By Lee Pfeiffer
Actress Ingrid Pitt, whose dramatic life eclipsed any adventure she played on screen, has died at age 73. Ingrid was in frail health in recent years, but was so devoted to her fans that she collapsed and died on a London street while attempting to attend a dinner being held in her honor. Ingrid's life may seem like Hollywood fiction, but it was all too real. Born in Nazi occupied Poland, Ingrid and her parents were interred in a concentration camp. She was only five years old but managed to survive the war, despite the Nazi practice of generally exterminating young children. After the war, Ingrid rebelled against a new repression: the Communist government which took power in Eastern Europe. On the very night she was to make her stage debut, she seized a daring opportunity to flee the country to England. She almost drowned in the process, but managed to make London her new home. Over the decades, she successfully developed her acting career, appearing in such films as Where Eagles Dare, The Wicker Man and several Hammer horror film cult classics.
Always pleasant and chatty, Ingrid was a popular fixture on the autograph show circuit and developed a loyal fan base across the world. She also wrote an autobiography and helped author Bobb Cott with his just-released book, Ingrid Pitt: Queen of Horror- The Complete Career. On a personal note, Cinema Retro staffers mourn Ingrid's passing. Although we were not close friends, she was a major supporter of the magazine and had recently begun submitting articles for what would have become a regular column for our web site. As recently as two weeks ago, I received an E mail from her about future articles she wanted to contribute. Dave Worrall and I would often have chance meetings with her on the social circuit in London and her wonderful sense of humor and wit never failed to endear her to us all the more. We join movie fans worldwide in mourning her passing. For more click here