Editing Vivien Merchant (section)

==Career==
Merchant took her stage name as a composite of the actress [[Vivien Leigh]] and her brother, who was a merchant seaman (cited by [[Michael Billington (critic)|Michael Billington]]). She began acting professionally in 1942, with supporting juvenile roles in repertory, progressing to West End roles in such works as [[Noël Coward]]'s ''[[Sigh No More (musical)|Sigh No More]]'' and ''[[Ace of Clubs (musical)|Ace of Clubs]]'', becoming an established lead in repertory in the early 1950s. Merchant subsequently performed in many stage productions and several films, including ''[[Alfie (1966 film)|Alfie]]'' (1966), ''[[Accident (1967 film)|Accident]]'' (1967), ''[[Frenzy]]'' (1972), and ''[[The Offence]]'' (also 1972). Her performance in ''Alfie'' gained her [[Academy Award]] and [[Golden Globe]] nominations for [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]], and won her the [[BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles|BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer]] and the [[National Board of Review]] Award for Best Supporting Actress.

After Merchant married the playwright [[Harold Pinter]] in 1956, she appeared in many of his plays, including the 1960 revival of his first play, ''[[The Room (play)|The Room]]'' at the [[Hampstead Theatre]], ''[[A Slight Ache]]'', ''[[A Night Out (play)|A Night Out]]'', ''[[The Collection (play)|The Collection]]'', and ''[[The Lover (play)|The Lover]]''; the last was also a celebrated television production partnering [[Alan Badel]] at [[Associated Rediffusion]], for which she was given an [[Evening Standard Theatre Award]] for Best Newcomer and the [[British Academy Television Award for Best Actress|BAFTA Award for Best Actress]], both in 1963.

Merchant subsequently appeared as Wendy in ''[[Tea Party (play)|Tea Party]]'' opposite [[Leo McKern]] in 1965. She starred as Ruth in ''[[The Homecoming]]'' (1964) on stage in both London in 1965 and New York in 1967, receiving a [[Tony Award]] nomination for [[Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play|Best Actress in a Play]]. She went on to star in the [[The Homecoming (film)|film version]] in 1973. The last of his plays in which she performed on stage was ''[[Old Times]]'' (1971) as Anna. She played Lady Macbeth to [[Paul Scofield]]'s Macbeth for the [[Royal Shakespeare Company]] in 1967, directed by [[Peter Hall (director)|Sir Peter Hall]].

Merchant took the role of Madame in the [[Greenwich Theatre]] revival of [[Jean Genet]]'s ''[[The Maids]]'' partnering [[Glenda Jackson]] and [[Susannah York]]: This was filmed in 1974 by [[Christopher Miles]]. In 1975, Merchant and [[Timothy Dalton]] headed the cast of a revival of Coward's ''[[The Vortex]]'' at the [[Greenwich Theatre]].<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20130610180728/http://www.timothydalton.info/plays1.html#vort "''The Vortex'' (1975–1976)"]}}, ''Timothy Dalton&nbsp;– Shakespearean James Bond'', accessed 28 June 2012</ref>