen Assignment'' is a 1955 British comedy film directed by Terence Fisher and starring John Bentley and Hy Hazell. The film was produced by Francis Searle for Act Films Ltd, and was a sequel to Fisher's ''Final Appointment'' of the previ ...

'' (1955) * ''

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) * ''The Mail Van Murder ( Scotland Yard film series)'' (1957) * '' The Key Man'' (1957) * '' The Whole Truth'' (1958) * '' Trouble with Eve'' (1960) * ''

Five Golden Hours ''Five Golden Hours'' is a 1961 Italian-British comedy film directed by Mario Zampi and written by Hans Wilhelm, starring Ernie Kovacs, Cyd Charisse and George Sanders, and featuring Dennis Price and John Le Mesurier. Plot Aldo Bondi (Kovacs) ...

'' (1961) * '' What Every Woman Wants'' (1962) * ''

Every Home Should Have One ''Every Home Should Have One'' is a 1970 British comedy film directed by Jim Clark and starring Marty Feldman. It was released in the United States in theatres and on home video under the title ''Think Dirty''. The overall concept is in direct ...

'' (1970)

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hazell, Hy 1919 births 1970 deaths 20th-century English actresses 20th-century English singers Actresses from London English people of Irish descent English film actresses English musical theatre actresses English stage actresses Deaths from choking People from Streatham 20th-century English women singers