Anne Heywood (born 11 December 1931) is a British retired film actress, who is best known for her
Golden Globe
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
-nominated performance in
''The Fox''.
Early life and career
Born as Violet Joan Pretty in 1931
to Harold and Edna E. ( Lowndes) Pretty in
Handsworth,
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
, she won the
Miss Great Britain title under her real name in 1950.
In 1947, aged 15, she joined Highbury Little Theatre in Sutton Coldfield and then won a Birmingham University Carnival Queen competition. She then entered a National Bathing Beauty Contest and won. She had a small role in ''
Lady Godiva Rides Again'' (1951).
She made three TV appearances on the
Carroll Levis TV Show and then spent four years touring UK theatres.
Later she also attended the
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. She had a small part in the comedy ''
Find the Lady'' (1956).
Rank Organisation
Heywood was signed to the Rank Organisation, who changed her name to Anne Heywood and gave her small roles in ''
Checkpoint
Checkpoint may refer to:
Places
* Border checkpoint, a place on the land border between two states where travellers and/or goods are inspected
* Security checkpoint, erected and enforced within contiguous areas under military or paramilitary co ...
'' (1956) and ''
Doctor at Large'' (1957). The
Danziger Brothers borrowed her for the lead in ''
The Depraved
The Depraved may refer to:
* ''Adélaïde'' (film), also known as ''The Depraved'', a 1968 French drama film
* ''The Depraved'' (1957 film), a British crime film
* ''The Depraved'' aka '' Urban Explorer'', a 2011 German horror film
Depraved may ...
'' (1957).
Rank gave Heywood the second female lead in ''
Dangerous Exile'' (1957) and she was the female lead in ''
Violent Playground'' (1958) with
Stanley Baker, which established her as a film name. She made ''
Floods of Fear'' (1958) with
Howard Keel.
Herbert Wilcox
Herbert Sydney Wilcox CBE (19 April 1890 – 15 May 1977) was a British film producer and director.
He was one of the most successful British filmmakers from the 1920s to the 1950s. He is best known for the films he made with his third wife ...
used her as
Frankie Vaughan's leading lady in ''
The Heart of a Man'' (1959), then for Rank she starred in a romantic comedy ''
Upstairs and Downstairs'' (1959). She was loaned to an Italian company for the historical costume drama ''
Carthage in Flames'' (1960).
Raymond Stross
Heywood starred in the war movie ''
A Terrible Beauty'' (1960) opposite
Robert Mitchum
Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He rose to prominence with an Academy Award nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actor for ''The Story of G.I. Jo ...
. It was produced by
Raymond Stross
Raymond Stross (22 May 1916 – 31 July 1988) was a British film producer.
Early life and education
Stross was born on 22 May 1916 in Leeds. He was educated at Abingdon School from 1929 until 1933 and was a member of the second XV rugby team. ...
, who married Heywood. She starred in some British comedies, ''
Petticoat Pirates'' (1961) and ''
Stork Talk
''Stork Talk'' is a 1962 British film directed by Michael Forlong.
It was called "a softly sentimental comedy."STORK TALK
Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 29, Iss. 336, (Jan 1, 1962): 42.
Cast
*Tony Britton
*Anne Heywood
References
External ...
'' (1962) then did three thrillers produced by Stross: ''
The Brain
A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ in a v ...
'' (1962), ''
The Very Edge'' (1963), and ''
90 Degrees in the Shade'' (1965).
Heywood was making ''
High Jungle'' for MGM with
Eric Fleming but that film was cancelled when Fleming drowned.
Heywood starred in a film adaptation of a
D. H. Lawrence
David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English writer, novelist, poet and essayist. His works reflect on modernity, industrialization, sexuality, emotional health, vitality, spontaneity and instinct. His best-k ...
novel,
''The Fox'' (1967), produced by Stross. co-starring
Sandy Dennis. It which caused controversy at the time due to its
lesbian theme and nudity from Heywood. It was also a huge hit. A newspaper referred to her and Stross as the "English
Carlo Pontis."
