Barbara Murray

Barbara Murray
Photographed by Allan Warren in 1973
Born(1929-09-27)27 September 1929
London, England
Died20 May 2014(2014-05-20) (aged 84)
Alicante, Spain
Years active1948–1999
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1952; div. 1964)​

Bill "Peter" Holmes
(m. 1964; div. ??)
Children3

Barbara Ann Murray (27 September 1929 – 20 May 2014) was an English actress.[1]

Murray was most active in the 1940s and 1950s as a fresh-faced leading lady in many British films such as Passport to Pimlico (1949) and Meet Mr. Lucifer (1953).[2] She continued with film work into the 1960s (including a role in the Tony Hancock film The Punch and Judy Man) but appeared more frequently on television. She played Mrs Hauksbee in 7 episodes of the TV dramatisations of Rudyard Kipling's Plain Tales from the Hills, from 1964. She is possibly best known for her role as Lady Pamela Wilder in the 1960s drama series The Plane Makers (and the sequel, The Power Game).[1][3]

Her other TV credits include: The Escape of R.D.7, Danger Man, Never a Cross Word, The Saint, Department S, Strange Report, The Widow of Bath, The Pallisers, based on Anthony Trollope's series of novels (in which she played a major role as Madame Max Goesler, a wealthy foreign widow), The Mackinnons, Doctor Who (in the serial Black Orchid), Albert and Victoria, Robin's Nest 1978 and The Bretts.[4][5]

In 1976, she spent six weeks in hospital after breaking her jaw, when a car in which she was travelling was involved in a collision, during a British Council-sponsored acting tour of Brazil: "Fortunately, I was lucky and there were no marks on my face," she reflected.

Murray had three daughters from her marriage to the actor John Justin, but after twelve years of marriage, the couple divorced in 1964.[6][7] That same year, Murray married Bill "Peter" Holmes, an English literature teacher and former film actor (using the "Peter" first name); this marriage also ended in divorce.[8]

  1. ^ a b "Obituary: Barbara Murray. Actress..." Daily Express. 7 June 2014. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  2. ^ "Barbara Murray – obituary".
  3. ^ "The Punch and Judy Man (1963)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 27 February 2017.
  4. ^ "Barbara Murray". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016.
  5. ^ "Filmography: Barbara Murray..." AllMovie.
  6. ^ Eric Shorter. "Obituary: John Justin". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
  7. ^ "Obituary: Barbara Murray". The Stage. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
  8. ^ Farquhar, Simon (2 June 2014). "Barbara Murray: Former Rank starlet..." The Independent. Retrieved 4 February 2018.