In this retrospective I pay homage to the girls who made the formative years of a fledgling horror fan so utterly memorable and while not all get a mention, they are so numerous; you can bet they all passed through my mind as I wrote (one of them even follows me on Twitter and you can’t begin to imagine how excited that made me!) Here then, in no particular order, are the girls...
1. INGRID PITT
2. MARY & MADELEINE COLLINSON
3. YUTTE STENSGAARD
4. MADELINE SMITH
5. MARIE DEVEREUX
6. SUSAN DENBERG
7. JACQUELINE PEARCE
8. CAROLINE MUNRO
9. julie ege
10. kate o'mara
Born in Leicester, England on 10th August 1939, Kate was already a UK TV regular throughout the 60s before her first Hammer appearance in The Vampire Lovers (1969). Her only other Hammer film was The Horror of Frankenstein. Kate went back to TV and stage and starred in UK soap opera Triangle and then US soap Dynasty, playing the scheming sister of an equally scheming Alexis (Joan Collins). Kate was very much typecast as the ultra-glamorous, but equally ultra-evil, bitch role. However, in real life she is nothing like her perceived persona and is a vegetarian and animal rights activist.
"Whenever I get on stage, I feel safe and in control. Life can be so uncertain, but on stage I always know how a drama or crisis is going to end. Acting is a great comfort blanket, and has gotten me through countless personal crisis. I am a firm believer that the show must go on."
On March 30, 2014 the world lost the beautiful and talented Kate O'Mara. Horror Central would like to send our thoughts and prayers to her friends and family. She was something special to all of us, and will be missed dearly.
Jamie Tucknutt, 46 years old from Co Durham, England. Ever since I watched my first black and white vampire film at the age of five, then spent a sleepless night cowering beneath the covers as frequent droughts from my open bedroom window caused my (creaky) bedroom door to move ever so slightly, I have been a devotee of all that is deliciously dark. Zombies and slashers, ghosts and ghouls, or even just that fleeting shadow you caught in the corner of your eye, have the power to hold us all entranced. I look forward to sharing with you my passion for horror. |