British actress Hilary Heath has passed away at the age of 74, as a result of complications associated with coronavirus. The star’s godson, Alex Williams, confirmed the sad news as he penned an emotional tribute to Heath on Facebook.
Heath will be best remembered for starring alongside Timothy Dalton in 1970’s Wuthering Heights, in which she played Heathcliff’s wife Isabella Linton, as well as playing Sara in The Witchfinder General in 1968. She also starred in several popular television series including The Avengers, The Prisoner, Z Cars and Space: 1999.
The Liverpool-born performer also enjoyed a successful career behind the camera as a producer, working alongside the likes of Hugh Grant, the late Alan Rickman and Gary Oldman.
“We lost my wonderful Godmother Hilary Heath to Covid-19 last week,” he wrote. “Hilary had many careers, starting out as a screen and stage actress in the 1960s and 1970s, and then re-inventing herself as a producer in the 1990s, making films like Nil by Mouth (Gary Oldman) and An Awfully Big Adventure (Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman)”
Williams added: “Her most remarkable re-invention came in her mid-60s, when she won a master’s degree from Oxford in psychology and became an addiction counsellor, specialising in CBT.
“She worked at clinics all over the world, often for free, often with very deprived and distressed individuals, and she regarded this as her most valuable work by far. She was a force of nature, and I can’t bear it that she is no longer with us.”
Fans of Heath’s paid tribute to the actress, following the news of her passing. Replying to William’s post, one fan wrote: “Hilary had such an amazing life and several great careers. I love the Hammer Films and American International Films of the 1960s. I will look for her when I re-watch some of those films.
“She appeared several times with Vincent Price, who is a favorite of mine. I also loved many of the other shows she was in, including the Prisoner, The Avengers, and Space 1999. Her 60s sound like they were Swingin’. A life well-lived for sure. All the best to her family and you and yours.”
Another said: “I knew her work as a wonderful actor of great intelligence. I didn’t know about her other amazing work until now. Such a very sad loss.”
While another commented: “So sorry to hear this, met her once during a day long film event in Southend about a decade ago, a lovely lady.”