Natasha Parry (born Natalie Wills; 2 December 1930 – 22 July 2015) was an English actress. Recognised for her work on stage and screen, she was best known for her collaborations with her husband, director Peter Brook. She was the mother of filmmakers Irina and Simon Brook.
Early life Parry was born Natalie Wills in London in 1930. Her mother was a White Russian émigré who, according to John Heilpern, was related to Alexander Pushkin. At some point, her mother remarried to film director Gordon Parry.
Career
Stage Parry made her stage debut at age 12 in The Wingless Victory. At 14, she was in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and later she played in Big Ben and Bless the Bride. On Broadway she appeared in The Fighting Cock (1959–1960). Toward the end of her career, she was in The Tragedy of Hamlet at the Young Vic in London.
Film Parry made her screen debut in Dance Hall (1950). She appeared in many of her husband's productions including a live American television version of King Lear (1953) opposite Orson Welles,King Lear, Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 24 July 2015. in Anouilh's The Fighting Cock with Rex Harrison, Meetings with Remarkable Men, The Cherry Orchard, and Happy Days.Happy Dats with Natasha Parry: review, The Guardian. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
Personal life In 1951, she married director Peter Brook at the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Dormition of the Mother of God and All Saints, Ennismore Gardens, Knightsbridge, London. The couple had two children, Irina and Simon.Profile, Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 24 July 2015.Profile, BFI Film & TV Database Retrieved 24 July 2015.
Parry stopped performing for a year after contracting tuberculosis in 1952.
Death Parry died on 22 July 2015 (Some sources say 23 July) while on holiday in La Baule, Brittany, France, at the age of 84 after a stroke.
Acting credits Film Year Title Role Notes1949 Golden Arrow Betty Felton 1950 Dance Hall Eve 1950 Midnight Episode Jill Harris 1951 The Dark Man Molly Lester 1952 Crow Hollow Ann Amour 1953 King Lear Cordelia 1954 Knave of Hearts Patricia 1957 Windom's Way Anna Vidal 1959 The Rough and the Smooth Margaret Goreham 1960 Midnight Lace Peggy Thompson 1961 The Fourth Square Sandra Martin 1963 Girl in the Headlines Perlita Barker 1968 Romeo and Juliet Lady Capulet 1969 Oh! What a Lovely War Sir William Robertson's Lady 1979 Meetings with Remarkable Men Vitvitskaia 1981 La fille prodigue La mère 1982 Le Lit Eva 2014 Le goût des myrtilles Jeanne
Selected television Sir Francis Drake – The Prisoner (1961) as Countess Inez The Count of Monte Cristo (1964) as Mercédès
Selected theatre King Lear (1953) Tchin-Tchin (1984, Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, Paris)
See also List of British actors List of English actors References
External links
Natasha Parry at Theatricalia