Dolores Mantez
Encyclopedia
Dolores Mantez born c.1938 is a retired British
television
actress of the 1960s and early 1970s best known for her appearances in the UFO
television series. She was born in Liverpool
to a Ghanaian father and an Irish
mother.
Although she initially followed a career as a seamstress in a dress shop, Dolores was drawn to semi-professional work as a singer, work that became a full-time job when she joined a group and began to appear in cabaret
.
However in 1959, whilst Mantez was visiting her agent she by chance happened to meet an actor's agent who believed her exotic physical appearance was exactly what he was looking for in a film called 'Sapphire'. Despite no acting experience Dolores landed the part of a student in 'Sapphire' and this led to a succession of parts in popular television episodes in Shadow Squad and The Avengers
.
Then in 1962 Dolores' acting career blossomed with a role as a nurse in the Patrick McGoohan
film Life For Ruth
(1962), which in turn led to her appearing in two episodes of Danger Man
, first as an agent working with John Drake in Africa in "Loyalty Always Pays", and then as a West Indian girl in "The Man on the Beach". She also appeared as artist
Rita Bell in "The Twenty-Four Hour Man", an episode of the ABC series The Human Jungle
.
Then, in 1969 she landed the role of Happy Lee, the girl suspected of Marty Hopkirk
's murder in the pilot episode of ITC's Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)
, "My Late Lamented Friend and Partner
".
However Mantez is best known for her portrayal of the character of the purple haired Lieutenant Nina Barry in the sci-fi series UFO
in which she starred in 23 episodes between 1970 and 1973.
After UFO, Dolores guested as Miss Indigo Jones, a mixed-race lady of means in "Fetch and Carry", an episode of the BBC's The Onedin Line
.
's tribute to Noel Coward
Cowardy Custard, Monty Norman
's The Perils of Scobie Prilt with Nyree Dawn Porter and Nigel Davenport
, and the West End production of Every Other Evening with Margaret Lockwood. She also extensively toured Europe, even playing in Porgy And Bess in East Berlin
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
actress of the 1960s and early 1970s best known for her appearances in the UFO
UFO (TV series)
UFO is a 1970-1971 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth, created by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson with Reg Hill, and produced by the Andersons and Lew Grade's Century 21 Productions for Grade's ITC Entertainment company.UFO first aired in the UK and Canada...
television series. She was born in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
to a Ghanaian father and an Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
mother.
Although she initially followed a career as a seamstress in a dress shop, Dolores was drawn to semi-professional work as a singer, work that became a full-time job when she joined a group and began to appear in cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
.
However in 1959, whilst Mantez was visiting her agent she by chance happened to meet an actor's agent who believed her exotic physical appearance was exactly what he was looking for in a film called 'Sapphire'. Despite no acting experience Dolores landed the part of a student in 'Sapphire' and this led to a succession of parts in popular television episodes in Shadow Squad and The Avengers
The Avengers (TV series)
The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...
.
Then in 1962 Dolores' acting career blossomed with a role as a nurse in the Patrick McGoohan
Patrick McGoohan
Patrick Joseph McGoohan was an American-born actor, raised in Ireland and England, with an extensive stage and film career, most notably in the 1960s television series Danger Man , and The Prisoner, which he co-created...
film Life For Ruth
Life for Ruth
Life for Ruth is a 1962 British drama film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Michael Craig, Patrick McGoohan and Janet Munro.-Plot:John Harris finds himself ostracized and placed on trial for allowing his daughter Ruth to die. His religious beliefs forbade him to give consent for a blood...
(1962), which in turn led to her appearing in two episodes of Danger Man
Danger Man
Danger Man is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again between 1964 and 1968. The series featured Patrick McGoohan as secret agent John Drake. Ralph Smart created the program and wrote many of the scripts...
, first as an agent working with John Drake in Africa in "Loyalty Always Pays", and then as a West Indian girl in "The Man on the Beach". She also appeared as artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
Rita Bell in "The Twenty-Four Hour Man", an episode of the ABC series The Human Jungle
The Human Jungle
The Human Jungle is a British TV series about a psychiatrist, made for ABC Weekend Television by the small production company Independent Artists and screened by the ITV Network...
.
Then, in 1969 she landed the role of Happy Lee, the girl suspected of Marty Hopkirk
Marty Hopkirk
Marty Hopkirk is a fictional ghost played by English actor Kenneth Cope in the television private detective series Randall and Hopkirk from 1969 to early 1970...
's murder in the pilot episode of ITC's Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)
Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)
Randall and Hopkirk , first transmitted during 1969-70, is a British private detective television series starring Mike Pratt and Kenneth Cope as the private detectives Jeff Randall and Marty Hopkirk, respectively. The series was originally created by Dennis Spooner and produced by Monty Berman...
, "My Late Lamented Friend and Partner
My Late Lamented Friend and Partner
"My Late Lamented Friend and Partner" is the pilot episode of the popular 1969 British television series Randall and Hopkirk starring Mike Pratt, Kenneth Cope and Annette Andre. The episode was first broadcast on 21 September 1969 on ITV...
".
However Mantez is best known for her portrayal of the character of the purple haired Lieutenant Nina Barry in the sci-fi series UFO
UFO (TV series)
UFO is a 1970-1971 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth, created by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson with Reg Hill, and produced by the Andersons and Lew Grade's Century 21 Productions for Grade's ITC Entertainment company.UFO first aired in the UK and Canada...
in which she starred in 23 episodes between 1970 and 1973.
After UFO, Dolores guested as Miss Indigo Jones, a mixed-race lady of means in "Fetch and Carry", an episode of the BBC's The Onedin Line
The Onedin Line
The Onedin Line is a BBC television drama series which ran from 1971 to 1980. The series was created by Cyril Abraham.The series is set in Liverpool from 1860 to 1886 and deals with the rise of a shipping line, the Onedin Line, named after its owner James Onedin...
.
Stage work
Throughout the Sixties, Dolores also appeared in a number of stage musicals, including the Mermaid TheatreMermaid Theatre
The Mermaid Theatre was a theatre at Puddle Dock, in Blackfriars, in the City of London and the first built there since the time of Shakespeare...
's tribute to Noel Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
Cowardy Custard, Monty Norman
Monty Norman
Monty Norman is a singer and film composer best known for being credited with composing the "James Bond Theme".-Biography:...
's The Perils of Scobie Prilt with Nyree Dawn Porter and Nigel Davenport
Nigel Davenport
Nigel Davenport is an English stage, television and film actor.- Early life :Davenport was born Arthur Nigel Davenport, however he goes by the first name of Nigel. Davenport was born in Shelford, Cambridgeshire, the son of Katherine Lucy and Arthur Henry Davenport. Davenport's father was a bursar...
, and the West End production of Every Other Evening with Margaret Lockwood. She also extensively toured Europe, even playing in Porgy And Bess in East Berlin
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
.
Personal life
In the mid 1970s she met businessman Robert Harding in a pub during a power cut and they were married soon afterwards. Dolores left showbusiness soon afterwards with the birth of their son, also called Robert.External links
- http://www.shadolibrary.net/crew/barry/index.shtml