Carole Lesley

Born: 1935-05-27

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.


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Operation Bullshine

as Pvt. Marge White
Released: 1959-06-30

During World War II, a Royal Artillery officer is assigned to an anti-aircraft battery that is...

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These Dangerous Years

as Dinah Brown
Released: 1957-07-03

A Liverpool gang member wins a singing contest is then called up for National Service where he...

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Doctor in Love

as Kitten Strudwick
Released: 1960-07-12

Doctors Burke and Hare leave the confines of St Swithins for the world of general practice,...

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Woman in a Dressing Gown

as Hilda Harper
Released: 1957-07-03

A married, middle-aged woman is shocked to discover that her husband, who she thought was...

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What a Whopper

as Charlotte 'Charlie' Pinner
Released: 1961-10-17

A writer attempts to raise some cash by writing a book about the Loch Ness Monster. No publisher...

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The Embezzler

as Tea Shop Waitress
Released: 1954-07-01

Bank robber's plans for a wealthy lifestyle gradually turn to more noble aims.

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Trottie True

as Clare as a child
Released: 1949-09-29

Tottie True is a gay-90s British music-hall performer who has her sights set on moving from rags...

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The Pot Carriers

as Wendy
Released: 1962-03-10

New inmate Rainbow has just been imprisoned for a year for his part in a fight over his...

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No Trees in the Street

as Lova
Released: 1959-03-03

Based on the play by Ted Willis, the film is set in the years just before World War II, when...

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Three on a Spree

as Susan
Released: 1961-06-28

A young man will inherit a huge fortune--8 million pounds--but to qualify, he must spend a...

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The Good Companions

as Film Star (as Leslie Carroll)
Released: 1957-04-22

The story revolves around the Dinky Doos, a provincial musical troupe living from hand to mouth.

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The Silver Darlings

as Una (child)
Released: 1947-09-03

A harsh if ultimately optimistic depiction of life in the unforgiving Hebrides, that includes...

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