Claire Gordon (16 January 1941 – 13 April 2015) was an English film actress and comedian known for leading and cameo roles in many British films from the late 1950s to the mid-1980s, and for working with most of the television comedy stars of that time. She was best known for her leading roles in the cult films ''

Konga Konga () is a locality situated in Tingsryd Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway t ...

'' and ''

Beat Girl ''Beat Girl'' is a 1960 British teen exploitation drama film directed by Edmond T. Gréville. The film was released in the United States under the title ''Wild for Kicks''. The title character of ''Beat Girl'' was played by starlet Gillian H ...

'', Gordon was the subject of singer Scott Walker's song "Archangel".

Career

Gordon was born 16 January 1941 in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, in England. Her father was a doctor and her mother a make-up artist who worked for

Max Factor Max Factor is a line of cosmetics from Coty, founded in 1909 as Max Factor & Company by Maksymilian Faktorowicz. Max Factor specialized in movie make-up. Until its 1973 sale for US$500 million (approximately $ billion in 2017 dollars), Max Fa ...

. After being photographed by chance at the Queens Ice Rink,

Bayswater Bayswater is an area in the City of Westminster in West London. It is a built-up district with a population density of 17,500 per square kilometre, and is located between Kensington Gardens to the south, Paddington to the north-east, and ...

, for the cover of the magazine ''

Lilliput Lilliput is an island nation in Jonathan Swift's novel ''Gulliver's Travels''. Lilliput may also refer to: Geography * Lilliput (townland), a townland in County Westmeath, Ireland * Lilliput, Dorset, a district in the town of Poole in Dorset, ...

'', she was signed to a five-year contract with film agent Bill Watts and played a harem girl in the

Bernard Bresslaw Bernard Bresslaw (25 February 193411 June 1993) was an English actor and comedian. He was best known as a member of the '' Carry On'' film franchise. Bresslaw also worked on television and stage, performed recordings and wrote a series of poetr ...

film ''

I Only Arsked! ''I Only Arsked!'' is a 1958 British comedy film directed by Montgomery Tully and starring Bernard Bresslaw, Michael Medwin and Alfie Bass. The screenplay was by Sid Colin and Jack Davies based on the television series ''The Army Game'' (1957 ...

'' (1958), before making her first stage appearance, still aged only seventeen, in ''Meet the Cousin'', which starred

Cicely Courtneidge Dame Esmerelda Cicely Courtneidge (1 April 1893 – 26 April 1980) was an Australian-born British actress, comedian and singer. The daughter of the producer and playwright Robert Courtneidge, she was appearing in his productions in the West End ...

and

Jack Hulbert John Norman Hulbert (24 April 189225 March 1978) was a British actor, director, screenwriter and singer, specializing primarily in comedy productions, and often working alongside his wife (Dame) Cicely Courtneidge. Biography Born in Ely, C ...

.Terence Blacker, ''You Cannot Live as I Have Lived and Not End Up Like This'' (2007) The show opened at the Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, and it was there that she met her husband-to-be

William Donaldson Charles William Donaldson (4 January 1935 – 22 June 2005) was a British satirist, writer, playboy and, under the pseudonym of Henry Root, author of ''The Henry Root Letters''. Life and career Son of Charles Glen Donaldson (1904–1956) and ...

, later better known as Henry Root, who was just starting out as a theatrical producer. Following a spell in repertory at the New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth, playing a Russian spy in

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...

's ''Verdict'' and a gum-chewing blonde in ''Brighton Rock'' and some pre-London tours, she made her

West End theatre West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes"West End"in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1195, ...

debut on a motorbike in '' The Darling Buds of May'' at the

Saville Theatre The Saville Theatre building is a former West End theatre and cinema at 135 Shaftesbury Avenue in the London Borough of Camden. The theatre opened in 1931, and became a music venue during the 1960s. In 1970, it became a cinema, most recently a ...

; and then played the role of Peggy, a dumb blonde film starlet, in a show-stopping scene with

Michael Crawford Michael Patrick Smith (born 19 January 1942), known professionally as Michael Crawford, is an English actor, comedian and singer. Crawford is best known for playing the hapless Frank Spencer in the sitcom '' Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'', Cornel ...

Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He received three ...

's first hit ''Come Blow Your Horn'' at London's

Prince of Wales Theatre The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre in Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in London. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner. The theatre ...

, In 1960, she appeared in the third episode of ''

Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again ...

