Caroline Mortimer (born Caroline Dimont; 12 March 1942 – 20 September 2020) was a British actress. Caroline Mortimer was the daughter of the novelist

Penelope Mortimer Penelope Ruth Mortimer (née Fletcher; 19 September 1918 – 19 October 1999) was a Welsh-born English journalist, biographer, and novelist. Her semi-autobiographical novel '' The Pumpkin Eater'' (1962) was made into a 1964 film of the same nam ...

from her first marriage to the journalist Charles Dimont and the stepdaughter of the playwright Sir

John Mortimer Sir John Clifford Mortimer (21 April 1923 – 16 January 2009) was a British barrister, dramatist, screenwriter and author. He is best known for short stories about a barrister named Horace Rumpole, adapted from episodes of the TV series '' R ...

. She was trained at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...

Career

Her television credits include: 1965's ''A Little Temptation'', in which she co-starred with

Denholm Elliott Denholm Mitchell Elliott (31 May 1922 – 6 October 1992) was an English actor. He appeared in numerous productions on stage and screen, receiving BAFTA awards for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for ''Trading Places'' (1983), '' A Private Fu ...

and

Barbara Jefford Barbara Mary Jefford, OBE (26 July 1930 – 12 September 2020) was a British actress, best known for her theatrical performances with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Old Vic and the National Theatre and her role as Molly Bloom in the 1967 ...

, 1966's ''Intrigue'', an industrial espionage series in which she played Val, the hero's assistant/girlfriend, ''

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) (1938–1943), starring Louis Hayward, George Sanders ...

'' ("The Organisation Man", 1968), ''Menace'', ''

Spy Trap ''Spy Trap'' is a BBC drama that ran from 1972 to 1975 on BBC1, and was set around 'The Department', a British counter-espionage organisation. It starred Paul Daneman as Commander Paul Ryan, a naval officer and spy chief, Prentis Hancock as L ...

'' and ''

The Death of Adolf Hitler ''The Death of Adolf Hitler: Unknown Documents from Soviet Archives'' is a 1968 book by Soviet journalist Lev Bezymenski, who served as an interpreter in the Battle of Berlin. The book gives details of the purported Soviet autopsies of Adolf Hi ...

''. In 1974 she played Alice Vavasor in six episodes of ''

The Pallisers ''The Pallisers'' is a 1974 BBC television adaptation of Anthony Trollope's Palliser novels. Set in Victorian era England with a backdrop of parliamentary life, Simon Raven's dramatisation covers six novels and follows the events and characters ...

''. Her other television work includes ''

Within These Walls ''Within These Walls'' is a British television drama programme made by London Weekend Television for ITV and shown between 1974 and 1978. It portrayed life in HMP Stone Park, a fictional women's prison. Unlike later women-in-prison TV series ...

'', ''

Rumpole of the Bailey ''Rumpole of the Bailey'' is a British television series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer. It starred Leo McKern as Horace Rumpole, a middle-aged London barrister who defended a broad variety of clients, ...

'' ("Rumpole and the Bubble Reputation", 1988), ''

Looking For Clancy Looking for Clancy was a 1975 television serial broadcast on BBC2. Based on Frederic Mullally's 1971 novel ''Clancy'', it was dramatised in five parts by Jack Pulman and starred Robert Powell, Keith Drinkel and T. P. McKenna. Produced by Ric ...

'', ''

Marked Personal ''Marked Personal'' was a British daytime television drama created by Charles Dennis and starring Stephanie Beacham and Heather Chasen. The series was made by Thames Television and consisted of 90 episodes, shown twice weekly on Tuesday and Wedn ...

'', '' Space: 1999'', ''

The Cleopatras ''The Cleopatras'' is a 1983 BBC Television eight-part historical drama serial. Written by Philip Mackie, it is set in Ancient Egypt during the latter part of the Ptolemaic Dynasty with an emphasis on the Cleopatras. Intended to be the '' I, Cl ...

(1983)'' and an appearance as Emily Murray in one episode of the 1991 BBC television series ''

The House of Eliott ''The House of Eliott'' is a British television series produced and broadcast by the BBC in three series between 31 August 1991 and 6 March 1994. The series starred Stella Gonet as Beatrice Eliott and Louise Lombard as Evangeline Eliott, two s ...

''.

Personal life and death

In the 1960s, she had a relationship with the married actor

Leslie Phillips Leslie Samuel Phillips (20 April 1924 – 7 November 2022) was an English actor. He achieved prominence in the 1950s, playing smooth, upper-class comic roles utilising his "Ding dong" and "Hello" catchphrases. He appeared in the '' Carry On'' ...

. She married the actor John Bennett in 1979. They had two sons, one of whom is deceased. Her husband died in April 2005. Mortimer died in September 2020 at the age of 78.

Selected filmography

* '' The Home-Made Car'' (1963) as Girlfriend * ''

Saturday Night Out ''Saturday Night Out'' is a 1964 British comedy film, comedy-drama film directed by Robert Hartford-Davis and starring Heather Sears, John Bonney (actor), John Bonney, Bernard Lee, Erika Remberg, Francesca Annis, Margaret Nolan and David Lodge ( ...

'' (1964) as Marlene * ''

A Place for Lovers ''A Place for Lovers'' (, ) is a 1968 romantic drama film directed by Vittorio De Sica and written by Brunello Rondi, Julian Zimet, Peter Baldwin, Ennio De Concini, Tonino Guerra and Cesare Zavattini. The film is based on the play ''Gli Ama ...

'' (1968) as Maggie * ''

The McKenzie Break ''The McKenzie Break'' (also known as ''Escape'') is a 1970 British war drama film directed by Lamont Johnson and starring Brian Keith, Helmut Griem, Ian Hendry and Jack Watson. It was written by William W. Norton, produced by Arthur Gardn ...

'' (1970) as A.T.S. Sgt. Bell * ''

The Hireling ''The Hireling'' is a 1973 British drama film directed by Alan Bridges, based on a 1957 novel of the same title by L. P. Hartley, which starred Robert Shaw and Sarah Miles. It tells the story of a chauffeur who falls in love with an aristoc ...

'' (1973) as Connie * ''

Juggernaut A juggernaut (), in current English usage, is a literal or metaphorical force regarded as merciless, destructive, and unstoppable. This English usage originates in the mid-nineteenth century. ''Juggernaut'' is the early rendering in English ...

'' (1974) as Susan McLeod

References

External links

* * 1942 births 2020 deaths Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art British television actresses People educated at St Mary's Town and Country School Caroline {{UK-tv-actor-1940s-stub