Jill Haworth

Valerie Jill Haworth[1] (15 August 1945 – 3 January 2011)[2] was an English actress. She appeared in films throughout the 1960s, and started making guest appearances on television in 1963. She originated the role of Sally Bowles in the musical Cabaret on Broadway in 1966.

Jill Haworth
A guest appearance on The Rogues (1965)
Born	Valerie Jill Haworth (1945-08-15)15 August 1945 Hove, Sussex, England, UK
Died	3 January 2011(2011-01-03) (aged 65) New York City, New York, U.S.
Resting place	Kensico Cemetery, Valhalla, New York
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1960–2001

Early life

Haworth was born in Hove, Sussex, to a textile magnate father and a mother who trained as a ballet dancer.[2] She was named Valerie Jill in honour of the day she was born, Victory over Japan Day or V.J. Day.[3] She took ballet lessons at the Sadler's Wells Ballet School to escape from an unhappy home when her parents separated in 1953.[3][4] Later she attended the Corona Stage School.[3]

Career

Her first film appearance was in the remake of The 39 Steps (1959), directed by Ralph Thomas, when she had a non-speaking part as a schoolgirl. Next she played another schoolgirl in The Brides of Dracula (1960), directed by Terence Fisher.[5]

Jill Haworth 1961

Otto Preminger was seeking a new fresh face for the role of Karen Hansen, an ill-fated Jewish-Danish refugee girl in love with Dov Landau (Sal Mineo), for his film, Exodus (1960). He travelled to Britain and Germany, with his fiancée Hope Bryce, searching for a girl to cast in the role. After looking at hundreds of girls, Preminger spotted a photo of Haworth in a modelling magazine for the Corona Theatre School.[6]

Haworth only went to the three auditions to get out of school. She was only 15 years old when she was cast as Karen Hansen in her first acting role in a feature film.[4] Haworth appeared in the 31 July 1960 issue of Parade magazine.[7] She and Mineo appeared on the front cover of the 12 December 1960 issue of LIFE, part of a photo essay by Gjon Mili.[8]

Under contract to Preminger (for five years), she also worked with him in The Cardinal (1963; as Lalage Menton), and In Harm's Way (1965) as Ensign Annalee Dorne, a Nurse Corps officer who, while engaged to Ensign Jeremiah Torrey (Brandon de Wilde), commits suicide after being raped by Captain Paul Eddington, Jr. (Kirk Douglas). Haworth liked working with De Wilde, Patricia Neal, and Douglas, but called John Wayne "the meanest, nastiest man with the worst attitude I ever worked with."[9]

Preminger insisted that she live in New York City to become Americanized, but he did not want her to live in Los Angeles for fear she would just be a "starlet a-go-go".[10] She was approached to be the title character in Lolita (1962) with James Mason, but because Preminger held her contract, he vetoed the idea.[9]

Mineo and Haworth were also considered for the film David and Lisa (1962), but once again Preminger refused permission.[11] Preminger let her make three French films; Les Mystères de Paris (as Fleur de Marie; 1962), Because, Because of a Woman (as Cécilia; 1963), and Ton ombre est la mienne (as Sylvie "Devi" Bergerat; 1963).[9] Haworth co-starred alongside David McCallum in the Outer Limits episode, "The Sixth Finger" (1963). Haworth visited Mineo in Utah in November 1962 and had a nonspeaking role as an extra in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965).[11]

She made four appearances on the television programme 12 O'Clock High. In "The Sound of Distant Thunder," she played an English girl, Mary, who falls in love with Lieutenant Andy Lathrop (played by Peter Fonda).[12] The same season, she played a deaf girl, Nora Burgess, in an episode entitled "To Heinie with Love".[13] She then played Lieutenant Fay Vendry in two episodes, "Runway in the Dark" (1965)[14] and "The Hotshot."[15]

In 1965, she appeared in an episode of The Rogues entitled "Mr. White's Christmas" as Timothea, and really loved working with David Niven and Charles Boyer.[16] She appeared in one of the final episodes of the series Rawhide, "Duel at Daybreak", as Vicki Woodruff. Haworth first hurt her back in an accident on the set when she jumped from a runaway buggy and team of horses. She then caught pneumonia and was bedridden for two months after she had to stand waist-deep in a man-made pond for six hours doing retakes.[16]

She starred in the horror films It! (1967), The Haunted House of Horror (1969), Tower of Evil (1972), Home for the Holidays (1972), and The Mutations (1974). She only did It! for the money, hated her hair in the film, and hated the film altogether. Haworth liked working with Roddy McDowall, who brought her the poster for the film (on her opening night of Cabaret), and wrote "S-h" in front of the title.[16]

While filming It! she met Hal Prince, who was doing research for a musical based on Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood. Prince asked her if she could sing, to which she claimed, "Louder than Merman."[16] She played Sally Bowles in the original Broadway cast of the 1966 musical Cabaret, a part she played for almost two and a half years.[17] Judi Dench took over the role when the production debuted in London in 1968.[18] Haworth's other stage roles included Bedroom Farce and Butterflies Are Free.[19]

Haworth turned down working on Hawaii Five-O because of the reputation of the show's star, Jack Lord, for being a hard-driving perfectionist.[16][20][21]

Personal life

While making Exodus, Haworth became friends, first, and then lovers, with Sal Mineo, and they remained friends until his death in 1976.[22] She later told author Michael Michaud that she thought Courtney Burr III, who later had a long-term relationship with Mineo, was the "love of Mineo's life."[11]

