Latest news with #AngelaSeneviratne
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Maureen Hingert Dies: ‘Gunmen From Laredo', ‘The King And I' Actor Was 88
Maureen Hingert, who represented Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in the 1955 Miss Universe pageant and went on to become an actor in such films as Gunmen From Laredo and The King and I as well as several 1950s TV series, died June 30 at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, Calif.. She was 88. Her death was announced on Facebook July 1 by Sri Lankan actress and Angela Seneviratne. More from Deadline Kenneth Colley Dies: 'Star Wars' & 'Life Of Brian' Actor Was 87 Jimmy Swaggart Dies: Sex Scandal-Plagued Televangelist Was 90 Karl E. Held Dies: A Producer Of Broadway-Bound 'Kowalski' Was 63 Maureen Neliya Ballard was born on January 9, 1937, in Columbo, Ceylon, to Bank of Ceylon president Lionel Hingert and Lorna Mabel del Run. In 1955, at the age of 18, she was crowned Miss Ceylon and that same year was selected as a Miss Universe contestant (she finished as second runner-up). She subsequently moved to Los Angeles and in the mid-1950s had several small, uncredited roles in films, the most notable of which was 1956's The King and I. In 1958, sometimes under her stage name Jana Davi, she appeared in the films Gun Fever, The Rawhide Trail and Fort Bowie and an episode of Death Valley Days. The following year she starred in the Western film Gunmen From Laredo and an episode of the short-lived series Captain David Grief, based on Jack London stories, before retiring to raise a family. She is survived by a daughter. Best of Deadline 'Poker Face' Season 2 Guest Stars: From Justin Theroux To Jason Ritter Remembering Michael Madsen: A Career In Photos 2025 Deaths Photo Gallery: Hollywood & Media Obituaries
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Maureen Hingert, 'King and I 'actress and former Miss Universe contestant, dies at 88
Maureen Hingert, the Sri Lankan actress and former Miss Universe runner-up contestant who starred in films such as The King and I and Gun Fever, has died. She was 88. Fellow Sri Lankan actress and model Angela Seneviratne announced Hingert's death in a Facebook post on Monday. 'May her soul rest in peace,' she added. Hingert's daughter, Marisa Zamparelli, later confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that her mother died of liver failure at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, Calif., on June 29. 'It was a beautiful and peaceful passing,' she told the outlet. Born in Colombo, Sri Lanka (then known as Ceylon) in 1937, Hingert was just 18 years old when she was crowned the winner of the Miss Ceylon beauty pageant in 1955. She would go on to represent her home country at the televised Miss Universe competition in Long Beach, Calif., that same year, where she placed 2nd runner-up. Her Miss Universe appearance not only landed her a contract with Universal but also an uncredited role in the 1956 Western, Pillars of the Sky. It wasn't her first time stepping in front of the camera; Hingert had previous experience starring in uncredited roles in the 1954 films Circus Girl and the Elizabeth Taylor-headlined Elephant Walk while living in Sri Lanka. That same year, she took on another uncredited role as a wife in the 1956 musical adaptation of The King and I. The film — which also starred Deborah Kerr, Yul Brynner, and Rita Moreno —would go on to win five Academy Awards. Hingert wouldn't receive her first official acting credit until she starred in an episode of the 1957 Wally Cox- and Ainslie Pryor-led sitcom, The Adventures of Hiram Holliday. Working under the name Jana Davi, she continued to rack up credits in popular Westerns like Gun Fever, The Rawhide Trail, and Gunmen from Laredo before retiring from acting in the early 1960s. In addition to her acting and modeling careers, Hingert was also a dancer and would often perform in Los Angeles. She married designer and artist Mario Armond Zamparelli in 1958, and the couple welcomed three daughters together — Gina, Marisa, and Andrea — before getting divorced in 1970. She later tied the knot with William J. Ballard in 1976, and the couple remained together until his death in 2012. Hingert is survived by her daughter, Marisa. Her daughter Andrea died at 42 in 2009, per THR. Her second daughter Gina, a concert promoter and preservationist, died of a brain tumor at age 59 in 2017. Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
