Barbara Leigh-Hunt was one of the leading ladies of one of film's most prolific figures, Alfred Hitchcock. Leigh-Hunt passed away at the age of 88 on September 16, 2024 -- confirmed by an online obituary. She passed away peacefully at her home in Warwickshire, England. Though she was best known for playing Brenda Blaney in Hitchcock's Frenzy, she has a list of Hollywood credentials that would make any heavy-hitter blush.
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Pride and Prejudice, Billy Elliot, Vanity Fair -- and that's all before we get into her achievements on Broadway. She earned the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work in the An Inspector Calls production. She was as captivating on the stage as she was on the screen, and though morbid, her lasting legacy as Blaney proves her strength as an actress.
"I worked with Barbara about thirty years ago on the radio. A no-nonsense, stage and screen actress of the highest renown. She's one of the victims in Hitchcock's Frenzy. I worked with her murderer too, the late Barry Foster. A privilege to have been in their company," said David Holt on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Barbara Leigh-Hunt, A Star On Broadway And Alfred Hitchcock Mainstay, Has Died
"Another uniquely direct actor goes. Barbara was Stephen Daldry's original Mrs Birling, in his seminal 1989 [at]NationalTheatre production of [at]aninspector (still touring!) Also of course, Hitchcock's brutal but brilliant Frenzy, with that famous reversal shot, from studio to street," another user says, remembering Leigh-Hunt's National Theatre credits.
"Do we have any Hitchcock ladies left? I have no idea... but also RIP ms Barbara. Frenzy was one of the first... 3 I think Hitchcocks I saw (I know Birds was first)." As great of a director and visionary as Hitchcock was, many people forget that a director's genius is only part of the production. Without a Barbara Leigh-Hunt to perfectly play her part, it's easy to wonder if Hitchcock would've had the immortality he's received without some of the actors he's worked alongside!
It's always the classy ones that hurt the most. Rest in Peace, Barbara Leigh-Hunt. Your work will live on for generations to come.
