Vivien Merchant

Vivien Merchant

​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.   Vivien Merchant (born Ada Thompson 22 July 1929 – 3 October 1982) was a British actress. She performed in many stage productions and several films, including Alfie (1966) and Frenzy (1972). Her performance in Alfie earned her Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actress, and the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress. She was the first wife of the playwright Harold Pinter, whom she met when working as a repertory actress and married in 1956. Their son, Daniel, was born in 1958. Having performed the role of Rose in a production of his first play, The Room (1957) at the Hampstead Theatre in 1960, she also appeared in many of Pinter's subsequent works, including as Ruth in The Homecoming (1964) on stage (1965) and screen (The Homecoming, 1973). The last of his plays in which she performed was Old Times (1971) as Anna. Their marriage began disintegrating in the mid-1960s. From 1962 to 1969, Harold Pinter had a clandestine affair with Joan Bakewell, which informs Pinter's play Betrayal and his film adaptation, also called Betrayal. In 1975 Pinter began a serious affair with the historian Lady Antonia Fraser, the wife of Sir Hugh Fraser, which he confessed to his wife that March. At first, Merchant took it very well, saying positive things about Fraser, according to her friend artist Guy Vaesen (as cited by Billington); but, Vaesen recalled, after "a female friend of Vivien's trotted round to her house and poisoned her mind against Antonia ... Life in Hanover Terrace [where the Pinters then lived] gradually became impossible". Pinter left, and Vivien Merchant filed for divorce and gave interviews to the tabloid press, expressing her distress.The Frasers' divorce became final in 1977 and the Pinters' in 1980. In 1980 Pinter married Antonia Fraser. Vivien Merchant never overcame her grief and bitterness at losing Pinter, dying at the age of 53 on 3 October 1982, from acute alcoholism Description above from the Wikipedia article Vivien Merchant ,  licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

  • Title: Vivien Merchant
  • Popularity: 0.7561
  • Known For: Acting
  • Birthday: 1929-07-22
  • Place of Birth: Manchester, Lancashire, England, UK
  • Homepage:
  • Also Known As: Ada Brand Thomson
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Vivien Merchant Movies

  • 1972
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    Frenzy

    Frenzy

    7.1 1972 HD

    London is terrorized by a vicious sex killer known as The Necktie Murderer. Following the brutal slaying of his ex-wife, down-on-his-luck Richard Blaney is suspected by the police of being the killer. He goes on the run, determined to prove his innocence.

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  • 1966
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    A Month in the Country

    A Month in the Country

    1 1966 HD

    An adaptation Turgenev's play of the same name.

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  • 1977
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    The Man in the Iron Mask

    The Man in the Iron Mask

    6.3 1977 HD

    Years have passed since the Three Musketeers, Aramis, Athos and Porthos, have fought together with their friend, D'Artagnan. But with the tyrannical King Louis using his power to wreak havoc in the kingdom while his twin brother, Philippe, remains imprisoned, the Musketeers reunite to abduct Louis and replace him with Philippe.

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  • 1973
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    The Offence

    The Offence

    6.8 1973 HD

    A burned-out British police detective finally snaps while interrogating a suspected child molester.

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  • 1972
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    Under Milk Wood

    Under Milk Wood

    5.932 1972 HD

    The delightful if peculiar story of a day in the life of a small, Welsh fishing village called "Llareggub" in which we meet a host of curious characters (and ghosts) through the 'eyes' of Blind Captain Cat.

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  • 1966
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    Alfie

    Alfie

    6.491 1966 HD

    A young man leads a promiscuous lifestyle until several life reversals make him rethink his purposes and goals in life.

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  • 1969
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    Alfred the Great

    Alfred the Great

    4.3 1969 HD

    While Old England is being ransacked by roving Danes in the 9th century, Alfred is planning to join the priesthood. But observing the rape of his land, he puts away his religious vows to take up arms against the invaders, leading the English Christians to fight for their country. Alfred soundly defeats the Danes and becomes a hero. But now, although Alfred still longs for the priesthood, he is torn between his passion for God and his lust for blood.

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  • 1967
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    Accident

    Accident

    6.3 1967 HD

    Stephen is a professor at Oxford University who is caught in a rut and feels trapped by his life in both academia and marriage. One of his students, William, is engaged to the beautiful Anna, and Stephen becomes enamored of the younger woman. These three people become linked together by a horrible car crash, with flashbacks providing details into the lives of each person and their connection to the others in this brooding English drama.

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  • 1973
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    The Homecoming

    The Homecoming

    6 1973 HD

    In a dreary North London flat, the site of perpetual psychological warfare, a philosophy professor visits his family after a nine-year absence and introduces the four men - father, uncle and two brothers - to his wife.

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  • 1965
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    Tea Party

    Tea Party

    1 1965 HD

    Mysteries abound. What is going on between the wife and her brother? Are they indeed brother and sister? Sisson has his doubts about that … . Why does Sisson feel that there must be something wrong with his eyes, although he knows that he can see clearly and his eye doctor has assured him that his vision is perfect? He forces his secretary to tie a chiffon scarf over his eyes, and then he is able to make a pass at her, in response to one of her many come-ons. Ordinary events assume a sinister tinge. Sisson's two sons, giving him the deadpan treatment that little boys have been inflicting on their elders from time immemorial, seem as eerie as characters out of a ghost story. Always the questions remain. Is there a conspiracy against Sisson. Wikipedia

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  • 1963
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    The Lover

    The Lover

    5 1963 HD

    A sophisticated suburban couple try to enliven their marriage with erotic role-playing, but find their new games even more repressive than before.

