Editing Rachel Roberts (actress)

{{Short description|Welsh actress (1927–1980)}}
{{Other uses|Rachel Roberts (disambiguation){{!}}Rachel Roberts}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2013}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Rachel Roberts
| image              = Rachel Roberts.JPG
| alt                = Black and white portrait photograph of Roberts in 1976. She is smiling and looking into the camera.
| caption            = Roberts in 1976
| birth_name         = 
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1927|9|20|df=y}}
| birth_place        = [[Llanelli]], [[Carmarthenshire]], Wales
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|1980|11|26|1927|9|20|df=y}}
| death_place        = [[Los Angeles]], California, U.S.
| alma_mater         = [[University of Wales]]<br />[[Royal Academy of Dramatic Art]]
| years_active       = 1953–1980
| spouse             = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|[[Alan Dobie]]|1955|1960|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|[[Rex Harrison]]|1962|1971|end=divorced}}
}}
}}

'''Rachel Roberts''' (20 September 1927{{spaced ndash}}26 November 1980) was a Welsh actress. She is best remembered for her screen performances as the older mistress of the central male characters in both ''[[Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (film)|Saturday Night and Sunday Morning]]'' (1960) and ''[[This Sporting Life]]'' (1963). For each, she won the [[BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role|BAFTA Award for Best British Actress]]. She was also nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Actress]] for ''This Sporting Life''. Her other notable film appearances included ''[[Murder on the Orient Express (1974 film)|Murder on the Orient Express]]'' (1974), ''[[Picnic at Hanging Rock (film)|Picnic at Hanging Rock]]'' (1975) and ''[[Yanks]]'' (1979).

Roberts' theatre credits included the original production of the musical ''[[Maggie May (musical)|Maggie May]]'' in 1964. She was nominated for the 1974 [[Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play]] for the plays, ''Chemin de Fer'' and ''[[The Visit (play)|The Visit]]'',<ref>[http://www.playbill.com/person/rachel-roberts-vault-0000069227 Roberts Playbill profile] accessed 12/9/2016</ref> and won a [[Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play|Drama Desk Award]] in 1976 for ''[[Habeas Corpus (play)|Habeas Corpus]]''.

== Early life and career ==
Roberts was born in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales. After a [[Baptist]] upbringing (against which she rebelled), followed by study at the [[University of Wales]] and the [[Royal Academy of Dramatic Art]], she began working with a repertory company in Swansea in 1950.<ref>''Halliwell's Who's Who on the Movies.'' John Walker (ed); HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd. (2003) pg398 {{ISBN|0-06-053423-0}}</ref> She made her film debut in the Welsh-set comedy ''[[Valley of Song]]'' (1953), directed by [[Gilbert Gunn]].

Her portrayal of Brenda in [[Karel Reisz]]'s ''[[Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (film)|Saturday Night and Sunday Morning]]'' (1960) won her a [[British Academy Film Awards|British Academy Film Award]].<ref name="Wales. 2008 pg769">''The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales''. [[John Davies (historian)|John Davies]], [[Nigel Jenkins]], Menna Baines and Peredur Lynch (2008) p. 769 {{ISBN|978-0-7083-1953-6}}</ref> [[Lindsay Anderson]] cast her as the suffering Mrs Hammond in ''[[This Sporting Life]]'' (1963), earning her another BAFTA and an [[Academy Awards|Oscar]] nomination. Both films were significant examples of the [[British New Wave]] of film-making.

In theatre, she performed at the Royal Court and played the title role as the life-enhancing prostitute in [[Lionel Bart]]'s musical ''[[Maggie May (musical)|Maggie May]]'' (1964). In films, she continued to play women with lusty appetites as in Lindsay Anderson's ''[[O Lucky Man!]]'' (1973), although the haunting Australian-made ''[[Picnic at Hanging Rock (film)|Picnic at Hanging Rock]]'' (1975), directed by [[Peter Weir]], provided her with a different kind of role, as the authoritarian head teacher of a Victorian girls' school.

After relocating to [[Los Angeles]] in the early 1970s, she appeared in supporting roles in several American films such as ''[[Foul Play (1978 film)|Foul Play]]'' (1978). Her final British film was ''[[Yanks]]'' (1979), directed by [[John Schlesinger]], for which she received a Supporting Actress BAFTA.<ref name="Wales. 2008 pg769"/>

In 1976, she won a [[Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play|Drama Desk Award]] for her performance in Alan Bennett's play ''[[Habeas Corpus (play)|Habeas Corpus]]''.<ref>[https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/habeas-corpus-3772/#awards IDBD Profile] accessed 12/9/2016</ref> In 1979, Roberts co-starred with [[Jill Bennett (British actress)|Jill Bennett]] in the [[London Weekend Television]] production of [[Alan Bennett]]'s ''The Old Crowd'', directed by Lindsay Anderson and [[Stephen Frears]].

