MARGOT KIDDER

14 May

(17 October 1948 - 13 May 2018)

The Canadian actress Margot Kidder, who has died at the age of 69, suffered mental health problems for most of her life. She always wanted to be a film star and, in moving to Los Angeles in 1969, made her debut in Norman Jewison’s Chicago, Chicago (aka Gaily, Gaily). This was followed, in between TV series, by Waris Hussein’s Quackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx, a dual role in Brian De Palma’s Sisters, The Gravy Train, Black Christmas, The Great Waldo Pepper and The Reincarnation of Peter Proud. In 1978, Superman really put her on the map, in which she played Lois Lane and appeared in its three sequels. Other films included The Amityville Horror, Willie & Phil, Some Kind of Hero, The Pornographer and many long-forgotten titles, as well as a lot more television. Although she worked extensively, Margot Kidder never repeated her early promise or the success of her signature appearances in the Superman franchise. She was married briefly three times, first to Thomas McGuane, who directed her in 92 in the Shade and who gave her a daughter, Maggie, to the actor John Heard (for six days) and to the French director Philippe de Broca.

MICHAEL DARVELL

Michael Darvell

Michael Darvell trained as a librarian at Watford and in Surrey before joining Ealing Libraries where he became Music Librarian for the borough. He edited Masthead, the magazine of the University of North London School of Librarianship, The Surrealist, the staff magazine of Surrey County Library, and contributed to the Assistant Librarian and London Librarian professional journals. A freelance film reviewer since 1970, he has written for Film, Films Illustrated, Film Review, Movie Maker and Radio Times, as well as editing Montage, the London film societies magazine, for ten years. A change of career saw him joining What’s On in London as Features Editor and he eventually stepped into the shoes of the late F. Maurice Speed (founding father of Film Review annual) as the magazine’s Editor. From 2007 to 2015, he was co-editor of the Film Review annual with Mansel Stimpson. As well as writing about films, Michael has reviewed theatre for The Stage newspaper, and has written about music theatre and cabaret for the Classical Source and Musical Theatre Review websites. He is also a former restaurant critic for the ViewLondon website. Michael has been a member of the London Film Critics’ Circle since 2005.

MARGOT KIDDER

JOSEPH CAMPANELLA

ANNE V. COATES