Primula Rollo Niven's sudden death, at the age of only 28, was one of
the most astonishing freak accidents in the annals of entertainment.
While playing hide and seek at a party at
Tyrone Power's home, she opened a
door to step into what she took to be a closet. It was in fact a steep
set of stairs leading into Power's basement, and she was severely
injured in the resultant fall, dying the next day. Upon hearing of her
death, the Nivens' old friend,
Peter Ustinov, remarked that, "dying while
finding a place to play hide-and-go-seek is such an asinine way to go
that it almost makes one angry with fate". Niven was deeply stunned by
her death, their younger son,
Jamie Niven, having been born only a few
months earlier, and it was said that he could never mention her in
later years without breaking down.
