Gayle Hunnicutt
American actress (1943–2023)
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Gayle Hunnicutt, Lady Jenkins (February 6, 1943 – August 31, 2023)[1] was an American film, television, and stage actress. She is known for her film roles in Marlowe (1969), Fragment of Fear (1970), Running Scared (1972), and The Legend of Hell House (1973), as well as her portrayal of Vanessa Beaumont on the soap opera Dallas (1988–1991).[1]
Gayle Hunnicutt | |
|---|---|
Hunnicutt in The Golden Bowl (1972) | |
| Born | February 6, 1943 Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | August 31, 2023 (aged 80) London, England |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupations | Actress, writer, model |
| Years active | 1966–1999 |
| Known for | |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2, including Nolan Hemmings |
Early life and education
Hunnicutt was born February 6, 1943 in Fort Worth, Texas, the daughter of Mary Virginia (née Dickerson) and Colonel Sam Lloyd Hunnicutt.[1] Hunnicutt attended Texas Christian University before winning a scholarship to the University of California, Los Angeles, where she majored in English literature and theatre.[1]
She worked as a fashion model, then became an actress.[citation needed]
Career
Acting
During her film career, Hunnicutt was typecast as a red-haired sexpot.[2][3] She portrayed Emaline Fetty, a con woman trying to extort money from the Clampetts in two episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies in 1966.[4] She co-starred with James Garner in the detective film Marlowe (1969), in which her character was a glamorous Hollywood actress.
She moved to England with husband David Hemmings in 1970. She and Hemmings co-starred in two horror films in the early 1970s, Fragment of Fear (1970) and Voices (1973). She played Charlotte Stant in the Jack Pulman television adaptation (1972) of Henry James's The Golden Bowl. She played Ann Barrett in The Legend of Hell House (1973), and Tsarina Alexandra in the television miniseries Fall of Eagles (1974). She appeared as a housewife and mother in an episode of The Martian Chronicles in 1979. She appeared as Irene Adler, opposite Jeremy Brett, in the first episode of the TV series The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes ("A Scandal in Bohemia") in 1984. She also appeared in another Marlowe mystery in an episode of HBO's Philip Marlowe, Private Eye (1983), this time starring Powers Boothe. She had a supporting role in the thriller Target (1985), co-starring Gene Hackman and Matt Dillon. Hunnicutt returned to the United States in 1989 to play the role of Vanessa Beaumont in Dallas, making semi-regular appearances until 1991.
In 2012, Hunnicutt was featured in an episode of the HGTV reality show Selling London, in which she presented the Primrose Hill property where she and her second husband, journalist and editor Simon Jenkins, lived for three decades.[5]
Writing
Hunnicutt wrote two books. The first, Health and Beauty in Motherhood, was published in 1984. In 2004, she published Dearest Virginia: Love Letters from a Cavalry Officer in the South Pacific, which contains the letters exchanged by her parents during World War II.[citation needed]
Personal life and death
On November 16, 1968, Hunnicutt married British actor David Hemmings.[6] The couple had a son, actor Nolan Hemmings, before divorcing in 1975.[7]
Hunnicutt married journalist Simon Jenkins in 1978. The couple lived in Primrose Hill, London, where they raised their son Edward. Jenkins was appointed a Knight Bachelor for services to journalism in the 2004 New Year honours. They divorced in 2009. In 2010 she started dating Richard Evans, tennis correspondent of The Daily Telegraph.[8]
Hunnicutt died in London on August 31, 2023, at the age of 80.[2][9]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | The Wild Angels | Suzie | ||
| 1968 | P.J. | Maureen Preble | ||
| The Smugglers | Adrianna | Television film | ||
| 1969 | Eye of the Cat | Kassia Lancaster | ||
| Marlowe | Mavis Wald | |||
| 1970 | Fragment of Fear | Juliet Bristow | ||
| 1971 | Freelance | Chris | ||
| The Love Machine | Astrological girl at party | Uncredited | ||
| 1972 | Running Scared | Ellen Case | [10] | |
| 1973 | Voices | Claire | ||
| Scorpio | Susan | |||
| The Legend of Hell House | Ann Barrett | [11] | ||
| 1974 | Nuits rouges | Alternate title: Shadowman | ||
| 1975 | The Spiral Staircase | Blanche | ||
| 1976 | Strange Shadows in an Empty Room | Margie Cohn | ||
| The Sell Out | Deborah | |||
| 1978 | Once in Paris... | Susan Townsend | ||
| Dylan | Liz Reitel | Television film | ||
| 1979 | The Saint and the Brave Goose | Annabelle West | ||
| 1980 | Flashpoint Africa | Lisa Ford | ||
| 1981 | The Million Dollar Face | Diana Masterson | Television film | |
| 1983 | Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E. | Andrea Mackovich | Television film | |
| Savage in the Orient | Julian Clydesdale | Television film | ||
| 1984 | Two by Forsyth | Television film | ||
| 1985 | Target | Donna Lloyd | ||
| 1986 | Dream Lover | Claire | ||
| Strong Medicine | Lillian Hawthorne | Television film | ||
| 1987 | Turnaround | Pat | ||
| 1989 | Silence Like Glass | Mrs. Martin | ||
| Hard to Be a God | ||||
| The Saint: The Brazilian Connection | Mrs. Cunningham | Television film | ||
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | The Beverly Hillbillies | Emaline Fetty | 2 episodes | [12] |
| Love on a Rooftop | Barbara Ames | Episode: "There's Got to Be Something Wrong With Her" | [12] | |
| Hey, Landlord | Joan | Episode: "Safari" | [12] | |
| 1966–1967 | Get Smart: It Takes One to Know One | Octavia, a KAOS agent | [12] | |
| 1972 | The Golden Bowl | Charlotte Slant | Miniseries | [12] |
| 1974 | Fall of Eagles | Tsarina Alexandra | Miniseries | [12] |
| Thriller | Suzy Buckley | Episode: "K Is for Killing" | [12] | |
| 1979 | Return of the Saint | Annabelle West | 2 episodes | [12] |
| A Man Called Intrepid | Cynthia | Miniseries | [12] | |
| 1980 | Fantômas | Lady Beltham | Miniseries | [12] |
| The Martian Chronicles | Ruth Wilder | Miniseries | [12] | |
| The Love Boat | Janet Mallory | 3 episodes | [12] | |
| 1983 | Taxi | Mrs. Bascome | Episode: "Louie Moves Uptown" | [13] |
| Tales of the Unexpected | Susan Mandeville | Episode: "The Luncheon" | [12] | |
| 1984 | The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes | Irene Adler | Episode: "A Scandal in Bohemia" | [12] |
| The First Olympics: Athens 1896 | Mary Sloane | Miniseries | [12] | |
| 1985 | A Woman of Substance | Olivia Wainright | Miniseries | [12] |
| 1986 | Dream West | Maria Crittenden | Miniseries | [12] |
| 1989–1991 | Dallas | Vanessa Beaumont | 13 episodes | [12] |
| 1996 | Tales from the Crypt | Ellen | Episode: "Smoke Wrings" | [12] |