==Personal life==
Roberts was married twice and had no children. She first married actor [[Alan Dobie]] in 1955. They divorced in 1960. The following year, Roberts married actor [[Rex Harrison]] in [[Genoa]], [[Italy]].<ref name="upi">{{cite web|title=British actress Rachel Roberts, former wife of actor Rex...|url=http://www.upi.com/Archives/1980/11/27/British-actress-Rachel-Roberts-former-wife-of-actor-Rex/9808344149200/|work=United Press International|access-date=5 March 2017|date=27 November 1980}}</ref> The marriage was tumultuous; Roberts and Harrison both drank excessively and engaged in public fights.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Wapshott|first1=Nicholas|title=Unfaithfully Yours, Rex|url=http://www.nysun.com/arts/unfaithfully-yours-rex/72241/|website=The New York Sun|publisher=newyorksun.com|access-date=5 March 2017|date=4 March 2008}}</ref> Harrison later left Roberts and they divorced in 1971.<ref name="bbcwales">{{cite web|title=Rachel Roberts|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/arts/sites/rachel-roberts/|publisher=BBC|location=Wales|access-date=5 March 2017}}</ref> Later that year, Harrison married British socialite Elizabeth Rees-Williams, Roberts' former best friend.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Reed|first1=Rex|author-link1=Rex Reed|title=Rachel Roberts Raps About Rex Harrison|url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1971/02/07/page/119/article/rachel-roberts-raps-about-rex|access-date=5 March 2017|work=Chicago Tribune|date=7 February 1971|location=Chicago, Illinois|page=3}}</ref>

Roberts was known in the entertainment industry for the eccentric behaviour that stemmed from her [[alcoholism]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lusted|first1=David and Raymond Williams|title=Raymond Williams: film, TV, culture : a publication accompanying a season of films and television at the National Film Theatre, June, 1989|date=1989|publisher=NFT/BFI Education.|location=London|page=28}}</ref> She had a habit of imitating a [[Welsh Corgi]] when intoxicated and once, at a party thrown by [[Richard Harris]], attacked actor [[Robert Mitchum]] on all fours, chewing his trousers and chomping on his bare skin, while he patted her on the head, saying "there, there".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sellers|first1=Robert|title=Hellraisers: The Life and Inebriated Times of Richard Burton, Richard Harris, Peter O'Toole, and Oliver Reed|date=2011|publisher=St. Martin's Griffin|location=NY|isbn=978-0312668143|page=89}}</ref> In diary entries from June 1967, [[Richard Burton]] describes a visit from the Harrisons where "Rachel became stupendously drunk and was or became totally uncontrollable...She insulted Rex sexually, morally, physically and in every way. She lay on the floor in the bar and barked like a dog. At one time she started to masturbate her basset hound - a lovely sloppy old dog called Omar."<ref>The Richard Burton Diaries, entry for June 1, 1967</ref> At the time of her death, Roberts was intermittently with Darren Ramirez, a Mexican almost 20 years younger. It was a largely platonic relationship. In her final years she became obsessed with rekindling her relationship with Harrison.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.abebooks.co.uk/9780060152352/Bells-Sunday-Rachel-Roberts-Journals-0060152354/plp|title=No Bells on Sunday: The Rachel Roberts Journals - 0060152354|isbn=978-0060152352|website=abebooks.co.uk|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-12-22|last1=Roberts |first1=Rachel |year=1984 |publisher=Harper & Row }}</ref>

==Death==
Rachel Roberts was devastated by her divorce from Rex Harrison, and her alcoholism and [[Depression (mood)|depression]] worsened.<ref name="bbcwales"/> She moved to [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]] in 1975 and tried to forget the relationship. In 1980, Roberts attempted to reconcile with Harrison, but he was married to his sixth and final wife, Mercia Tinker.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Greek|first1=Sara|title=The story of Rex Harrison's fourth wife to be told at Hertford Theatre|url=http://m.hertfordshiremercury.co.uk/story-rex-harrisons-fourth-wife-told-hertford-theatre/story-21998789-detail/story.html|website=Hertfordshire Mercury|publisher=hertfordshiremercury.co.uk|access-date=5 March 2017|date=30 August 2013}}{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

