View source for Hy Hazell

{{Short description|English film actress (1919–1970)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name        = Hy Hazell
| image       = Actress_Hy_Hazell.jpg
| imagesize   = 
| caption     = Hazell in ''[[Up in the World]]'' (1956)
| birth_date  = 4 October 1919{{efn|name=DOB|A majority of sources give 1919 as her year of birth, although the [[British Film Institute]] cites 1920 and ''[[The Oxford Reference]]'' cites 1922.}}
| birth_name  = Hyacinth Hazel O'Higgins
| birth_place = [[Streatham]], [[County of London|London]], England
| death_date  = 10 May 1970 (aged 50)
| death_place = London, England
| occupation  = Stage and screen actress, singer
| spouse      = Edward Adam Primrose Jenkins
}}

'''Hyacinth Hazel O'Higgins''' (4 October 1919 – 10 May 1970), stage name '''Hy Hazell''', was a British actress of theatre, musicals and revue as well as a contralto singer and [[film actress]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/7778|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115065316/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/7778|url-status=dead|archive-date=2009-01-15|title=Hy Hazell|work=BFI}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Hy-Hazell|title=Hy Hazell Theatre Credits|accessdate=18 October 2016|publisher=broadwayworld.com}}</ref> [[AllMusic]] described her as "an exuberant comic actor and lively singer and dancer".<ref name=allmusic>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/hy-hazell-mn0001008861/biography|title=Hy Hazell - Biography|work=AllMusic.com|accessdate=18 October 2016}}</ref> A pretty brunette,  with long legs, she was billed as Britain's answer to  [[Betty Grable]].<ref name="site">{{cite web|url=http://filmstarfacts.com/2015/06/03/tragic-hollywood-accidental-deaths-pt-6|title=Tragic Hollywood: Accidental Death's (Pt 6)|publisher=filmstarfacts.com|author=Alan Royle|date=3 June 2015|accessdate=18 October 2016}}</ref>

==Career==
Hazell was born in [[Streatham]] in South London on 4 October 1919.{{efn|name=DOB}} As a teenager, she started life as a performer in [[Chorus line|the chorus]] of the [[West End theatre|West End]] production of [[Rodgers and Hart]]'s ''[[On Your Toes]]'' (1937). She later had a long and successful run of leading roles in musicals, including ''[[Expresso Bongo]]'' at the [[Saville Theatre]] in 1958, as heartless Dixie Collins; as Mrs Squeezum in the [[Mermaid Theatre]]'s ''[[Lock Up Your Daughters (musical)|Lock Up Your Daughters]]'' in 1959 (playing for almost 2,000 performances); as ex-[[Charles B. Cochran|Cochran]] girl Kay Connor in ''[[Charlie Girl]]'' at the [[Adelphi Theatre]] from 1965 ; and as Mrs Peachum in a notable ''[[Beggar's Opera]]'' by the [[Prospect Theatre Company]] in 1968.{{citation needed|date=February 2017}}

Her appearances also include:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://theatricalia.com/person/zrr/hy-hazell |title=Hy Hazell |website=theatricalia.com |accessdate=April 28, 2022}}</ref>

* ''A Talent to Amuse''; 1969 – 1970, Phoenix Theatre, London.
* Miss Miniver, ''Ann Veronica''; 17th April – May 1969, Cambridge Theatre, London.
* ''The Beggar’s Opera''; 1968 – 1969, Apollo Theatre (Shaftesbury Avenue), London.
* ''The Confederacy''; 19th – 24th October 1964, Cambridge Arts Theatre.
* Mollie Plummer, ''No Strings''; 30th December 1963 – March 1964, Her / His Majesty’s Theatre, London.
* Dixie Collins, ''Expresso Bongo''; started 31st March 1958, Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham and Saville Theatre, London.
* Esmeralda Leigh,'' Dead On Nine''; started 24th August 1955, Westminster Theatre, London.
* Anne Etherton, ''Ten Men And A Miss''; 18th June – 13th October 1951, Aldwych Theatre, London and Opera House, Manchester.

