| Code | DS/UK/579 |
| Person Name | Reed; Tracy (1942-2012); Actress |
| Dates | 1942-2012 |
| Dates and Places | 1942: Born in London
1943: First film appearance
1959: Began professionally acting
1964: appeared in Dr. Strangelove
1975: Retires from acting
2012: Death |
| History | Tracy Reed was born Clare Tracy Compton Pelissier in London on 21 September, 1942 to an acting family. She made her film debut as an infant in The Demi-Paradise (1943) with her mother, Penelope Dudley-Ward. She began professionally acting at the Connaught Theatre in 1959 and started working on television series such as Emergency Ward 10, Dixon of Dock Green, and The Avengers. She appeared as Miss Scott/“Miss Foreign Affairs,” the sole female character in Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964). Following this film she continued to appear in British comedies. She starred in films such as A Shot in the Dark ( with Dr. Strangelove co-star Peter Sellers) and Casino Royale (1967). Later in her career, after marrying Bill Simpon, she guest starred in several episodes of his series Dr Finlay’s Casebook from 1967 to 1969. She continued appearing in various films and television before retiring from acting in 1975 (minus a TV acting role in 1979) and settled in Cork, Ireland and began to work for a British gourmet foods company selling goods across Ireland. She passed away on 2 May, 2012. |
| Activity | Filmography:
The Demi-Paradise (1943)
The Way Ahead (1944)
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
A Shot in the Dark (1964)
The Main Chance (1964)
Devils of Darkness (1965)
You Must Be Joking (1965)
Casino Royale (1967)
Hammerhead (1968)
Random Quest (1969)
Adam’s Woman (1970)
Percy (1971)
Fun and Games (1971)
The Deadly Females (1976)
Television:
The Strange World of Gurney Slade (1960) - 1 episode
Man of the World (1962) - 7 episodes
Esther Waters (1964) - 4 episodes
The World of Wooster (1965) - 2 episodes
Dr. Finlay’s Casebook (1967 & 1969) - 7 episodes
The Informer (1967) - 1 episode
Journey to the Unknown (1968) - 1 episode
The Avengers (1969) - 1 episode
Out of the Unknown (1969) - 1 episode
The Brady Bunch (1969) - 1 episode
UFO (1971) - 1 episode
Women in White (1979) - 3 episodes
|
| Relationships | Edward Fox, spouse (m. 1958-1961) |
| Stanley Kubrick, director of Dr. Strangelove, 1964 |
| Bill Simpson, spouse and co-star |
| Penelope Dudley Ward, mother |
| Source | Bergman, Anne. “‘Dr. Strangelove’ and the Single Woman - Los Angeles Times.” Los Angeles Times, July 10, 1994. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-07-10-ca-14050-story.html. |
| Gardiner, Betty. “The Cinemas.” Worthing Herald, April 28, 1967, https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001920/19670428/323/0022. |
| Baker, Richard Anthony. “Tracy Reed.” The Stage, August 30, 2012. https://www.thestage.co.uk/obituaries--archive/obituaries/tracy-reed. |
| “Tracy Reed Is Back in Dr. Finlay Country.” Sunday Express, August 1, 1971, https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004941/19710801/035/0002#. |
| “Tracy Reed — The Movie Database (TMDB).” The Movie Database. Accessed July 24, 2026. https://www.themoviedb.org/person/126354-tracy-reed. |