Actress Dinah Sheridan, who became best known for her work in films such as The Railway Children and Genevieve and later for her TV appearances, has died at the age of 92.
Born Dinah Mec in 1920 to a Russian father and German mother, she changed her name upon entering show business as her birth surname was pronounced “mess” and she didn’t want to give critics any free ammunition.
She didn’t need to worry: her performances were largely acclaimed, including roles in Calling Paul Temple and Paul Temple’s Triumph before World War II broke out and she gave up her career to become an ambulance driver.
Sheridan returned to films in the post-War period, working on such titles as David Lean’s Breaking The Sound Barrier and 1980’s The Mirror Crack’d, in which she co-starred with Angela Lansbury.
But her performances in 1953’s Genevieve and 1970’s The Railway Childre****n are the ones she’ll be remembered for, at least on the big screen.
Later in her career, she worked most on television, with a successful stint on ‘80s sitcom Don’t Wait Up and a role that gained her science fiction immortality as High Chancellor Flavia in The Five Doctors.
Married four times, she’s survived by her children, former Tory Party chairman Jeremy Hanley and actress Jenny Hanley.