Hilary Crane was born Hilary Adrienne Strelitz on the 2nd of February 1933 in West Derby, Liverpool. Her first screen appearance was as a party guest in the TV series of 'Little Women' in 1958 and in the same year she appeared as Rita in an episode of 'Boyd Q.C.' On the 10th of February 1959 the Daily Mirror published, "What a scream Hillary Crane, twenty-four-year-old actress wife of a London doctor is joining the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra for a performance of Alban Berg's symphonic suite 'Lulu'. All she has to do is scream. But it's no laughing matter it has to be the scream of a woman dying at the hands of Jack the Ripper." Her husband was Doctor John Crane, who was the doctor for Arsenal F.C and the England national football team, and in 1960 they had a son, Simon who is now a British stuntman, stunt coordinator, second unit director and film director. He has been a staple in the stunt world for decades working on several of the biggest action films and franchises in movie history.
Continuing with her acting career in the early 1960s, Hilary appeared in episodes of 'Z-Cars', 'No Hiding Place', 'ITV Television Playhouse' and 'Love Story'.
In 1965 she married Harry Landis, an English actor of Polish parentage who played the Square's Polish
barber in 'EastEnders' but their marriage ended in divorce seven years later but did produce a daughter, Katy. During that time she appeared in the TV series 'The Sullavan Brothers' (1965) and 'Justice' (1971).
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| as Mrs Jenkins |
In 1972 she began a relationship with the writer Richard Harris, known for 'The Avengers' (1961), 'Adam Adamant Lives!' (1966) and Man In a Suitcase' (1967). However despite all her minor roles in numerous TV shows she is probably best known for being the mother of 'Tucker' Jenkins in the series Grange Hill (1978-81) and the follow up 'Tuckers Luck' (1983-85). She also appeared in four episodes of Phil Redmond's other creation 'Brookside' (1983) as Irene Harrison. Her longest role though was as Rosemary Webb in the ill fated BBC Soap 'Eldorado' in which she appeared in 110 episodes (1992-93).
Richard Harris also wrote the play 'Stepping Out' in 1984 which played in London's West End and on Broadway and said, " The inspiration for the show came from my wife, Hilary. She started her career as a dancer and she
liked to keep her foot in, as it were, so she went down to the local
dance class and when she came back she suggested that I should go and
have a look as she felt there might be a play in it for me". It was in 1993 that Hilary married her long-term lover although she
had vowed to stay single after two
broken marriages. She said, "He wanted to marry but I was dead set against it and refused
to accept his proposals over the years," says Hilary, who already had two
grown-up children from her previous relationships.
Then one night during filming, the cast of 'Outside Edge' (1994), written by Richard, went
for a meal at the Waltons Hotel in Nottingham. We'd had a few
drinks and were quite merry when we decided to get married - actually, I
think everyone else decided for us! "
Richard, who had also been twice-wed, had been urging Hilary to tie the
knot for years and was pleased she finally accepted - even though it was
a drunken decision.
For all the joy her children brought her, there was one
professional blow that always rankled, the failure of the BBC Spanish soap 'Eldorado'.
She said, "Just when we got it right, they took it off. It was really unfair. The trouble was they cast people who had
never acted before, although I'm not saying it was their fault. At
the end. though, it was as good as any soap. It took about a year to get a proper job again. I was offered
a lot of very strange plays and game shows where I feel they would have
just taken the mickey out of you.
It was a traumatic time. I've never been sacked and
that's what it felt like."
Hilary died on the 13th of July 2009 in London after a battle with cancer.
see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2023/09/a-history-of-liverpool-thespians-derek.html
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