Heywood went to Italy to play a nun in ''
The Lady of Monza'' (1969), playing
The Nun of Monza, then did a movie with
Richard Crenna produced by Stross, ''
Midas Run'' (1969). She was second billed in an espionage adventure film with
Gregory Peck
Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood ...
, ''
The Chairman'' (1969) but was only on screen for five minutes. She was mentioned as a possible star of ''
Myra Breckinridge'' (1970), but did not appear in the final film.
Later career

Heywood starred in ''
I Want What I Want
''I Want What I Want'' by Geoff Brown was first published in 1966 by Great Britain's Weidenfeld & Nicolson. It was made into a film by the same title starring Anne Heywood
Anne Heywood (born 11 December 1931) is a British retired film a ...
'' (1972), a box office and critical flop produced by Stross, then went to Italy for the
giallo film
In Italian cinema, ''Giallo'' (; plural ''gialli'', from ''giallo'', Italian for yellow) is a genre of mystery fiction and thrillers that often contains slasher, crime fiction, psychological thriller, psychological horror, sexploitation, and, l ...
''
The Killer Is on the Phone'' (1972) and ''
The Nun and the Devil
''The Nun and the Devil'' ( Italian: ''Le Monache di Sant'Arcangelo'') is an erotic 1973 Italian nunsploitation film directed by Domenico Paolella. It is also known as: ''Sisters of Satan'' (UK) and ''The Nuns of Saint Archangel'' (US). The acti ...
'' (1973), again as a nun. In Hollywood, she was the female lead in ''
Trader Horn
Alfred Aloysius "Trader" Horn (born Alfred Aloysius Smith; 1861–1931) was an ivory trader in central Africa. He wrote a book, ''Trader Horn'', detailing his journeys. The book also documents his efforts to free slaves; meet the founder of Rhodes ...
'' (1973), a failed remake of a 1931 classic film, then she returned to Italy for ''
Love Under the Elms'' (1974).
She starred in ''
Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff '' (1979), produced by Stross. and in the Italian satanic horror ''Ring of Darkness'' (1979). Both films were failures. She then had supporting roles in ''
Sadat'' (1981), and the science fiction film ''
What Waits Below
''What Waits Below'' is a science-fiction adventure film (initially released under the title ''Secrets of the Phantom Caverns'') released in 1984. Directed by Don Sharp, produced by the Adams Apple Film Company, the film runs for 88 minutes and ...
'' (1984). Her career declined in the 1980s. Her penultimate role was in a two-part episode of the popular United States television series ''
The Equalizer
''The Equalizer'' is an American spy thriller multimedia franchise initially co-created by Michael Sloan and Richard Lindheim, and originating with a CBS television series from 1985 to 1989, starring Edward Woodward. The concept was thereafte ...
'', which starred British actor
Edward Woodward
Edward Albert Arthur Woodward, OBE (1 June 1930 – 16 November 2009) was an English actor and singer. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he began his career on stage. Throughout his career, he appeared in productions ...
, in 1988. She played Manon Brevard Marcel.
After the death of Stross in 1988, she retired from acting.
Personal life
Heywood was married to producer
Raymond Stross
Raymond Stross (22 May 1916 – 31 July 1988) was a British film producer.
Early life and education
Stross was born on 22 May 1916 in Leeds. He was educated at Abingdon School from 1929 until 1933 and was a member of the second XV rugby team. ...
, who produced most of her films, including ''A Terrible Beauty'', ''The Brain'', ''The Very Edge'', ''Ninety Degrees in the Shade'', ''The Fox'', ''Midas Run'', ''I Want What I Want'', and ''Good Luck Miss Wyckoff''.
After Stross died in 1988, Heywood retired and has never appeared on screen since. In 1990, she married her second husband, George Danzig Druke, a former Assistant Attorney General of New York State, who died on 7 October 2021 in Beverly Hills, at the age of 98.
Heywood resides in
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...
.
Filmography
Awards and nominations
Further reading
*
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heywood, Anne
1931 births
Living people
British expatriates in the United States
English film actresses
English television actresses
Actresses from Birmingham, West Midlands
People from Handsworth, West Midlands