Hammer's scream queen Ingrid Pitt dies aged 73

Perhaps the most famous of all the scream queen, Ingrid Pitt has today died aged 73 -

The Polish-born star passed away at a hospital in south London after collapsing a few days ago.
She was regarded by many fans as the queen of Hammer Horror films.
The star's death comes weeks after film-maker Roy Ward Baker, who directed Pitt in The Vampire Lovers, died at the age of 93.
Pitt's daughter told the BBC News website that her mother's death had come as a "huge surprise".
After the actress has collapsed recently, doctors told her was she suffering from heart failure.
"She could be incredibly generous, loving, and she'll be sorely missed," Mrs Blake said.
She added that she wanted her mother to be remembered as the Countess Dracula with the "wonderful teeth and the wonderful bosom"



Official Hammer historian Marcus Hearn paid tribute to the star, calling her a "talented actress and fine writer".

"All fans of Hammer and of British horror are going to miss her terribly”Marcus Hearn Official Hammer historian. He added: "She was partly responsible for ushering in a bold and brazen era of sexually explicitly horror films in the 1970s, but that should not denigrate her abilities as an actress."

A good friend of the actress, Mr Hearn said she was "gloriously uninhibited" and "great fun to be with".
Although she was not the first female star of a Hammer film, Mr Hearn said she had always been "very proud" of becoming the first prominent female protagonist in a Hammer after her role in The Vampire Lovers.
"All fans of Hammer and of British horror are going to miss her terribly," he said.

She was also a successful writer and responsible for many screenplays for TV programs and movies. In 1999, her autobiography, Life's a Scream (Heinemann) was published, and she was short-listed for the Talkies Awards for her own reading of extracts from the audio book. "I hate being second".