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Actress Joanna Dunham passes away

Actress Joanna Dunham passes away

THE British actress Joanna Dunham has passed away at the age of 78.

During her long career Ms Dunham had enjoyed success on both stage and screen, but she will be best remembered for her role in the 1965 Hollywood blockbuster The Greatest Story Ever Told.

In the movie, which was nominated for five Academy Awards, Ms. Dunham had played Mary Magdalene (see below). The film also starred Max von Sydow and Jesus and Charlton Heston as John the Baptist.

She had studied stage design and painting at the Slade School of Art in London, before going on to train at Rada and making her professional debut in 1958 at the Liverpool Playhouse.

Early television roles came in a number of shows which included William Tell and Danger Man.

In 1962, she starring as Juliet in Franco Zeffirelli’s New York production of Romeo and Juliet when came to the attention of Marilyn Monroe who recommended her for the role in The Greatest Story Ever Told.

Other film credits included The House that Dripped Blood (1971) and Day at the Beach (1972), while on TV she appeared in many of the most popular shows of the 70s and 80s including Sykes, Sutherland’s Law, Van der Valk and The Outsider. Her final TV credit was for Diana: A Tribute to the People’s Princess (1998) in which she played the role of Raine Spencer.

In later years Ms Dunham devoted much of her time to painting. She also created a gallery at her home in Suffolk.

View an excerpt from The Greatest Story Ever Told featuring Joanna Dunham.

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