Anne Cumming
Anne Cumming | |
---|---|
Born | Walton-on-Thames | 14 December 1917
Died | 28 August 1993 London | (aged 75)
Occupation | Public relations officer |
Nationality | British |
Genre | Autobiographical |
Subject | love and sex |
Anne Cumming (the pen name of Felicity Anne Cumming Mason, 14 December 1917 – 28 August 1993) was a British translator, public relations officer, polyamorist and writer.
Early life
Cumming was born in Walton-on-Thames in 1917, to parents Howard Cumming and Eileen Groves. She had an indulgent childhood courtesy of her grandfather, James Grimble Groves, a member of parliament and a brewery owner.[1] Cumming spent much of her childhood in South Africa, where her father had bought a farm.[2]
She was a
She and her husband, along with Chekhov, left for the United States as war approached, intending to establish a drama school there to teach the Stanislavski method of acting.[2]
Career
During the war, they were asked by
While in Greece, she worked as a translator for the British Council.
Acting
In 1963, she had a small part in Fellini's film 8½.[4] In 1968, she appeared in the Italian comedy film The Girl Who Couldn't Say No where she played the mother of George Segal's character, Franco.[3] A third film appearance was again for Fellini, this time in Roma.[4]
Writing
After this, Cumming took to salacious autobiography. She wrote The Love Habit in 1977 and The Love Quest in 1991[5] and she allowed herself to appear topless in the British tabloid the Sunday Sport.
Personal life
In 1948, she eloped with and later married the novelist
In 1953, she started a platonic but deep relationship with the artist Brion Gysin. They had similar backgrounds and ages and were born in the same area. They referred to each other as brother and sister. Cumming helped to catalogue his paintings and, after he died in 1986, she arranged his funeral and for his ashes to be scattered at the Caves of Hercules in Morocco.[4]
While a translator in Greece, she met the writer Francis King, who was also working for the British Council. She enjoyed observing his homosexual adventures.
Cumming discovered that she was
Death
Cumming died at the London Lighthouse in 1993, the same year as she appeared nude on British television in the first nude TV chat show.[3]
Works
- The Love Habit, 1978
- The Love Quest, 1991
References
- ^ Company biographies, Groves and Whitnall. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
- ^ a b "Obituary: Anne Cumming". The Independent. 23 October 2011. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
- ^ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, October 2009. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
- ^ a b c d e Jennie Skerl (16 October 2012). "Felicity Mason/Anne Cumming – A Brief Biography and Interview". European Beat Studies Network. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
- ISBN 9780720608359.
- ^ "A lecture to the Royston Pike group: Part 2", The Elmbridge Hundred.