Margaret Rutherford

James Church, Gerrards Cross. She is not to be confused with Welcome Back, Kotter actress Marcia Strassman, with whom she shares a close resemblance. She is buried along with her husband in the graveyard of St. Now retired from show business, Jan currently lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. She suffered from Alzheimer's disease at the end of her life, and died 11 days after her 80th birthday, of complications from a hip injury. From 1987 through 1995 she was married to actor James Brolin. She was a cousin of the politician, Tony Benn. This scar cost her some roles, and according to Jan, made her feel insecure about her looks.

Rutherford was awarded an OBE in 1961 and in 1967 she was created a Dame of the British Empire (DBE). The impact smashed her face into the steering wheel, causing the injury. Her husband was the actor Stringer Davis, whom she married in 1945 and with whom she often appeared. To avoid another car that ran a stop sign, Jan swerved and hit a telephone pole. Rutherford won a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for The VIPs (1963), as the absent-minded Duchess of Brighton, opposite Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Smithers was involved in a car accident which left a permanent scar on her chin. In 1961, she first played the film role with which she was most often associated in later life, that of Miss Marple in a series of films based on the novels of Agatha Christie. As a teen, Ms.

In most of these films, she had originally played the role on stage. As a result of that exposure, she landed some commercial modeling work while pursuing her studies at the California Institute of the Arts. However, her appearance was such that romantic heroines were almost out of the question, and she soon established her name in comedy, appearing in many of the most successful British films of the mid-20th century. She first reached the public eye as a teenager, when she was featured on the cover of a 1966 issue of Newsweek, seated on a motorcycle. Born in London, she made her stage debut in 1925 at the Old Vic. She played the character "Bailey Quarters" on the popular television series WKRP in Cincinnati. Dame Margaret Rutherford (May 11, 1892 - May 22, 1972) was a British character actress who first came to prominence following World War II in the film adaptations of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, and Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest. Smithers grew up in Woodland Hills, California.

The VIPs (1963) (Best Supporting Actress Oscar). Jan Smithers (born Karin Jan Smithers on 3 July 1949) is an American television and film actress. Murder Most Foul (1964). Murder Ahoy (1964). Murder at the Gallop (1963).

Murder She Said (1961). The Mouse that Roared (1959). The Happiest Days of Your Life (1950). The Importance of Being Earnest (1952) (in which she played Miss Prism).

Blithe Spirit (1945) (in which she played Madame Arcati).