Margaret Blye – the actress best known for her work in such popular films as The Italian Job – has passed away at the age of 73.
Blye’s agent confirmed the news of her passing in a statement issued to Entertainment Weekly this afternoon.
No cause of death was given.
In addition to starring as Michael Caine’s girlfriend in the influential 1969 action classic, Blye appeared in more than 50 films and television series over the course of her six decades in Hollywood.
In addition to The Italian Job, she co-starred with Paul Newman in Hombre, Charles Bronson in Hard Times, and Marcello Mastroianni in Ash Wednesday.
Blye’s TV work includes roles on such well-known series as Perry Mason, Gunsmoke, The Rockford Files and Lois & Clark.
Her career started auspiciously, with a role in the Oscar-nominated Tennessee Williams adaptation Summer and Smoke when she was just 18.
Blye continued to work until her late ’60s.
A member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for nearly fifty years, Blye served on the panel that helps select foreign films to be screened for other members and considered for Oscar nominations.
Tributes from family, fans and Blye’s vast network of friends began to pour in on social media shortly after her death was announced.
