‘Alfie’ Star Shirley Anne Field, Dies Aged 87

(DailyDig.com) – Shirley Anne Field’s family reported her death on December 11th. Field was a British actress who was renowned for films like “Alfie” (1966). The woman’s age was 87.

In a statement, Shirley Anne Field’s loved ones shared the sad news that she died peacefully on December 10 with them by her side. Her incredible legacy, which spanned over half a century in theater and film, and her unwavering spirit, will be cherished and mourned.

Field, who was born in London on June 27, 1936, began her career in the modeling industry in the 1950s. Towards the end of that decade, she started to branch out into acting. Her early film credits feature “It’s A Wonderful World” and “Loser Takes All,” both from 1956. She got her big break in 1959’s “Horrors of the Black Museum,” which was her first significant part.

Field didn’t start to get the recognition she deserved until the next decade. Her breakthrough came in the 1960s with “The Entertainer,” in which she co-starred with Laurence Olivier as Tina Lapford.

Field opted to act in “The War Lover,” a 1962 WWII thriller starring Robert Wagner and Steve McQueen, rather than John Schlesinger’s “A Kind of Loving,” which would have been her debut Hollywood feature. Field played Carla, a nurse who falls for Michael Caine’s legendary womanizer in “Alfie,” directed by Lewis Gilbert.

Some of Field’s additional most notable films include 1962’s “The Damned” starring Oliver Reed, 1963’s “Lunch Hour” starring Robert Stephens, 1963’s “Kings of the Sun” starring Yul Brynner, 1966’s “Doctor in Clover” starring Leslie Phillips, 1966’s “Saturday Night and Sunday Morning” starring Albert Finney, 1985’s “My Beautiful Laundrette” starring Daniel Day-Lewis, 1989’s “The Rachel Papers” starring Dexter Fletcher, and 1991’s “Hear My Song” starring Ned Beatty

“Madson,” “Where the Heart Is,” “Waking the Dead,” and many more shows were among her roles in her television appearances. As far as stage performances go, Field is famous for her roles in “The Cemetery Club” and “Five Blue Hair Ladies Sitting on a Green Park Bench.”