Pat Heywood, the Nurse in Franco Zeffirelli’s ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ Dies at 92

Pat Heywood, the veteran Scottish actress who made her film debut as Olivia Hussey’s nurse and confidant in Franco Zeffirelli ’s adaptation of Romeo and Juliet , has died. She was 92.

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Heywood died June 26, the Scottish Daily Mail reported .

During her four-decade career, Heywood portrayed the maid in the manor at the center of Freddie Francis’ horror comedy Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny and Girly (1970) and the wife of British serial killer John Christie ( Richard Attenborough ) in the Richard Fleischer-directed 10 Rillington Place (1971).

Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet (1968), which also starred Leonard Whiting alongside Hussey and featured narration from Laurence Olivier, was a hit at the box office as it introduced a new generation to Shakespearean tragedy. Paul McCartney, Phil Collins and Anjelica Huston had been among those considered for the top roles.

The film won Oscars for cinematography and costumes and was nominated for best picture and director, and Heywood received a BAFTA nom for her supporting turn.

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Born on Aug. 1, 1931, in Gretna Green, Scotland, Heywood studied at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and spent more than a decade with its theater company, including five years in a London production of the Julian Slade musical Salad Days .

Her film résumé also included Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969), Stair­case (1969), All the Way Up (1970), Young Winston (1972), The Nelson Affair (1973) and Wish You Were Here (1987).

On television, Heywood starred on the 1976 ITV sitcom Lucky Feller , on the 1978 BBC miniseries adaptation of Wuthering Heights and on a 1987 installment of the BBC anthology series Screen Two , “East of Ipswich,” an autobiographical piece written by Michael Palin.

She was married to actor Oliver Neville — the head the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art from 1984-93 — from 1964 until his death in 2021. Survivors include her daughter, Sarah Neville, also an actress.

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