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Carole Lesley
Actor
Died February 28, 1974 (38 years)
Maureen Rippingale (27 May 1935, in Chelmsford – 28 February 1974, in New Barnet), known professionally as Carole Lesley, was a British actress who had a short but significant career as a "blonde bombshell". Lesley ran away from home at the age of 16, "aiming to become a star". She starred in several films in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including the 1957 film Woman in a Dressing Gown, which won the 1958 Golden Globe Award for Best English-Language Foreign Film. She also appeared in Doctor in Love, Operation Bullshine and What a Whopper, and played Helen of Troy in a television play. However Associated decided to end her contract, which devastated her and she disappeared from the public eye. She subsequently lived in a semi-detached house overlooking New Barnet station, but by 1973 was felt by some to be "a deeply depressed, once beautiful woman, still haunted by a glamorous past". She died of a drug overdose.
Filmography
| 1962 | The Pot Carriers · as Wendy |
| 1961 | What a Whopper · as Charlotte 'charlie' Pinner |
| 1961 | Three on a Spree · as Susan |
| 1960 | Doctor in Love · as Kitten Strudwick |
| 1959 | No Trees in the Street · as Lova |
| 1959 | Operation Bullshine · as Pvt. Marge White |
| 1957 | Dangerous Youth · as Dinah Brown |
| 1957 | The Good Companions · as Film Star (as Leslie Carroll) |
| 1957 | Woman in a Dressing Gown · as Hilda Harper |
| 1955 | ITV Play of the Week (TV Series) · as Helen Of Troy |
| 1954 | The Embezzler · as Tea Shop Waitress |
| 1949 | The Gay Lady · as Clare As A Child |
| 1947 | The Silver Darlings · as Una (child) |