British actress
Janet Munro, aged 38, died on 6 December 1972 after becoming ill
while having tea with er two children in her flat in Kentish Town,
London. The children's nannie, Elizabeth McGuiness, tried to
reanimate her but she died on the way to hospital. Munro died from a
heart attack caused by chronic ischaemic heart disease.
Janet Munro was
born as Janet Neilson Horsburgh on 28 September 1934 in Blackpool,
Lancashire, England. Munro was the daughter of the Scottish comedian
Alex Munro and his wife, Phyllis Robertshaw. Janet’s mother,
Phyllis died when she was eight and she was raised by Lilias, Alex
Munro’s second wife.
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| Janet Munro as Anne Pilgrim in "The Trollenberg Terror" (1958) |
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| Janet Munro as Katie O'Gill in "Darby O'Gill and the Little People" (1959) |
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| Janet Munro with Sean Connery in "Darby O'Gill and the Little People" (1959) |
After a brief
career in the theatre she was spotted and given her first film role
as Effie the waitress in "Small Hotel"(1957), followed by "The
Trollenberg Terror" (1957) and a starring role with Andrew Ray
in "The Young and the Guilty" (1958). In 1959 she signed
a five-picture deal with Walt Disney, with lively performances in "Darby O'Gill and the Little People" (1959), "Third Man on the
Mountain" (1959) and "Swiss Family Robinson" (1960). After her Disney contract
she was given more dramatic roles in "Day The Earth Caught Fire"
(1961), "Life for Ruth" (1962) and "Bitter Harvest"
(1963). In 1958 Munro was voted "TV actress of the year" and in
1960 she won a Golden Globe as "Most Promising Newcomer -
Female" together with Tuesday Weld, Angie Dickinson and Stella
Stevens.
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| Janet Munro as Lizbeth Hempel in "Third Man on the Mountain" (1959) |
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| Janet Munro as Amanda in "Tommy the Toreador" (1959) |
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| Janet Munro with James MacArthur in "Swiss Family Robinson" (1960) |
Janet Munro married
twice. In January 1956 she married Tony Wright, the marriage ended
three years later in 1959. In 1963 she married former Avengers star
Ian Hendry. The couple had two children Sally Hendry and Corrie
Hendry. From 1964 to 1968 Munro retired from acting to raise her two
children. Ian and Janet divorced in 1971.
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| Janet Munro with husband Ian Hendry and baby Sally (1964) |
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| Janet Munro with daughter Sally and husband Ian Hendry (1966) |
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| Janet Munro with husband Ian Hendry and daughters Sally and Corrie (1971) |
Two failed
marriages, two miscarriages, alcoholism, assorted medical problems,
and depression… Munro collapsed and subsequently died on December
6th 1972 at the age of 38. She was cremated and interred at the
Golders Green Crematorium.
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| Janet Munro as Jeannie Craig in "The Day the Earth Caught Fire" (1961) |
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| Janet Munro with Patrick McGoohan in "Life for Ruth" (1962) |
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| Janet Munro as Jennie Jones in "Bitter Harvest" (1963) |
