Catherine Schell
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Catherina Schell von Bauschlott (born July 17, 1944 in Budapest) is a Hungarian-born actress who rose to fame in various British film and television productions in the 1960s and 1970s. She acted under the name Catherine von Schell early in her career, but is best known by the name Catherine Schell.
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[edit] History
Fleeing Hungary in advance of the Nazis, her father, the Baron Paul von Schell Bauschlott was a well-known Hungarian diplomat until the Nazis confiscated their estates at the beginning of WWII. Her family lived in poverty until 1948, finally seeking asylum in Vienna and Salzburg in advance of the Communists in Hungary. In 1950 her family emigrated to the United States, and Baron Paul von Schell Bauschlott renounced his Hungarian title in order for his family to gain citizenship. Catherine entered a convent school in the New York City borough of Staten Island. In 1957 Paul von Schell joined Radio Free Europe and the family moved to Munich where Catherine developed an interest in acting and attended the prestigious Falconberg School.
[edit] Films
Under the name Catherine von Schell she made her film debut in 1964 as the title character in the little-known German-language film Lana: Queen of the Amazons (AKA "Lana - Königin der Amazonen").
While filming The Amsterdam Affair in 1968 she met and married actor William Marlowe (deceased 2004) and moved to London.
In 1969, she appeared as Bond girl "Nancy" in the George Lazenby James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and as Clementine Taplin in the science fiction thriller Moon Zero Two.
In 1975 she appeared for the first time under the name Catherine Schell in the Peter Sellers comedy The Return of the Pink Panther, playing Lady Claudine Litton. It's reported that her appearance in the film caused complications as she would frequently break into uncontrollable laughter at the slightest prompting from Peter Sellers. A crucial scene in a hotel restaurant was shot many times unsuccessfully, and the final print of the film simply includes the footage of her attempting to stifle laughter at Sellers actions.
The best example of this can be seen during the bar/nightclub scene, when Peter Sellers' character Closeau utters the famous (made famous by Bogart) line: "Here's looking at you, kid", and she completely breaks character and leans forward in a fit of laughter.
[edit] TV roles
In 1975 she appeared in a first season episode of the ITC television science fiction series Space: 1999 entitled "Guardian of Piri", playing the robotic servant of the guardian of Piri. She returned as a regular cast member in the second season in the role of Maya the alien "metamorph" from the planet Psychon, perhaps her most popular character.
Her marriage to actor Marlowe had deteriorated by 1977 when she met director Bill Hays. They married in 1982 and worked together on the TV production of A Month in the Country in 1984.
In 1979, she appeared in a popular episode of the BBC series Doctor Who entitled City of Death as the Countess Scarlioni, wife of the episode's villain. The episode stars Tom Baker as the Doctor, with a guest appearance by John Cleese. She also played regular roles in other television series such as The Adventurer, One By One and Wish Me Luck, in addition to many other guest appearances, including The Persuaders!, The Troubleshooters, Arthur of the Britons, Return of the Saint, The Sweeney, The Onedin Line, The Gentle Touch, Lovejoy, Bergerac, The Bill and Howards' Way.
[edit] Current status
Catherine Schell's acting career continued into the mid-1990s, after which she retired from acting and opened a small hotel in France which is a popular destination for fans of Space: 1999. She continues to make infrequent appearances at science fiction conventions, largely due to her husband's declining health. Bill Hays died on March 6, 2006.
