The Dead Zone - DIANE CILENTO - Australian Leading Lady and Star of "The Wicker Man"

DIANE CILENTO - Australian Leading Lady and Star of "The Wicker Man"

Australian actress Diane Cilento, who was a leading star in British films and television in the 1960s, died on October 6, 2011. She was 78.  Cilento was born in Brisbane, Australia, on October 5, 1933, the daughter of two leading medical practitioners. She lived with her father in New York while in her teens, where she began working on stage productions. She earned a scholarship to London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in the early 1950s. She was nominated for a Tony Award in 1956 for her role as Helen of Troy in a production of Jean Giraudoux’s "Tiger at the Gates". She also appeared in the films "All Hallowe’en" (1952), "Dead on Course" (1952), "Moulin Rouge" (1952), "Meet Mr. Lucifer" (1953), "Passing Strange" (1954), "Passage Home" (1955), "The Woman for Joe" (1955), "The Angel Who Pawned Her Harp" (1956), "A Novel Affair" (1957), "Paradise Lagoon" (aka "The Admirable Crichton") (1957), "The Truth About Women" (1957), "Jet Storm" (1959), "Stop Me Before I Kill!" (1960), "The Naked Edge" (1961), and "I Thank a Fool" (1962). She was also seen on television in productions of "A Tomb with a View" (1951), "The Taming of the Shrew" (1956) for "Hallmark Hall of Fame", "Anna Christie" (1957), "The Concert" (1959), "Rain" (1960), "Vanity Fair" (1961), and "Jeannette" (1961), and episodes of "Espionage", "ITV Play of the Week", "Blackmail", "Court Martial", and "Thirty-Minute Theatre". She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Molly Seagrim in Tony Richardson’s 1963 film version of Henry Fielding’s ribald novel "Tom Jones". Cilento married James Bond star Sean Connery in 1962, and her acting career was often overshadowed by their frequently tempetuous relationship. She continued to appear in such films as "The Third Secret" (1964), "Rattle of a Simple Man" (1964), "Once Upon a Tractor" (1965), "The Agony and the Ecstasy" (1965) as Contessina de Medicini opposite Charlton Heston’s Michelangelo, "Hombre" (1967) with Paul Newman, and "Negatives" (1967). She was also body double for Mie Hama in underwater scenes in 1967’s "You Only Live Twice", starring Connery as James Bond. She was featured on British television in the 1968 "Late Night Horror" production of "The Kiss of Blood", and was Lady Sarah Bellasize in "Rogues’ Gallery" in 1969. She starred in the 1972 sci-fi film "Z.P.G." and was Hann Reitsch in "Hitler: The Last Ten Days" in 1973. She also starred in the tele-film "Spell of Evil" (1973), and episodes of "The Persuaders!" and "Affairs of the Heart". She and Connery divorced in 1973. 

 She subsequently starred as the pagan school teacher, Miss Rose, in the cult classic "The Wicker Man" (1973) starring Christopher Lee and Edward Woodward. Cilento starred as Diana Clark in the 1978 series "Tycoon", and in the television productions "Big Toys" (1980) and "For the Term of His Natural Life" (1983). She was also seen in the films "Duet for Four" (1982) and "The Boy Who Had Everything" (1985), co-starring with her son, Jason Connery. She starred as Authoritax in the 1994 series "Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left". Cilento met playwright Anthony Shaffer while working on "The Wicker Man" in the early 1970s, and they married in 1985. They remained together until Shaffer’s death in 2001. She penned her autobiography, "My Nine Live", in 2006.