Regina Jensen

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Brown's early film roles included three Powell and Pressburger films: her first screen part in *One of Our Aircraft Is Missing* (1942), a memorable supporting role in *I Know Where I'm Going!* (1945), and the fantasy film-opera *The Tales of Hoffmann* (1951). She played a bitter spinster in *Personal Affair* (1953) starring Gene Tierney. From the early 1950s, an arthritic condition that first appeared when she was sixteen made stage work difficult, restricting her mobility and causing great pain kept at bay by drugs. Despite this, she was a notable success as Jennet in the London production of Christopher Fry's *The Lady's Not For Burning* (1949), opposite Richard Burton, Claire Bloom and John Gielgud, which transferred to Broadway for an extended run (1950–51). *Time* magazine wrote (20 November 1950): 'As the lady, Pamela Brown proves that Fry did not write the part for her in vain. No one has a more gloriously uppity charm; no voice can simultaneously so rasp and thrill; no one ever made standoffishness more come-hitherable.'

In Their Own Story

Brown's film success continued as Jane Shore in Laurence Olivier's *Richard III* (1955) and opposite Kirk Douglas in the Van Gogh biopic *Lust for Life* (1956). Highlights of her 1960s work include the epic *Cleopatra* (High Priestess; 1963), *Becket* (Eleanor of Aquitaine; 1964) and *A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum* (High Priestess; 1966). She played Lady Bessborough in *Lady Caroline Lamb* (1972) and Archduchess Sophia of Austria in *Fall of Eagles* (1974). In February 1953, Brown divorced her husband, Peter Copley, for infidelity. They had no children. A devout Roman Catholic, she could not remarry while Copley was still alive but chose to live with her partner Michael Powell, the director who had given her early film roles. They remained together until her death from pancreatic cancer in September 1975, aged 58, in Avening, Gloucestershire. Brown was buried in Holy Cross churchyard, Avening.

Reader's Guide

Brown can be heard as Gwendolyn on the 1953 recording of *The Importance of Being Earnest* with John Gielgud and Edith Evans, as Cleopatra in the Caedmon Records production of *Antony and Cleopatra*, and reading excerpts from *Lady Chatterley's Lover*. Her career demonstrates a transition from stage to screen as her arthritic condition progressed, yet she continued to take notable roles in major films through the 1960s and early 1970s. Her personal life was marked by her divorce from Peter Copley and her long partnership with Michael Powell, which lasted until her death.

Did You Know?

• Pamela Brown was awarded the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Princess Victoria, Duchess of Kent in *Victoria Regina* (1961).
• She made her stage debut in 1936 as Juliet in a Stratford-upon-Avon production of *Romeo and Juliet*.
• Brown's arthritic condition first appeared when she was sixteen and began to make stage work difficult from the early 1950s.
• She divorced her husband Peter Copley in February 1953 for infidelity and could not remarry while he was alive due to her devout Roman Catholic faith.
• Brown died from pancreatic cancer in September 1975, aged 58, and was buried in Holy Cross churchyard, Avening, Gloucestershire.