===Films===
Hazell was in British films ''[[Meet Me at Dawn]]'' (1946), ''[[The Yellow Balloon (film)|The Yellow Balloon]]'' (1953), and [[B-movies]] like ''[[The Body Said No!]]'' and  ''[[The Lady Craved Excitement]]'' (both 1950), the latter part allowing her to sing. Within the British tradition of having glamorous young women play the [[principal boy]] in pantos, she became a favourite. She established a reputation as "English [[pantomime]]'s most distinguished post war principal boy". For years she was extremely popular in this seasonal form of theatre.<ref name=allmusic/>

==Personal life==
Hazell's given named of Hyacinth was abbreviated to "Hy" by [[Nigel Patrick]] when they were in Italy during World War II entertaining troops.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gettyimages.ca/detail/news-photo/the-english-actress-hy-hazell-who-has-come-to-australia-to-news-photo/1079428396 |title=Hy Hazell |website=[[Getty Images]] |accessdate=April 28, 2022}}</ref>

She married Edward Adam Primrose Jenkins, [[land agent]] to the [[John Spencer-Churchill, 10th Duke of Marlborough|Duke of Marlborough]], in 1950; he died in June 1960 at age 50.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100618795/hy-hazells-husband-dies-at-50/ |title=Hy Hazell's husband dies at 50 |newspaper=[[Evening Standard]] |location=London |page=11 |date=June 4, 1960 |accessdate=April 28, 2022 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref>

In the summer of 1969, Hazell began playing Golde in ''[[Fiddler on the Roof]]'' in London's [[West End theatre|West End]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100619186/rooftop-girl/ |title=Rooftop Girl |newspaper=Coventry Standard |location=[[Coventry]], England |page=7 |date=July 24, 1969 |accessdate=April 28, 2022 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref> On 10 May 1970, a Sunday when there was no performance, she died accidentally by choking to death whilst eating a steak at a friend's house.<ref name=allmusic/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100617618/hy-hazell-choked-to-deathinquest/ |title=Hy Hazell Choked to Death—Inquest |newspaper=Kensington Post |location=[[Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea|Kensington and Chelsea, London, England]] |page=64 |date=May 22, 1970 |accessdate=April 28, 2022 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref> An inquest found that her blood showed a very high alcohol level: "A high enough level to account for some carelessness about eating and possibly the swallowing of food and therefore to have been almost a certain reason for her choking."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britmovie.co.uk/forums/actors-actresses/100490-hy-hazell.html|title=Hy Hazell profile|publisher=britmovie.co.uk|accessdate=18 October 2016|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624223639/http://www.britmovie.co.uk/forums/actors-actresses/100490-hy-hazell.html|archivedate=24 June 2016}}</ref><ref>[http://www.thisistheatre.com/londonshows/fiddlerontheroof.html#1967 Fiddler on the Roof, thisistheatre.com]</ref>

==Selected filmography==
{{Div col}}
* ''[[The Dummy Talks]]'' (1943) (credited as Derna Hazell)
* ''[[Meet Me at Dawn]]'' (1947)
* ''[[Just William's Luck (film)|Just William's Luck]]'' (1947)
* ''[[Paper Orchid]]'' (1949)
* ''[[Celia (1949 film)|Celia]]'' (1949)
* ''[[The Lady Craved Excitement]]'' (1950)
* ''[[The Body Said No!]]'' (1950)
* ''[[The Franchise Affair (film)|The Franchise Affair]]'' (1951)
* ''[[The Night Won't Talk]]'' (1952)
* ''[[The Yellow Balloon (film)|The Yellow Balloon]]'' (1953)
* ''[[Forces' Sweetheart (film)|Forces' Sweetheart]]'' (1953)
* ''[[Stolen Assignment]]'' (1955)
* ''[[Up in the World]]'' (1956)
* ''The Mail Van Murder ([[Scotland Yard (film series)|Scotland Yard film series]])'' (1957)
* ''[[The Key Man (1957 film)|The Key Man]]'' (1957)
* ''[[The Whole Truth (1958 film)|The Whole Truth]]'' (1958)
* ''[[Trouble with Eve]]'' (1960)
* ''[[Five Golden Hours]]'' (1961)
* ''[[What Every Woman Wants (1962 film)|What Every Woman Wants]]'' (1962)
* ''[[Every Home Should Have One]]'' (1970)
{{Div col end}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb name|0371963}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hazell, Hy}}
[[Category:1919 births]]
[[Category:1970 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century English actresses]]
[[Category:20th-century English singers]]
[[Category:Actresses from London]]
[[Category:English people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:English film actresses]]
[[Category:English musical theatre actresses]]
[[Category:English stage actresses]]
[[Category:Deaths from choking]]
[[Category:People from Streatham]]
[[Category:20th-century English women singers]]