Haworth dated television producer Aaron Spelling in the summer of 1965, when he was 42 and she was 19. Spelling reportedly told friends that he hoped that Haworth would be the next Mrs. Spelling, but Haworth's mother, Nancy, reportedly "scoffed" at the idea.[23]

Later life and death

Haworth lived on New York City's Upper East Side for many years with her mother.[19] She died of natural causes at the age of 65 on 3 January 2011 in Manhattan. She is buried at Kensico Cemetery.[2]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1959	The 39 Steps	Schoolgirl on Train	Uncredited
1960	The Brides of Dracula	Schoolgirl	Uncredited
1960	Exodus	Karen	Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer
1962	The Mysteries of Paris	Fleur de Marie
1963	Because, Because of a Woman	Cécilia
1963	Ton ombre est la mienne	Sylvie 'Devi' Bergerat
1963	The Cardinal	Lalage Menton
1965	In Harm's Way	Ensign Annalee Dohrn, NC, USNR
1967	It!	Ellen Grove
1969	The Haunted House of Horror	Sheila	Also known as: Horror House
1969	The Ballad of Andy Crocker	Karen	TV movie
1972	Tower of Evil	Mason	Also known as: Horror on Snape Island
1972	Home for the Holidays	Joanna Morgan	TV movie
1974	The Mutations	Lauren
1981	Strong Medicine
1988	Gandahar	Announcer	English version, Voice
2001	Mergers & Acquisitions	Mrs. Richards	(final film role)

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1959	ITV Play of the Week	Nonny Lawrence	Episode: "Touch Wood"
1963	The Outer Limits	Cathy Evans	Episode: "The Sixth Finger"
1965	The Rogues	Timothea Farley	Episode: "Mr. White's Christmas"
1965	Burke's Law	Ambrosia Mellon	Episode: "Who Killed the Card"
1965	The Long, Hot Summer	Sharon	Episode: "Home is a Needless Place"
1964–65	12 O'Clock High	Various	4 episodes
1965	Run for Your Life	Judy Collins	Episode: "The Savage Season"
1965	Rawhide	Vicki Woodruff	Episode: "Duel at Daybreak"
1965–73	The F.B.I.	Sue Meadows / Lynn Anslem	2 episodes
1970	The Most Deadly Game	Lydia Grey	Episode: "Witches' Sabbath"
1971	Mission: Impossible	Enid Brugge / Marla Kassel	Episode: "My Friend, My Enemy"
1971	The Psychiatrist		Episode: "The Longer Trail"
1976	Baretta	Ginger Correlli	Episode: "Under the City"
1979	Vega$	Lily Baker	Episode: "The Eleventh Event"

References

1. Jill Haworth profile, FilmReference.com; accessed 17 May 2016.
2. Weber, Bruce (5 January 2011). "Jill Haworth, Original Sally in 'Cabaret', Dies at 65". The New York Times. p. A21. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
3. Garebian, Keith (2011), The Making of Cabaret, Oxford University Press, p. 96, ISBN 978-0-19-973249-4
4. Lisanti, Tom (2001), Fantasy Femmes of Sixties Cinema: Interviews with 20 Actresses from Biker, Beach, and Elvis Movies, McFarland, p. 67, ISBN 978-0-7864-0868-9
5. Shearer, Lloyd (31 July 1960), "Jill Haworth: Her mother wants her to become a movie star", Parade: 15
6. Hirsch, Foster (2007), Otto Preminger: The Man Who Would Be King, p. 336
7. Gorkin, Jess, ed. (31 July 1960), "Jill Haworth profile", Parade, Parade Publications
8. "Haworth and Mineo", LIFE, Time Inc., 49 (24), 12 December 1960, ISSN 0024-3019
9. Lisanti, pg.71.
10. Lisanti. - p.69.
11. Michaud, Michael Gregg (2011), Sal Mineo: A Biography, Random House Digital, ISBN 978-0-307-71667-5
12. Lasko, Edward J. "The Sound of Distant Thunder," Episode 1/1/4, 12 O'Clock High. First aired 16 October 1964.
13. Ralsont, Gilbert and Larson, Charles. "To Heinie With Love," Episode 1/20, 12 O'Clock High. First aired 5 February 1965.
14. Lewin, Robert. "Runway in the Dark," episode 2/8, 12 O'Clock High. First Aired 1 November 1965.
15. Lewin, Robert. "The Hotshot," Episode 2/6, 12 O'Clock High. First aired 18 October 1965.
16. Lisanti, p. 72.
17. Lisanti, p. 73.
18. Green, Stanley (1980), Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre, p. 53
19. Lisanti, p. 76.
20. Terry, Polly, Jack Lord & Jim MacArthur, Photoplay (UK), December 1971.
21. Major, Jack, Jack Lord; The Providence Sunday Journal, 7 September 1969: Haworth had no idea that Lord typically worked a 72- to 84-hour work week to keep the Hawaii Five-O television show going, which was shot on location and cost 30% more to produce than a typical Hollywood TV series.
22. Lisanti, p. 68.
23. "Presley Romance Seems to Be Ended", Hartford Courant, 14 April 1965

External links

• Jill Haworth on IMDb
• Jill Haworth at the Internet Broadway Database
• Jill Haworth at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Jill Haworth at Find a Grave