Sunday 25 November 2012

Actress Dinah Sheridan who starred in The Railway Children dies aged 92


Actress Dinah Sheridan who starred in The Railway Children dies aged 92

  • Born Dinah Nadyejda Ginsburg in Hampstead in 1920 to a Russian father and German mother who were photographers to the Royal Family
  • She died peacefully at her home in Northwood, Middlesex this morning
    The actress Dinah Sheridan, who starred in The Railway Children, has died.
Ms Sheridan, 92, who also starred in Genevieve, died peacefully at her home in Northwood, Middlesex this morning surrounded by her family, said her agent Gareth Owen.
The actress, the mother of actress Jenny Hanley and Sir Jeremy Hanley, was considered the quintessential English rose because of her elegance and quiet beauty.
Ms Sheridan, 92, pictured here second from left in the Railway Children died peacefully at her home in Northwood, Middlesex this morning surrounded by her family
Ms Sheridan, 92, pictured here second from left in the Railway Children, died peacefully at her home in Northwood, Middlesex this morning surrounded by her family
But she was born Dinah Nadyejda Ginsburg in Hampstead in 1920 to a Russian father and German mother who were photographers to the Royal Family.
Her first stage role came at the tender age of 12 and she subsequently went on tour as Wendy in Peter Pan which starred Charles Laughton as Captain Hook.
    Ms Sheridan's film break came shortly after when she was 16 and appeared in such films as Irish And Proud of It (1938) until her momentum was interrupted by the Second World War.
    In 1942 she married actor Jimmy Hanley and had three children, although one died at birth.
    Her son Jeremy went on to be Conservative Party chairman in the 1990s and his sister Jenny was an actress and presenter, hosting the ITV children's show Magpie. Another daughter, born in 1944, lived for just three days.
    The couple appeared together in titles such as Salute John Citizen (1942), 29 Acacia Avenue (1945) and The Huggetts Abroad (1949).
    She became familiar alongside Nigel Havers and Tony Britton in the domestic sitcom Don't Wait Up
    She became familiar alongside Nigel Havers and Tony Britton in the domestic sitcom Don't Wait Up
    The actress, the mother of actress Jenny Hanley and Sir Jeremy Hanley, was considered the quintessential English rose because of her elegance and quiet beauty
    The actress, the mother of actress Jenny Hanley and Sir Jeremy Hanley, was considered the quintessential English rose because of her elegance and quiet beauty
    Ms Sheridan's career peaked with the sparkling comedy Genevieve (1953), co-starring John Gregson, Kenneth More and Kay Kendall.
    Among her most famous roles was as the mother in The Railway Children.
    'She practically played herself as the mother in that film, except in real life she has been much more smiling, even though she hasn't had much to smile about at times. ' her son Jeremy once said.
    In the 1980s, she became familiar alongside Nigel Havers and Tony Britton in the domestic sitcom Don't Wait Up, and in 1984 she appeared with Keith Barron in the bakery-set TV comedy All Night Long.
    In 1999, both The Railway Children and Genevieve were named on a list of the top 100 British films of all time, as voted for by a panel of more than 1,000 actors, producers, writers and directors.


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