'' entitled "Josetta" playing the role of Sandra, an assassin's conspiratorial girlfriend attempting to entrap John Drake (Patrick McGoohan). Later, at Donaldson's request, she appeared as an entirely French-speaking Lady Fifi de Winter in an improvised production of ''The Three Musketeers'' with

Bruce Lacey Bruce Lacey (31 March 1927 – 18 February 2016) was a British artist, performer and eccentric. After completing his national service in the Navy he became established on the avant garde scene with his performance art and mechanical constructs. H ...

and

The Alberts The Alberts were a British music/comedy troupe of the mid-1950s to mid-1960s, featuring brothers Anthony "Tony" and Douglas "Dougie" Gray, along with Bruce Lacey. They were notable for their surreal performances. Career Educated at the Orator ...

, at the

Arts Theatre The Arts Theatre is a theatre in Great Newport Street, in Westminster, Central London. It opened on April 20, 1927. History It opened on 20 April 1927 as a members-only club for the performance of unlicensed plays, thus avoiding theatre cen ...

. Donaldson's talent for presenting controversial and often money-losing shows didn't desert him; the show ran for two weeks; and Gordon made theatrical history as the first actress to appear naked on stage. ("Watch out for the bath scene; it's a breakthrough", wrote the ''

New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...

''.) Most recently, she played the Fairy Godmother in ''

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

'' at the Princess Theatre,

Hunstanton Hunstanton (sometimes pronounced ) is a seaside resort, seaside town in Norfolk, England, which had a population of 4,229 at the 2011 Census. It faces west across The Wash. Hunstanton lies 102 miles (164 km) north-north-east of London an ...

, and worked with Sarah Louise Young in Clive Evans's two woman show ''The Nunnery''.

Personal life

Gordon married Donaldson on 1 September 1967. A year later he inherited a fortune on the death of his grandmother. Donaldson's biographer later noted that the marriage was "not an easy one". After it broke down, Gordon joined the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

and went on to graduate from

Middlesex University Middlesex University London (legally Middlesex University and abbreviated to MDX) is a public research university based in Hendon, northwest London, England. The university also has campuses in Dubai and Mauritius. The name of the university is ...

with a BA degree in English and American History and Literature. Gordon was with Dr Stephen Ward the night that he met Christine Keeler, and with William Donaldson when the police raided and planted hash in their Chelsea flat; for which the policemen were later jailed. By the end of her life, she had been working on her memoirs and a documentary about her experiences while living in Egypt before and after the 2011 revolution.

Death

Claire Gordon died of a brain tumour on 13 April 2015 in a nursing home in west London. After her death, two former "property consultants" were sent for trial on charges of fraud and conspiracy to defraud by altering her will.

Filmography

* 1958: ''

'' * 1960: '' And Women Shall Weep'' * 1960: '' Never Let Go'' * 1960: ''

'' * 1960: ''

The Bulldog Breed ''The Bulldog Breed'' is a 1960 British comedy film directed by Robert Asher and starring Norman Wisdom. It was written by Henry Blyth, Jack Davies and Wisdom. Plot Norman Puckle, a well-meaning but clumsy grocer's assistant, cannot seem to ...

'' * 1960: ''

Make Mine Mink ''Make Mine Mink'' is a 1960 British comedy farce film directed by Robert Asher and featuring Terry-Thomas, Athene Seyler, Hattie Jacques and Billie Whitelaw. It was based on the 1958 play ''Breath of Spring'' by Peter Coke, and its sequel ...

'' * 1961: '' Ticket to Paradise'' * 1961: ''

'' * 1964: ''I due evasi di Sing Sing'' * 1965: '' Licensed to Kill'' * 1968: '' Great Catherine'' * 1970: ''

Cool It Carol! ''Cool It, Carol!'' (U.S. title: ''Dirtiest Girl I Ever Met''; also known as ''Oh Carol'') is a 1970 British sex comedy-drama film directed and produced by Pete Walker, starring Robin Askwith and Janet Lynn. It was written by Murray Smilth. P ...

'' * 1971: '' Suburban Wives'' * 1972: '' Commuter Husbands'' * 1973: ''Sex Farm''

Notes

External links

*
Photograph on the cover of ''Picturegoer'' magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Claire 1941 births 2015 deaths Alumni of Middlesex University Neurological disease deaths in England Deaths from brain cancer in England English film actresses English stage actresses English women comedians Actresses from Cambridge Comedians from Cambridgeshire