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  • 1975
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    The Maids

    The Maids

    5.233 1975 HD

    A film version of Genet's play. Two maids, Solange and Claire, hate their employers and, while they are out, take turns at dressing up as Madame and insulting her.

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  • 1968
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    Funeral Games

    Funeral Games

    1 1968 HD

    Pringle, leader of the Brotherhood, recieves an anonymous letter accusing his wife of adultery. He employs a private investigator, Caulfield, who discovers things are not quite that straightforward. Joe Orton's last play for television: a farce.

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  • 1973
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    The Common

    The Common

    1 1973 HD

    A social comedy about the relationship between two couples with different political beliefs. Edward and Jane Noble are right wing, but with some liberal leanings, whereas Sean and Marcia are more radical and left wing.

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  • 1960
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    A Night Out

    A Night Out

    1 1960 HD

    Against the wishes of his domineering mother, Albert Stokes attends a work party. But the evening is not the escape he was hoping for.

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  • 1972
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    A War of Children

    A War of Children

    7.2 1972 HD

    A Protestant and a Catholic family's friendship is threatened by the sectarian violence in Belfast. When the daughter of the Catholic family falls in love with a British soldier, the situation worsens ...

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  • 1960
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    Night School

    Night School

    1 1960 HD

    The plot focuses on a man returning home from prison to find his room being rented out to a tenant.

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  • 1970
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    The Collection

    The Collection

    1 1970 HD

    An elderly homosexual and a married woman are both intrigued by the same man.

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  • 1967
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    Opus

    Opus

    5 1967 HD

    Impressions of contemporary British arts and fashion. Summary of art through the ages taking in every thing from Mary Quant to the Marat/Sade production. Made for the Montreal "Expo '67" exhibition.

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  • 1966
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    Ella

    Ella

    1 1966 HD

    Edwin and Arthur resolve to thrash out their situation with Ella over dinner.

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  • 1962
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    Studio 4

    Studio 4

    5 1962 HD

    Studio 4 is a BBC drama anthology series, filmed at the BBC TV Centre's Studio Four, and screening over two seasons in 1962. The series was envisaged as a sequel to Storyboard, an anthology series which had been transmitted the previous year.

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  • 1977
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    Secret Army

    Secret Army

    7.5 1977 HD

    World War II drama about covert organisation Lifeline helping allied airmen escape after being shot down in occupied Europe, working with the Resistance and hiding from the Gestapo.

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  • 1967
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    NBC Experiment in Television

    NBC Experiment in Television

    1 1967 HD

    An attempt by NBC to emulate the success of the CBS hit The Twilight Zone, this hour-long anthology series showcased different actors, stories and creative talent each week.

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  • 1965
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    BBC Play of the Month

    BBC Play of the Month

    5 1965 HD

    A BBC television anthology series featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays usually broadcast on BBC1. Each production featured a different work, often using prominent British stage actors in the leading roles. The series was transmitted from October 1965 to September 1983.

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  • 1965
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    BBC Play of the Month

    BBC Play of the Month

    5 1965 HD

    A BBC television anthology series featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays usually broadcast on BBC1. Each production featured a different work, often using prominent British stage actors in the leading roles. The series was transmitted from October 1965 to September 1983.

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  • 1965
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    BBC Play of the Month

    BBC Play of the Month

    5 1965 HD

    A BBC television anthology series featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays usually broadcast on BBC1. Each production featured a different work, often using prominent British stage actors in the leading roles. The series was transmitted from October 1965 to September 1983.

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  • 1980
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    Breakaway

    Breakaway

    1 1980 HD

    Detective Inspector Sam Harvey investigates intricate murder cases while contemplating retirement to pursue his passion for writing children's books.

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  • 1980
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    A Tale of Two Cities

    A Tale of Two Cities

    5 1980 HD

    Set against the conditions leading up to the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror, French doctor Alexandre Manette serves an 18-year imprisonment in the Bastille in Paris, followed by his release to live in London with the daughter he has never met.

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  • 1964
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    Theatre 625

    Theatre 625

    7.2 1964 HD

    Theatre 625 is a British television drama anthology series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC2 from 1964 to 1968. It was one of the first regular programmes in the line-up of the channel, and the title referred to its production and transmission being in the higher-definition 625-line format, which only BBC2 used at the time.

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  • 1964
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    Theatre 625

    Theatre 625

    7.2 1964 HD

    Theatre 625 is a British television drama anthology series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC2 from 1964 to 1968. It was one of the first regular programmes in the line-up of the channel, and the title referred to its production and transmission being in the higher-definition 625-line format, which only BBC2 used at the time.

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  • 1962
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    Studio 4

    Studio 4

    6 1962 HD

    Studio 4 is an anthology drama series utilising BBC Television Centre's Studio Four, and running for two series in 1962 on BBC One. It was envisaged as a sequel to Storyboard, a similar anthology series which had been transmitted the previous year.

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