Biography
Actress Carol Lynley picked up two Golden Globe nods with her first two films, "The Light in the Forest" (1959) and "Blue Denim" (1960), before impressing in "Bunny Lake Is Missing" (1965), "Harlow" (1965) and "The Poseidon Adventure" (1972). Born in Manhattan, NY in 1942, Carol Lynley began modeling as a child, appearing on the cover of Life magazine in her teens and starring in several commercials. She first caught attention as an actress on the stage with roles in Broadway productions "Anniversary Waltz" and "The Potting Shed" before making her screen debut in anthology series "Goodyear Television Playhouse" (NBC, 1951-57). Lynley then landed two consecutive Golden Globe nominations when she graduated to the big screen for Walt Disney's "The Light in the Forest" (1958) and reprised the role she'd first played on stage, pregnant teen Janet, in "Blue Denim" (1959). Lynley barely left cinema screens over the next decade, starring as scandalous novelist Allison in soapy drama "Return to Peyton Place" (1961), playing opposite Fabian in teen picture "Hound-Dog Man" (1959), Kirk Douglas in western "The Last Sunset" (1961) and Jack Lemmon in comedy "Under the Yum Tree" (1963) and taking on the role of a stripper in the drama "Woman of Summer" (1963). After gracing the six-time Oscar-nominated "The Cardinal" (1963) as the ill-fated Mona, Lynley appeared as a mentally ill patient in neo-noir "Shock Treatment" (1964), co-starred in the musical romantic comedy "The Pleasure Seekers" (1964) and impressed with her portrayal of 1930s sex symbol Jean Harlow in biopic "Harlow" (1965). Lynley also earned critical acclaim for her leading performance as the mother of a missing four-year-old in Otto Preminger's "Bunny Lake Is Missing" (1965) before taking center stage in British horror "The Shuttered Room" (1967), showing up in spy movie "Danger Route" (1967) and appearing as Robin Sherwood in Rowan and Martin vehicle "The Maltese Bippy" (1969). At the turn of the decade, Lynley starred as the murderous Diana in thriller "Once You Kiss a Stranger" (1969), hookers in both comedy "Norwood" (1970) and vampire tale "The Night Stalker" (1972) and Sister Meredith in thriller "Weekend of Terror" (1970). Lynley enjoyed the biggest box office success of her career when she played ship singer Nonnie Parry in epic disaster movie "The Poseidon Adventure" (1972), lip-syncing in the film to the Oscar-winning song "The Morning After." She continued to rack up the film credits, playing the female leads in western drama "Cotter" (1973), Prohibition era comedy "The Four Deuces" (1975) and melodrama "Bad Georgia Road" (1977) and starring alongside Tom Selleck in "The Washington Affair" (1977). But she also regularly returned to the TV movie fold, appearing in disaster movies "The Elevator" (1974) "Flood!" (1976) and "The Beasts Are on the Streets" (1978) and the spin-off spawning "Cops and Robin" (1978). After playing an heiress in British black comedy "The Cat and the Canary" (1978), distant planet leader in Canadian sci-fi "H.G. Wells' The Shape of Things to Come" (1979) and district attorney in American thriller "Vigilante" (1983), Lynley made the final of 11 guest spots on "Fantasy Island" (ABC, 1977-1984), joined Tony Curtis in conman drama "Balboa" (1983) and appeared in horrors "Dark Tower" (1987), "Spirits" (1990) and "Howling VI: The Freaks" (1991). Lynley's work rate slowed down considerably as she entered her sixties, only adding to her filmography with morality tale "Neon Signs" (1996), road movie "Drowning On Dry Land" (1999) and "A Light in the Forest" (2001), a kids fantasy which almost shared the same name as her very first movie. Lynley's final acting credit came with a cameo in Sage Stallone's directorial debut, the short film "Vic" (2006). She passed away from a heart attack at the age of 77 in 2019.
