Samantha Eggar, a remarkably versatile British actress celebrated for her captivating performances across comedies, dramas, and horror films, has passed away at the age of 86. She died peacefully on October 15th at her Sherman Oaks, California home. Eggar earned an Oscar nomination for her iconic leading role in the psychological thriller ‘The Collector,’ where she portrayed a young art student held captive by a disturbed psychopath.
Her daughter, Jenna Stern, confirmed that the cause of death was chronic lymphocytic leukemia, a condition Ms. Eggar had been battling for 22 years.
Before her breakthrough in ‘The Collector’ (1965), Ms. Eggar had established herself on stage and in a handful of films. In this chilling thriller, she was cast as a woman relentlessly pursued and abducted by a charming yet deranged butterfly collector, a role played by Terence Stamp. Held captive in the cellar of his English country house, her character endured alternating moments of kindness and brutality.
Ms. Eggar described the filming experience as intensely challenging. Terence Stamp, a former acting school classmate, remained in character throughout the shoot. Director William Wyler, she recounted to The Terror Trap, a horror film website, in 2014, would even pour cold water on her to elicit the precise emotional response he sought. Furthermore, Wyler restricted her from leaving the set or dining with other cast members during the day, aiming to maintain her character’s state of fear.
“He wanted her in a constant state of terror, and that’s really very difficult to act,” Mr. Stamp reflected in a 2022 interview with The Magnificent 60s, a film blog. Ms. Eggar herself told The Daily Mirror in 1965 that her time on ‘The Collector’ was “the hardest three months of my life,” during which she lost approximately 14 pounds.
Renowned film critic Bosley Crowther, in his review for The New York Times, lauded Ms. Eggar’s masterful portrayal of a broad spectrum of human emotions. He wrote that her “young and vital person” conveyed feelings of “fear, indignation, anxiety, puzzlement, shock and eventually dismal melancholy and terrifying despair” with captivating clarity.
Despite her exceptional performance, Ms. Eggar ultimately lost the Oscar to fellow British actress Julie Christie for her role in “Darling.” However, Eggar’s talent was recognized internationally when she was awarded Best Actress at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.
Just two years later, Ms. Eggar ventured into musical cinema with “Doctor Dolittle.” Starring alongside Rex Harrison, who played an eccentric veterinarian capable of communicating with animals, Eggar took on the role of his cook during an epic ocean journey to discover the legendary Great Pink Sea Snail.
Recalling the experience, she remarked in her Terror Trap interview, “I danced, and I sang. That was bliss.” This joyful endeavor provided a welcome contrast to the intensity of ‘The Collector,’ though ‘Doctor Dolittle’ itself proved to be a box-office disappointment.
During this prolific period, her filmography also included “Walk, Don’t Run” (1966). This romantic comedy, set against the backdrop of the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, saw her character reluctantly sublet her cramped apartment to a savvy businessman, played by Cary Grant in his final film role, and an American athlete, played by Jim Hutton.
In “The Molly Maguires” (1970), a drama set in 19th-century Pennsylvania, Ms. Eggar starred as the daughter of an injured coal miner. She shared the screen with Sean Connery, portraying a spirited miner advocating for better working conditions, and Richard Harris, who played a company spy who unexpectedly falls in love with her while renting a room.
Bernard Drew, the film critic for the Gannett newspaper chain, observed that Ms. Eggar “radiates beauty and intelligence as the pious girl beset by conflicts,” highlighting her ability to bring depth to complex characters.
Her undeniable beauty also captivated audiences in a memorable 1976 commercial for the RCA ColorTrak television.
Looking directly into the camera, she stated, “My eyes are green, my hair is auburn and my dress is vivid red. RCA wanted me to tell you the right colors because getting the color right is what their exclusive ColorTrak system is all about.”
Victoria Louise Samantha Marie Elizabeth Therese Eggar was born in the Hampstead area of London on March 5, 1939. Her father, Ralph, was a brigadier in the British Army, while her mother, Muriel Olga (Palache-Bouman) Eggar, served as an ambulance driver during World War II before later becoming a pub owner.
During the tumultuous period of the Blitz, Samantha’s parents ensured her safety by sending her to live with friends in the picturesque countryside of Bledlow, Buckinghamshire. She later attended St. Mary’s Providence Convent in Surrey for 11 years, where her interest in acting began to blossom. However, her mother, Muriel, initially discouraged her theatrical aspirations, deeming them “unladylike,” and instead suggested she pursue art. This led Ms. Eggar to study fashion design for two years at the Thanet School of Art in Kent.
Her path soon shifted back to acting after she discovered an audition opportunity at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art (now known as the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama) in London. She was accepted and successfully graduated in 1962.
While gracing the stage in productions such as Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in London, Ms. Eggar’s film and television career quickly gained traction. In 1970, she co-starred with Oliver Reed in the psychological thriller “The Lady in the Car With Glasses and a Gun.” In this film, her character embarks on an impulsive drive to the Riviera in her boss’s car, only to be attacked at a gas station and later discover a dead body in the vehicle’s trunk.
Roger Greenspun, in his review for The Times, commended her performance, describing her as “beautiful, intelligent and tough enough to be fascinatingly vulnerable.”
Following her divorce from actor Tom Stern in 1971, Ms. Eggar skillfully navigated her acting career while raising her daughter, Jenna, and son, Nicolas. “She was a working actor, and she brought her talent and class to anything and everything that she did,” her daughter, Ms. Stern, fondly recalled.
In 1972, she took on the role of a British governess tasked with educating the 12-year-old heir to the king in 19th-century Siam (modern-day Thailand) for the short-lived CBS television series “Anna and the King.” This adaptation of the 1956 musical film “The King and I” notably featured Yul Brynner reprising his iconic Broadway role as the king, albeit without the musical numbers.
Her film career in the 1970s and early ’80s included several horror features. Among them was David Cronenberg’s unsettling 1979 film “The Brood,” where she portrayed a deeply traumatized woman who unnervingly gives birth to monstrous, homicidal childlike beings.
Ms. Eggar’s television credits extended to popular series like “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” “Murder, She Wrote,” “Matlock,” and “Magnum, P.I.” In the 1980s, she returned to Britain for acclaimed stage performances, including Arthur Schnitzler’s drama “The Lonely Road,” where she played the mistress of a painter portrayed by Anthony Hopkins, and Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull,” taking on the role of the vain actress Arkadina opposite John Hurt’s writer Trigorin.
She is survived by her daughter, Jenna Stern, an accomplished actress and photographer; her son, Nicolas, a successful film and TV producer; three sisters, Margaret Barron, Toni Maricic, and Vivien Thursby; and three grandchildren. Although she never remarried after her divorce, she maintained relationships with several notable figures, including artist Edward Ruscha and singer-songwriter-actor Kris Kristofferson.
From the 1990s onward, Ms. Eggar lent her voice to numerous productions for the California Artists Radio Theater, bringing to life characters from the works of literary giants like Shakespeare, Chekhov, Ibsen, and Ray Bradbury.
Peggy Webber, the founder, producer, and director of the radio theater, remarked in an interview, “She had a dignity and greatness about her that was more than American audiences were used to. She was able to play roles that she probably wouldn’t have had a chance to do otherwise.”