Rare celebrity photos reveal Torquay’s former glamour

This week, we’re excited to share a remarkable donation to the Torquay Museum archives, featuring some wonderful photographs from the albums of former Torquay hotel manager Philip L Osborne.

Philip Osborne managed both the Victoria Hotel and the New Grand Hotel in Torquay.

Last year, Torquay Museum received two of his photo albums, which include rare images of celebrities visiting the Bay. The museum has generously allowed the Torbay Weekly to reproduce these historical snapshots thanks to a new partnership.

In the first photo, Mr Osborne is pictured with hotel staff outside the New Grand Hotel in 1971.

Above: Image: Torquay Museum

Overlooking Torquay Railway Station, the hotel—now called The Grand Hotel—first opened in 1881 in response to the Great Western Railway’s expansion into the South West.

With its Victorian grandeur and many original features, it’s no surprise that the glamorous seafront hotel attracted international celebrities, including the Rolling Stones and Agatha Christie.

The second photograph features Mr. Osborne on the left with Swindon-born actress Diana Dors, who is arm-in-arm with her soon-to-be husband, English-American actor and comedian Richard Dawson (second from right).

Above: Image: Torquay Museum

According to Torquay Museum, this image was taken outside the Victoria Hotel on Belgrave Road in August 1958.

Dubbed “Britain’s answer to Marilyn Monroe,” Diana Dors starred in over 50 films, including Alfred Hitchcock’s Run for Doom, before her death in 1984 at the age of 52.

She also appeared on the cover of the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

At the time the photograph was taken, Dors was still married to her first husband, who passed away in January 1959.

She and Dawson married later that year on April 12, remaining together for eight years and having two children before divorcing.

Despite the split, Dawson’s career flourished, and he became a household name in the 1970s and 1980s as the host of Match Game and Family Feud.

He passed away in 2012 from complications of esophageal cancer.

This image of celebrities pursuing Torquay sparked excitement on Facebook.

Carol Eyden commented: “Diana was a very good actress. It’s a lovely photo.”

Michael Chenneour agreed, adding: “Yes, you’re right, Carol. She was. Even though she was very glamorous, she didn’t mind looking dowdy and not at her best—no makeup, etc.—for a film or TV role.”

Lorraine Holloway-White shared similar sentiments but expressed nostalgia for more elegant times: “When it was a good hotel with elegance and class. Sad seeing how places lose all that in preference for tacky style. It’s not anything like it used to be, sadly.”

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Image Credits and Reference: https://www.torbayweekly.co.uk/news/home/1698448/rare-celebrity-photos-reveal-torquay-s-former-glamour.html