Samantha Eggar, the vibrant British actress known for her captivating performances in The Collector, Return From the Ashes, Doctor Dolittle, and The Molly Maguires, has passed away at the age of 86.
Eggar died Wednesday at her home in Sherman Oaks,
California, her daughter, actress Jenna Stern (House of Cards),
confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. Stern shared that her mother had
battled illness over the past five years but "lived a long, fabulous
life."
Eggar rose to fame with her riveting performance in The
Collector (1965), directed by William Wyler. After Natalie Wood reportedly
declined the part, Eggar took on the role of an innocent art student abducted
by a disturbed loner (played by Terence Stamp), earning an Academy Award
nomination for Best Actress. She was just 25 at the time.
In a 2014 interview with The Terror Trap, Eggar
reflected on the physically and emotionally demanding shoot. “Terence and I had
known each other from drama school, but we didn’t speak during filming. He
embodied that character fully,” she said. “My strongest support on set came
from director William Wyler and dialogue coach Kathleen Freeman, who helped me
through the intense experience.”
Wyler reportedly amped up the film’s realism to elicit raw
emotion. “If he didn’t get what he wanted, he’d dump cold water on me,” Eggar
revealed. “What you see on screen—me tied in black leather—was very much
happening in real life.”
Eggar's career thrived throughout the late 1960s and early
'70s. She played a scheming stepdaughter in Return From the Ashes
(1965), and starred opposite Cary Grant in the romantic comedy Walk, Don’t
Run (1966). She showcased her singing and dancing skills alongside Rex
Harrison in Doctor Dolittle (1967).
In 1970 alone, she starred in three major films: The
Molly Maguires, The Walking Stick, and The Lady in the Car With
Glasses and a Gun. In the latter, critic Roger Greenspun of The New York
Times praised Eggar’s nuanced portrayal, calling her “beautiful,
intelligent and tough enough to be fascinatingly vulnerable” and hailing her
performance as possibly her best.
On television, Eggar took on iconic roles, including Anna
opposite Yul Brynner in a 1972 CBS version of The King and I, and
Phyllis Dietrichson (originally portrayed by Barbara Stanwyck) in a 1973 ABC
remake of Double Indemnity. She also appeared as Dr. Watson’s wife in The
Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976) with Robert Duvall and Nicol Williamson.
Eggar became a fan favorite in the horror genre with
performances in The Dead Are Alive! (1972), Curtains (1983), and
most memorably The Brood (1979), directed by David Cronenberg. In that
film, she portrayed a mentally disturbed woman whose rage manifests in
monstrous offspring. “I was fascinated by the story—children of anger growing
out of my body,” she once said. “It had a Shakespearean richness to it.”
Born Victoria Louise Samantha Marie Elizabeth Therese Eggar
on March 5, 1939, in Hampstead, London, she was raised in the Buckinghamshire
countryside. Her father was a brigadier general in the British Army, and her
mother had served as an ambulance driver in World War II.
Eggar spent part of the war years in a convent, where
exposure to literature, music, and theater sparked her love for the arts. At
16, she adopted the name “Samantha” and initially pursued art school after her
mother forbade her from attending the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She later
entered the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, thanks to a persistent
cousin.
Her stage debut came in Landscape With Figures in
1959. She soon moved into classical theater, performing Chekhov and Shakespeare
alongside luminaries such as Albert Finney and Lynn Redgrave. Film roles
followed, including Young and Willing (1962), Doctor in Distress
(1963), and Psyche 59 (1964).
Though she won Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival and
a Golden Globe for The Collector, she lost the Oscar to Julie Christie
for Darling. Other nominees that year included Julie Andrews (The
Sound of Music), Simone Signoret (Ship of Fools), and Elizabeth
Hartman (A Patch of Blue).
Eggar relocated to Los Angeles in 1972, continuing to act in
films such as Ragin’ Cajun (1990), The Phantom (1996), and The
Astronaut’s Wife (1999). Her TV credits include guest roles on Star
Trek: The Next Generation, All My Children, and Commander in
Chief. She also lent her voice to animated features and video games,
including voicing Hera in Hercules and M in James Bond titles.
A devoted member of her community, Eggar served as a lector
and lay minister at churches in Beverly Hills and Sherman Oaks, leading weekly
meditations before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Her family remembered her as a passionate animal lover. “To
know Sam was to understand her love for animals, all creatures great and
small,” they said. “Her beloved dogs—ranging from Great Danes to rescued
strays—held a permanent place in her heart.”
Eggar was married to American actor Tom Stern from 1964
until their divorce in 1971. She is survived by their children: daughter Jenna
Stern and son Nicolas Stern, a producer; daughter-in-law Mindy; son-in-law
Brennan; three grandchildren—Charlie, Isabel, and Calla; and her sisters
Margaret, Toni, and Vivien.
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