On 26 November 1980, Rachel Roberts died at her home in [[Los Angeles]] at the age of 53. Her death was initially attributed to a heart attack.<ref name="upi"/> Her gardener found her body on her kitchen floor, lying amidst shards of glass; she had fallen through a decorative glass divide between two rooms.<ref name="JU">{{cite book |last=Upton |first=Julian |title=Fallen Stars |publisher=Headpress |year=2004 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gb5ci9IF_SMC |isbn=1-900486-38-5}}</ref> An autopsy later determined that her death was a result of swallowing [[lye]] or another [[alkali]], or another unidentified caustic substance, as well as barbiturates and alcohol, as detailed in her posthumously published journals. The corrosive effect of the alkali was the immediate cause of death. The coroner documented the cause of death as "swallowing a caustic substance" and, later, "acute [[barbiturate]] intoxication."<ref name="JU" /><ref name="NYT">{{Cite news |title=Rachel Roberts Ruled a Suicide |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=1981-01-06 |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9B0CEFDE173BF935A35752C0A967948260 |access-date=2008-08-17}}</ref> Her death was ruled a [[suicide]].<ref name="NYT" />

Roberts was [[cremation|cremated]] at the [[Chapel of the Pines Crematory]] in Los Angeles. Her journals became the basis for ''No Bells on Sunday: The Memoirs of Rachel Roberts'', published in 1984.

In 1992, Roberts' ashes, along with those of her friend [[Jill Bennett (British actress)|Jill Bennett]], who died by suicide in 1990, were scattered on the [[River Thames]] in [[London]] by director [[Lindsay Anderson]] during a boat trip, with several of the two actresses' professional colleagues and friends aboard; musician [[Alan Price]] sang "[[Is That All There Is?]]" The event was included as a segment in Anderson's BBC [[documentary film]], also titled ''Is That All There Is?''.

