Siân Phillips

Welsh-born stage veteran 'Siân Phillips' (qv) is forever identified on television as the tarantula mother/empress Livia in the classic BBC series _I, Claudius (1976)_ (qv) (for which she won a BAFTA-TV award), and as the Reverend Mother in the science fiction epic film _Dune (1984)_ (qv). Her broad range of roles went from endearing to downright deadly.She was born Jane Elizabeth Ailwên Phillips on May 14, 1933, in Wales, to Sally (Thomas), a teacher, and David Phillips, a steelworker and policeman. Brought brought up bilingual in both English and Welsh, she performed on the Welsh radio station at age 11. She toured extensively for the Arts Council in Wales in original Welsh plays and in translations from the English classics before becoming an award-winning television actress in her late teens.Siân attended the University of Wales and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, making her London debut in the title role of "Hedda Gabler" in 1957. After a brief marriage, she met and married actor 'Peter O'Toole' (qv) in 1959 and appeared frequently with him on stage, including "Ride a Cock Horse" (1965) and "Man and Superman" (1965), and in the movies _Becket (1964)_ (qv), _Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969)_ (qv) (which earned her a National Society of Film Critics award and a Golden Globe nomination for "Supporting Actress"), _Murphy's War (1971)_ (qv) and _Under Milk Wood (1971)_ (qv). They had two daughters, actresses 'Kate O'Toole' (qv) and 'Pat O'Toole' (qv).While her resonant voice served her well as an announcer, newsreader and narrator at different stages of her career, her severely chiseled looks and arch, regal bearing entitled her to perform some of the more notable classics, with critically-acclaimed turns in "Saint Joan", "The Taming of the Shrew" and "The Duchess of Malfi," being just a few. Siân's occasional patricians have also graced such well-mounted films as _Young Cassidy (1965)_ (qv), _Nijinsky (1980)_ (qv) and _The Age of Innocence (1993)_ (qv).After 20 years of marriage, Siân divorced O'Toole, known for his carousing and hard-living ways. She quickly remarried a much younger actor, Britisher 'Robin Sachs' (qv), but they too would divorce in 1991. Despite her personal turmoil, she continued to delve into her stage work, beginning a new phase of her career in musicals. Her participation in such productions as "Pal Joey" (her musical debut), "Gigi" and "A Little Night Music" ultimately led to her acclaimed one-woman cabaret show "Marlene", a tribute to legendary 'Marlene Dietrich' (qv), which opened to rave reviews in London in 1997. Two years later, she won a Tony Award nomination for this role on Broadway.Over the years, Siân has distinguished herself regularly in such quality TV mini-series as _Oresteia (1979)_ (qv), _Crime and Punishment (1979)_ (qv), _Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979)_ (qv), 'Winston Churchill' (qv): The Wilderness Years (1981) (as 'Clementine Churchill' (qv)), _Smiley's People (1982)_ (qv) (as Lady Smiley), _The Two Mrs. Grenvilles (1987)_ (qv) (as the Duchess of Windsor), _A Killing on the Exchange (1987)_ (qv), _The Snow Spider (1988)_ (qv), _The Chestnut Soldier (1991)_ (qv), _The Borrowers (1992)_ (qv) and it's sequel _The Return of the Borrowers (1993)_ (qv) (as Mrs. Driver) and _Aristocrats (1999)_ (qv).She has continued to work into the millennium with elderly parts on stage with "My Old Lady," "Calendar Girls," "Crossing Borders" (a cabaret show), "Les Liaisons Dangereuses," "The Importance of Being Earnest," "Playing for Time" and "Les Blancs," while in films she appeared in _The Gigolos (2006)_ (qv), _Love Song (2012)_ (qv), _Miss Dalí (2018)_ (qv), _Be Happy! (2019)_ (qv), _Dream Horse (2020)_ (qv) and was the narrator and grandmother in a rather radical retelling, animated version of _A Christmas Carol (2020)_ (qv). Dame Siân was awarded Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2000 Queen's Birthday Honour's List for her services to drama.::Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net