Shirley Anne Field, star of ‘Alfie’ and ‘The Entertainer’, dead at 87
British actor Shirley Anne Field, who appeared in numerous classic movies, including Peeping Tom, Alfie and The Damned, has passed away at the age of 87.
Her family posted a statement online, which reads, “It is with great sadness that we are sharing the news that Shirley Anne Field passed away peacefully on Sunday 10 December 2023, surrounded by her family and friends.”
They added: “Shirley Anne will be greatly missed and remembered for her unbreakable spirit and her amazing legacy spanning more than five decades on stage and screen.”
Field’s first film role was in Muriel Box’s Simon and Laura, which was released in 1955. However, 1959’s Horrors of the Black Museum gave Field her first prominent role, leading her to become a recognisable face in British cinema.
Field starred opposite Laurence Olivier in the Oscar-nominated movie The Entertainer in 1960. In subsequent years, she bagged roles in films such as Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, The War Lover, Beat Girl and Joseph Losey’s The Damned.
She was dedicated to her craft, starring in the James Hill-directed movie Lunch Hour in 1962, which she described to BBC Radio 4 as “the most enjoyable film I’d ever done.”
Field was paid very little but thought that the movie conveyed an important message. She said during an interview with the New York Times, “We all felt that it had something important to say about the rootlessness and confusion that face young people in England today.”
Elsewhere, the actor starred alongside Michael Caine in the British classic Alfie in 1966 before transitioning to more television roles in the following years. Still, later in her career, she appeared in movies like My Beautiful Laundrette, Getting It Right and Shag.
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