== Filmography ==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Film
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1953
| ''[[Valley of Song]]''
| Bessie Lewis
| Alternative title: ''Men Are Children Twice''
|-
| 1953
| ''[[The Limping Man (1953 film)|The Limping Man]]''
| Barmaid
|
|-
| 1954
| ''[[The Weak and the Wicked]]''
| Pat, pregnant inmate
| Alternative title: ''Young and Willing''
|-
| 1954
| ''[[The Crowded Day]]''
| Maggie
| Alternative title: ''Shop Spoiled''
|-
| 1957
| ''[[The Good Companions (1957 film)|The Good Companions]]''
| Elsie and Effie Longstaff
|
|-
| 1959
| ''[[Our Man in Havana (film)|Our Man in Havana]]''
| Prostitute
| Uncredited
|-
| 1960
| ''[[Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (film)|Saturday Night and Sunday Morning]]''
| Brenda
|[[BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role]]
|-
| 1961
| ''[[Girl on Approval]]''
| Anne Howland
|
|-
| 1963
| ''[[This Sporting Life]]''
| Mrs. Margaret Hammond
|[[BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role]]<br>Nominated — [[Academy Award for Best Actress]]<br>Nominated — [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama]]
|-
| 1968
| ''[[A Flea in Her Ear (1968 film)|A Flea in Her Ear]]''
| Suzanne de Castilian
|
|-
| 1969
| ''[[The Reckoning (1969 film)|The Reckoning]]''
| Joyce Eglington
| Alternative title: ''A Matter of Honour''
|-
| 1971
| ''[[Doctors' Wives (1971 film)|Doctors' Wives]]''
| Della Randolph
|
|-
| 1971
| ''[[Wild Rovers]]''
| Maybell (town madam)
|
|-
| 1973
| ''Alpha Beta''
| Nora Elliot
|
|-
| 1973
| ''[[The Belstone Fox]]''
| Cathie Smith
| Alternative title: ''Free Spirit''
|-
| 1973
| ''[[O Lucky Man!]]''
| Gloria Rowe / Madame Paillard / Mrs. Richards
|
|-
| 1974
| ''[[Murder on the Orient Express (1974 film)|Murder on the Orient Express]]''
| Hildegarde Schmidt
|
|-
| 1975
| ''[[Picnic at Hanging Rock (film)|Picnic at Hanging Rock]]''
| Mrs. Appleyard
|
|-
| 1978
| ''[[Foul Play (1978 film)|Foul Play]]''
| Delia Darrow / Gerda Casswell
|
|-
| 1979
| ''[[Yanks]]''
| Mrs. Clarrie Moreton
|[[BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role]]
|-
| 1979
| ''[[When a Stranger Calls (1979 film)|When a Stranger Calls]]''
| Dr. Monk
|
|-
| 1981
| ''[[Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen]]''
| Mrs. Dangers
| Posthumous release
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Television
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1958
| ''[[The Firm of Girdlestone (TV series)|The Firm of Girdlestone]]''
|Mrs. Scully
| Miniseries
|-
| 1958–1959
| ''[[Our Mutual Friend (1958 TV serial)|Our Mutual Friend]]''
| Lizzie Hexam
| Miniseries
|-
| 1960
| ''On Trial''
| Mrs. Rogerson
| 1 episode
|-
|1960
| ''BBC Sunday-Night Play''
| Mrs. Holyoake
| 1 episode
|-
| 1963
| ''[[The Eleventh Hour (1962 TV series)|The Eleventh Hour]]''
| Mary Newell
| 1 episode
|-
| 1966
| ''ITV Play of the Week''
| Lady Hamilton
| 1 episode
|-
|1966
| ''[[Out of the Unknown]]''
| Anna Preston
| 1 episode
|-
|1966
| ''Blithe Spirit''
| Ruth Condomine
| Television movie 
|-
| 1969
| ''[[Destiny of a Spy]]''
| Megan Thomas
| Television movie 
|-
|1969
| ''Happy Ever After''
|
| 1 episode
|-
| 1970
| ''[[Night Gallery]]''
| Rebecca Brigham
| 1 episode
|-
| 1971
| ''[[Marcus Welby, M.D.]]''
| Dr. Victoria Thorson
| 1 episode
|-
| 1973
| ''[[Baffled!]]''
| Mrs. Farraday
| Television movie
|-
| 1974
| ''[[Graceless Go I]]''
|
| Television movie 
|-
| 1974
| ''[[Play for Today]]''
| Olwen
| 1 episode
|-
| 1974
| ''[[Great Expectations (1974 film)|Great Expectations]]''
| Mrs. Gargery
| Television movie
|-
| 1976–1978
| ''[[The Tony Randall Show]]''
| Mrs. Bonnie McClellen
| 32 episodes
|-
| 1977
| ''A Circle of Children''
| Helga
| Television movie
|-
| 1979
| ''[[Family (1976 TV series)|Family]]''
| Angela Brown
| 1 episode
|-
| 1979
| ''Six Plays by Alan Bennett: The Old Crowd''
| Pauline
| Television movie 
|-
| 1979
| ''3 by Cheever: The Sorrows of Gin''
| Mrs. Henlein
| Television movie
|-
| 1980
| ''[[The Hostage Tower]]''
| Sonya
| Television movie
|-
| 1982
| ''The Wall''
| Regina Kowalska
| Television movie, posthumous release (final film role)
|}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{wikiquote|Rachel Roberts}}
* {{IMDb name|0731499}}
* {{Tcmdb name}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{screenonline name|485927}}
* [http://www.llanellich.org.uk/Files/49-rachel-roberts-actress.html Rachel Roberts born in Llanelli] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305034049/http://llanellich.org.uk/files/49-rachel-roberts-actress.html |date=5 March 2016 }} Llanelli Community Heritage

{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Rachel Roberts
|list =
{{BAFTA Award for Best Actress 1960-1979}}
{{BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress 1968-1984}}
{{DramaDesk PlayOutstandingFeaturedActress 1975-1999}}
{{Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress}} 
}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Rachel}}
[[Category:1927 births]]
[[Category:1980 suicides]]
[[Category:20th-century Welsh actresses]]
[[Category:Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Wales]]
[[Category:Burials at Chapel of the Pines Crematory]]
[[Category:Best British Actress BAFTA Award winners]]
[[Category:Best Supporting Actress BAFTA Award winners]]
[[Category:Drama Desk Award winners]]
[[Category:Drug-related suicides in California]]
[[Category:Barbiturates-related deaths]]
[[Category:Former Baptists]]
[[Category:Actors from Llanelli]]
[[Category:Welsh expatriate actresses in the United States]]
[[Category:Welsh film actresses]]
[[Category:Welsh television actresses]]
[[Category:Welsh stage actresses]]
[[Category:Alcohol-related deaths in California]]
[[Category:1980 deaths]]
[[Category:Actresses from Carmarthenshire]]