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Suzanna Leigh in Paradise, Hawaiian Style (1966)

Biography

Suzanna Leigh

Overview

  • Born
    July 26, 1945 · Belgrave, England, UK
  • Died
    December 11, 2017 · Winter Garden, Florida, USA (liver cancer)
  • Birth name
    Sandra Anne Eleen Smith
  • Height
    5′ 5″ (1.65 m)

Mini bio

  • Born Suzanna Smyth, the daughter of an auto engine manufacturer, Suzanna Leigh grew up in Belgrave, England, and in convent schools outside London. She began working in movies while still a pre-teen, appearing as an extra in 1958's Tom Thumb (1958) (film-debuting in the "Dancing Shoes" sequence), 1960's Oscar Wilde (1960) with 'Robert Morley' and other English productions. A few years later, she was the star of the 13-episode French TV series, En Touraine (1966), which every week featured Leigh, her racing car and a different male lead (the "Three Stars" of the series' translated title). Planning to attend London's Opera Ball, costumed as "Madame Du Barry", Leigh had a sedan chair made, along with costumes for five footmen who carried it (and her) through the streets of the city. Movie producer Hal B. Wallis saw newspaper photos of Leigh's elaborate stunt and imported the 20-year-old blonde to Hollywood for Boeing, Boeing (1965). Following her brush with major studio stardom, she resumed her English acting career, showing up on movie screens, most regularly in chillers. Her 1998 autobiography is entitled "Paradise, Suzanna Style".
    - IMDb mini biography by: Tom Weaver <TomWeavr@aol.com>

Trivia

  • Is the goddaughter of actress Vivien Leigh, from whom she received her stage name.
  • Was a friend of actress Sharon Tate.
  • Was at one point going to star again with Elvis Presley in Easy Come, Easy Go (1967), but according to her interview Tom Parker (Elvis' manager) was one of the reasons why she never made the movie.
  • In Chain of Events (1971), she uses four times the same judo jack to beat Rocky Taylor.
  • She found her friend Imogen Hassall's body in her Wimbledon cottage on November 16, 1980 after she arrived to embark with Hassall on a holiday to Mombassa, Kenya. Hassall was found in bed, with a telephone in one hand and an empty bottle of pills in the other. Friends said that she had been hospitalized the week before for one of several suicide attempts.

Quotes

  • [Elvis Presley]'s kisses held an intensity that melted my very being. I slipped my arms around his neck and our bodies entwined. This was all madness, but we didn't stop. A person could go to the gallows with such a kiss lingering on their lips, knowing life had been good.

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