Horror icon Ingrid Pitt had passed away today aged 73 after collapsing in London last week. Born Ingoushka Petrov in Poland in 1937, Pitt was imprisoned in a concentration camp during World War II and began her acting career on stage in East Germany in the 1950s. She made her screen debut with a minor role in the 1965 classic Doctor Zhivago and went on to star alongside Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton in Where Eagles Dare (1968) before gaining cult status for her work in The Vampire Lovers (1970) and Countess Dracula (1971) for Hammer Films Productions.
Other roles in the 1970s included a part in the horror anthology The House That Dripped Blood (1971) and a small role in the British horror classic The Wicker Man (1973). Pitt spent much of the next decade alternating between television shows and movies with credits including Doctor Who (1972, 1984) and Who Dares Wins (1982). In later years she also enjoyed a successful writing career while her final role came in 2008, starring alongside Tom Savini in the fantasy horror Sea of Dust.
Originally published November 23, 2010. Updated April 10, 2018.
