Dana Wynter, aged 79, who appeared in film and television for more than forty years beginning in the ‘50s, most notably portraying Becky Driscoll in the original version of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers".
Originally from Germany and South Africa, Wynter moved to NYC and then in 1955 to Hollywood, where she started appearing episodes of various shows.
She was cast in "Body Snatchers" after a number of well known actresses (and actors) were rejected due to the low budget the studio had given the film. Her romance with Kevin McCarthy comes to an end when she falls asleep in a cave and becomes one of the “pod people” Her final scene is one of the most chilling moments in sci-fi movie history. Wynter draws McCarthy down into a slow kiss and the camera moves into close-up on her face, showing her expressionless, unemotional eyes as we realize she has finally been taken over. The look of horror on McCarthy’s face as draws back and she stares at him knowing she has won is one of the truly scary moments in 50’s sci-fi.
(But even as a kid, I wondered if it would be worth it to just stay with her....she really was a beautiful and elegant woman.)
Wynter also played the cool assistant British naval officer in “Sink the Bismarck”, and an English noblewoman in “The List of Adrian Messinger”, along with appearances in “Airport” and “Shake Hands With the Devil”. The latter part of her career was taken up by featured roles in TV shows, including improbably, several westerns, such as “Gunsmoke”, “The Virginian” “Dundee and Culhane”, “Wagon Train” and “The Wild, Wild West”. She also appeared in “Ironside”, “The Rockford Files”, and many others. She played Queen Elizabeth in the 1982 TV movie The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana.
