Tracy Constance Margaret Hyde (born 16 May 1959) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

former actress and model who shot to fame in the 1971 film ''

Melody A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of Pitch (music), pitch and rhythm, while more figurativel ...

'' after being discovered by film producer

David Puttnam David Terence Puttnam, Baron Puttnam, CBE, HonFRSA, HonFRPS, MRIA (; born 25 February 1941), is a British-Irish film producer, educator, environmentalist and former member of the House of Lords. His productions include '' Chariots of Fire' ...

. Hyde was born in

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England. She learned ballet at the age of four, did junior modelling for an agency, and auditioned for a pickle advertisement. The writer and director

Andrew Birkin Andrew Timothy Birkin (born 9 December 1945) is an English screenwriter and director. Early life and education Birkin is the only son of Lieutenant-Commander David Leslie Birkin (grandson of the lace manufacturer and railway director Sir Thoma ...

(brother of actress

Jane Birkin Jane Mallory Birkin ( ; 14 December 1946 – 16 July 2023) was a British and French actress, singer, and designer. She had a prolific career as an actress, mostly in French cinema. A native of London, Birkin began her career as an actress, ...

) saw photographs of the young Tracy Hyde and persuaded her mother Maureen to audition her for the title role of Melody Perkins. Birkin also recommended Tracy to director

Waris Hussein Waris Hussein (''né'' Habibullah; born 9 December 1938) is a British-Indian television and film director. At the beginning of his career he was employed by the BBC as its youngest drama director. He directed early episodes of ''Doctor Who'', inc ...

, writer

Alan Parker Sir Alan William Parker (14 February 1944 – 31 July 2020) was an English film director, screenwriter and producer. His early career, beginning in his late teens, was spent as a copywriter and director of television advertisements. After abo ...

and producer David Puttnam. After screen tests and auditions, Hyde finally won the role. After Melody, Hyde appeared in the UK ''Trial'' (

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, 1971), ''

ITV Playhouse ''Playhouse'', also known as ''ITV Playhouse'', is a British television anthology series that ran from 1967 to 1983, which featured contributions from playwrights such as Dennis Potter, Rhys Adrian and Alan Sharp. The series began in black a ...

: The Greeks and Their Gifts'' ( Anglia, 1972) and ''

Love Story Love Story or A Love Story may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres * Romance (love) ** Romance film ** Romance novel Films * ''Love Story'' (1925 film), German silent film * ''Love Story'' (1942 film), Italian drama film * ''Love ...

: Home for the Holidays'' (

Associated Television ATV Network Limited, originally Associated TeleVision (ATV), was a British broadcaster, part of the ITV (TV network), ITV (Independent Television) network. It provided a service to London at weekends from 1955 to 1968, to the Midlands on week ...

, 1973). The success of ''Melody'' in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

resulted in Hyde being invited there in 1972 and plans were made for a film with her in the lead role. Budget restrictions prevented the film from being made. Hyde continued with her education and studied at a secretarial college; after leaving she was employed as a legal secretary for law firm Piper, Smith and Basham, where her colleague, a young Paul Kiely, noted her style and charm. Meanwhile, she appeared in Japanese magazines and calendars and visited Japan for the second time in 1977 for a film awards ceremony. In the 1980s, Hyde made her film comeback in ''Dead End'' (1980), ''

The Orchard End Murder ''The Orchard End Murder'' (also known as ''The Bunnyhole Murder'') is a 1981 British short thriller film directed and written by Christian Marnham, and starring Tracy Hyde, Bill Wallis, Clive Mantle, and Raymond Adamson. It marked the film ...

'' (1980) and ''

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

'' (1982) where she was reunited with her ''Melody'' co-star,

Jack Wild Jack Wild (30 September 1952 – 1 March 2006) was an English actor and singer. He is best known for his role as the Artful Dodger in the film ''Oliver!'' (1968), for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor at t ...

. Her numerous TV appearances include '' Sorry!'' (

, 1981–1982), ''

Kinvig ''Kinvig'' is a 1981 sci-fi comedy television series made by London Weekend Television which ran for one series of seven episodes. It was the only sit-com written by Nigel Kneale who was more famous for creating serious science fiction dramas suc ...

'' (

LWT London Weekend Television (LWT; now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 ...

, 1981), ''

The Gentle Touch ''The Gentle Touch'' is a British police procedural drama series made by London Weekend Television for ITV which began on 11 April 1980 and ran until 24 November 1984. The series is notable for being the first British series to feature a fema ...

'' (LWT, 1982), ''Now and Then'' (LWT, 1983–1984), ''

Dempsey and Makepeace ''Dempsey and Makepeace'' is a British television crime drama made by LWT for ITV, created and produced by Ranald Graham. Lead roles were played by Michael Brandon (Lieutenant Dempsey) and Glynis Barber (Sergeant Makepeace), who got married ...

'' (LWT, 1985, "Nowhere to Run"), ''Bust'' (LWT, 1987) and ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...

'' (

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...

, 1988). By the end of the decade, Hyde had disappeared from the limelight and married Allen J. Polley. In 1994, Japanese TV sought out Hyde and sent one of their reporters to the UK to find her.

Mark Lester Mark Lester (born Mark A. Letzer; 11 July 1958) is an English former child actor who starred in a number of British and European films in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1968 he played the title role in the film ''Oliver! (film), Oliver!'', a Musical f ...

was contacted and when it was found that Hyde had moved to France, Lester and the reporter both went there to search for her. She had moved there with her husband and her three sons. In 1999, Lester and Hyde were reunited again in another Japanese TV special. Hyde has since remarried and has returned home to London, where she now manages the family business, a kennel boarding service.

In popular culture

The American pop band

the Wondermints ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' ...

recorded a song titled "Tracy Hide" on its 1995 debut album Wondermints. The Japanese indie rock band For Tracy Hyde takes its name from that song. Despite the relative popularity of Hyde in Japan, the band claimed not to have been aware of the former actress in choosing the name and in stylizing its spelling.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hyde, Tracy 1959 births British child actresses English film actresses English television actresses Living people Actors from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Actresses from London People from Fulham