Margia Dean was an actress known for such films as “The Quatermass Xperiment” and “The Big Show.”
- Died: June 23, 2023 (Who else died on June 23?)
- Details of death: Died at her home in Rancho Cucamonga, California, at the age of 101.
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Margia Dean’s legacy
Descended from Greek royalty, Dean grew up in California, where she acted on stage as a child. Later, she worked as a model and was a runner-up for Miss America 1939. Her movie debut came in 1944’s “Casanova in Burlesque,” beginning a career spent mostly in B movies. Among the most prominent was “The Quatermass Xperiment,” the first of the cult-favorite Hammer horror films.
In 1958, Dean starred alongside Clint Eastwood in the western “Ambush at Cimarron Pass,” and in 1961, she was in the circus film “The Big Show” alongside Esther Williams (1921–2013) and Robert Vaughn (1932–2016). She starred in 16 movies for Lippert Pictures, becoming known as the “Queen of Lippert.” Those movies included “Grand Canyon,” “I Shot Jesse James,” “Red Desert,” and “Superman and the Mole Men.” Dean’s final movie was 1964’s “Moro Witch Doctor.” In later years, she worked in real estate, costume design, and interior decoration.
Dean on filming westerns
“You go in early in the morning for hair and makeup; then are driven a long way to a dusty, hot, sticky location. At dusk, they take the leading lady’s close-up – just when she’s grimy! Those tight corsets and five pounds of wigs were all uncomfortable – as were those stagecoach rides – which were so bumpy!” —from an interview for Western Clippings
Tributes to Margia Dean
Full obituary: The Hollywood Reporter
