Elizabeth Shepherd

Elizabeth Shepherd (born 12 August 1936) is an English character actress whose long career has encompassed the stage and both the big and small screens. Her television work has been especially prolific. Shepherd's surname has been variously rendered as "Shephard" and "Sheppard". Career Shepherd began acting in television series in 1959. In 1960, she appeared in an adaptation of A. J. Cronin's novel, The Citadel. She was the original choice to play Emma Peel in the 1960s television series The Avengers. However, after filming nearly two episodes, Shepherd left the production and was replaced by Diana Rigg. In 1970, she appeared on Broadway in Barry England's Conduct Unbecoming, a story of the British Army in Kipling's India, as Mrs Hasseltine. She was praised for her performance in Time magazine. Shepherd was pictured in Time along with her co-stars, the pop singers Jeremy Clyde and Paul Jones, who began their roles as British subalterns in London during 1969. In film she appeared as both Lady Rowena and Ligeia in Roger Corman's The Tomb of Ligeia (1964), as well as in Damien: Omen II as the ill-fated reporter Joan Hart, The Kidnapping of the President, Deadly Companion and Amelia.