Vivien Merchant

Birthday: 1929-07-22
Deathday: 1982-07-09
Birthplace: Manchester, Lancashire, England, UK
Gender: Female
Drafted: 0
Drafted By: Unowned
Owned By: Unowned
Owned Wins: 0
Owned Noms: 0
Win Bonus: 0
Nom Bonus: 0
Total Points: 0

​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  

Vivien Merchant (born Ada Thompson 22 July 1929 – 3 October 1982) was a British actress. She performed in many stage productions and several films, including Alfie (1966) and Frenzy (1972). Her performance in Alfie earned her Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actress, and the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress.

She was the first wife of the playwright Harold Pinter, whom she met when working as a repertory actress and married in 1956. Their son, Daniel, was born in 1958. Having performed the role of Rose in a production of his first play, The Room (1957) at the Hampstead Theatre in 1960, she also appeared in many of Pinter's subsequent works, including as Ruth in The Homecoming (1964) on stage (1965) and screen (The Homecoming, 1973). The last of his plays in which she performed was Old Times (1971) as Anna.

Their marriage began disintegrating in the mid-1960s. From 1962 to 1969, Harold Pinter had a clandestine affair with Joan Bakewell, which informs Pinter's play Betrayal and his film adaptation, also called Betrayal.

In 1975 Pinter began a serious affair with the historian Lady Antonia Fraser, the wife of Sir Hugh Fraser, which he confessed to his wife that March. At first, Merchant took it very well, saying positive things about Fraser, according to her friend artist Guy Vaesen (as cited by Billington); but, Vaesen recalled, after "a female friend of Vivien's trotted round to her house and poisoned her mind against Antonia ... Life in Hanover Terrace [where the Pinters then lived] gradually became impossible". Pinter left, and Vivien Merchant filed for divorce and gave interviews to the tabloid press, expressing her distress.The Frasers' divorce became final in 1977 and the Pinters' in 1980. In 1980 Pinter married Antonia Fraser.

Vivien Merchant never overcame her grief and bitterness at losing Pinter, dying at the age of 53 on 3 October 1982, from acute alcoholism

Description above from the Wikipedia article Vivien Merchant ,  licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Career Statisics

Season Age Movie Role Result Points
1967 38 Alfie (1966) Supporting Actress Nom 0
Career 0

Transaction History

Date Location Team Receives Team Receives Team Receives

Credits

Year Title Character
The Collection Stella
1977-07-17 The Man in the Iron Mask Reine Maria Theresa
1975-04-21 The Maids Madame
1973-10-29 The Homecoming Ruth
1973-10-21 The Common Jane Noble
1973-01-11 The Offence Maureen Johnson
1972-11-18 A War of Children
1972-05-25 Frenzy Mrs. Oxford
1972-01-27 Under Milk Wood Mrs. Pugh
1969-10-08 Alfred the Great Freda
1968-08-26 Funeral Games Tessa
1967-02-09 Accident Rosalind
1967-01-02 Opus Ruth (The Homecoming)
1966-03-29 Alfie Lily Clamacraft
1966-03-20 A Month in the Country
1965-03-25 Tea Party
1963-03-28 The Lover Sarah
1960-07-21 Night School Sally Gibbs
1960-04-24 A Night Out Girl