Clarissa Kaye

Clarissa Kaye
Born	Clarissa Knipe ca. 1931 Sydney, Australia
Died	21 July 1994
Other names	Clarissa Kaye-Mason
Occupation	Actress
Spouse	James Mason (1971–84)

Clarissa Kaye (ca. 1931 – 21 July 1994^[1]) was an Australian stage, film and television actress. She was the second wife (1971–84) of British actor James Mason. After her marriage, she was often known as Clarissa Kaye-Mason.

Biography

Clarissa Kaye was born as Clarissa Knipe in Sydney around 1931.^[2] In 1958 she became one of a class of informal students of Hayes Gordon, who taught "The Method" (the group included Reg Livermore and Jon Ewing). Their first public performances were a series of one-act plays by Tennessee Williams. The group later became the Ensemble Theatre Company, Sydney's first theatre-in-the round and its longest established professional theatre company.^[3][4]

Her first film role was as Meg in Age of Consent (1969), in which she appeared in scenes with James Mason, including a sex scene that was censored from Columbia Pictures' UK and US releases.^[5] She was recovering from pneumonia at the time and still had a temperature of 103 °F (40 °C).^{[citation needed]}

Mason, who was many years Kaye's senior, sent her a long letter telling her of his admiration; this was followed by a card the following Valentine's Day,^[6] and a long correspondence ensued.^[7]

Marriage

James Mason and Clarissa Kaye married on 8 August 1971^[1] in Corseaux-sur-Vevey, Switzerland,^[8] and remained together until his death in 1984. (It has been reported that it was her second marriage.^[8]) Kaye reportedly was willing to put her career on hold, but Mason regularly insisted that she be given roles in his films.^[9] They shared scenes in Frankenstein: The True Story (1973); they also both appeared in Salem's Lot (1979), but did not share any scenes.^[2]

They appeared on Broadway in April 1979 in Brian Friel's play Faith Healer,^[10] but were never on stage together (the play is constructed as four monologues by three characters). Her involvement in Faith Healer was also largely at Mason's request.^[11] That production failed and ended after only 17 days.^[12]

She claimed credit for in the late 1970s 'discovering' the actor Sam Neill, whom she found strikingly reminiscent of her husband in his youth; she would say she introduced him to Australian producer Margaret Fink. Fink cast him as the male lead in My Brilliant Career.^{[citation needed]}

Death

James Mason died in 1984, and Clarissa Kaye died on 21 July 1994 from cancer.^[1] Before Mason remarried, his children, Portland and Morgan (both from his first marriage to Pamela Mason) were to be the beneficiaries of his large estate, valued at £15 million. Mason changed his will to leave Clarissa Kaye as the sole beneficiary, but the children understood that they would still ultimately receive the proceeds, after their stepmother's death. However, she was on such bad terms with them that she left her estate to an unidentified trust rumoured to be on behalf of the Sathya Sai Organization, run by devotees of the Indian guru Sathya Sai Baba. The organization, based in an ashram near Bangalore, neither confirmed nor denied this.^{[citation needed]}

Mason's ashes were also the subject of controversy. Kaye initially had them in an urn in her home, but later deposited them in a Geneva bank vault, without informing Mason's children. They tracked them down after Kaye's death, and took legal action to retrieve and inter them, and to choose the wording on Mason's gravestone.^[13][14][15]

Selected filmography

• Age of Consent (1969; as Meg)
• The Yin and the Yang of Mr. Go (1970; as Zelda)
• Ned Kelly (1970; as Kelly's mother)
• Frankenstein: The True Story (TV; 1973; as Lady Fanshawe)
• Salem's Lot (TV; 1979; as Marjorie Glick)
• Dr. Fischer of Geneva aka The Bomb Party (TV; 1985; as Mrs. Montgomery)
• The Umbrella Woman aka The Good Wife (1987; as Mrs. Jackson)
• The First Kangaroos (1988; as Mrs Messenger)
• The Last Resort (Australian TV series; 1988)
• Bangkok Hilton (TV mini-series; 1989; as Mrs. Cameron)

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Turner Classic Movies: Biography for James Mason
2. ^ ^{a b} IMDb profile
3. ^ Live Performance Australia Hall of Fame website
4. ^ Ensemble Acting Studio
5. ^ Senses of Cinema: Age of Consent
6. ^ The Bright Light Café
7. ^ Turner Classic Movies: Spotlight – Age of Consent
8. ^ ^{a b} Time magazine, 6 September 1971
9. ^ Bright Lights Film Journal report on James Mason
10. ^ Time magazine, 16 April 1979
11. ^ Anthony Roche, The Cambridge Companion to Brian Friel
12. ^ IBDB: Clarissa Kaye
13. ^ The Telegraph (UK), 25 November 2000
14. ^ Reuters, 25 November 2000
15. ^ The Independent, 2 June 2004, Portland Mason obituary

External links

• Clarissa Kaye at the Internet Movie Database

Persondata
Name	Kaye, Clarissa
Alternative names	Kaye-Mason, Clarissa
Short description	Actress
Date of birth
Place of birth	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Date of death	21 July 1994
Place of death