Celebrating The Life Of Mary Millington!
She was one of England’s most famous “Sex Kittens” – an Icon who had a wild life but a tragic death at a very young age…now, a new box set helps tell her story…
Iconic British Sex Kitten Mary Millington…
My “2023 Sex Kitten Countdown” celebrates the life and career of Mary Millington – and looks at a terrific new documentary and box set that has her most popular films and a new movie all about her life!
Millington was born in 1945 in Middlesex England.
She was planning a career as a Veterinary Nurse, but a chance meeting with London photographer John Lindsay changed that plan!
Lindsay made her a Pin-Up Model and an immediate sensation.
It was a time when the rules were being changed, and more provocative movies and photos were the rage…it was a perfect time for Mary to become a Star!
She became a hugely successful Pin-Up Model, featured on a variety of men’s magazines,
This was Avery special time in England, as obscenity laws were being challenged…because Mary got her start making stag films at a time when they were still illegal…
Millington had twenty screen roles, but those early performances were underground sex films or uncredited appearances like this:
She was uncredited in the 1974 film “Eskimo Nell”, which I have profiled because it was made by one of the James Bond 007 Directors!
This wacky British sex farce has a wild story attached, and you can see the trailer and read more by clicking on my story here:
Other films also offered small parts for Mary, although one gave her a juicy lesbian encounter:
Erotic Inferno (1975)
Millington acted in this under her married name Mary Maxted.
It was also known by the alternative title “Adam and Nicole.” Mary took part in many female-on-female “stag” films:
However, her Modeling career was really taking off at that time – and these magazines were now available in adult stores:
Millington was a hugely successful Pin-Up Model – with photo spreads and magazine covers – and some very provocative pictures as well:
Another small role in “Intimate Games” (1976) followed – a film that was packed with British Sex Kittens:
Yes, that film starred Felicity Devonshire, who I featured in my “2020 Sex Kitten Countdown” – she had a great career:
You can see much more of her by clicking on my story here:
Mary continued to pose nude in dozens of photo spreads in British men’s magazines. Pornography was still illegal at this time, but Mary pushed the envelope to be sure…
At this point, Mary stopped working in hardcore films. In 1974, she met Publisher and Film Producer David Sullivan, who promoted her through his magazines and produced her greatest success!
“Come Play with Me!”
It was a perfect starring vehicle for Mary and it made her a big star indeed!
The story was easy and fun: it centered around a health-resort where both the clients and the employees easily take their clothes off and have a little fun!
Here’s what she said about the films she was making:
“Blue movies are great, educational and great tension-relievers. We all need horny thrills, right?”
Well, her fans agreed with her, making “Come Play With Me” an incredible success!
The softcore sex comedy ran for a record-breaking four years at the same theater in England!
“The Playbirds” (1978) was next, and the plot gave Mary a lot of chance to get naked.
Scotland Yard sends Lucy (Mary Millington) under cover to investigate foul play at Playbird magazine.
As Mary’s fame grew, she appeared in more films and many graphic photo spreads. As she said at the time about herself:
“I treat sex as something to be enjoyed, something to be savored, something to cling to, something to be indulged in whenever possible. The old slogan “Make love not war” was a very good one.”
Her last big film had a long title:
“Confessions From The David Galaxy Affair”
Check out this plot: Playboy David Galaxy is a suspect in a robbery case and needs an alibi, and the only credible witness to his innocence won’t help. He also has to prove his mettle with “the only woman in the world who’s never had an orgasm.”
Well, talk about playing against type!
Mary Millington’s Sad Decline…
However, even with this massive success, Mary was troubled.
She suffered from depression and was feeling pressure from frequent police raids on her sex shop.
Things got worse. She had received a large tax bill which she was unable to pay.
The documentary spends some time documenting her decline, especially the big “reveal” that she was a well known kleptomaniac!
She was caught shoplifting, and the press turned very negative against her.
Her kleptomania became more pronounced in the last year of her life, with arrests for shoplifting in June 1979, and again for stealing a necklace the day before her death.
The Actress Commits Suicide At The Age Of 33…
Shockingly, Millington committed suicide at age 33, by an overdose of tricyclic antidepressant anafranil, paracetamol and alcohol at her home in Walton-on-the-Hill in Surrey.
Her husband found her dead in her bed on 19 August 1979. She left four suicide notes which were found near her body.
In one of them she wrote this:
“The police have framed me yet again. They frighten me so much. I can’t face the thought of prison… The Nazi tax man has finished me as well.”
In another note, to her solicitor Michael Kaye (partly published in Private magazine), Millington wrote:
“The police have killed me with their threats…the police have made my life a misery with frame ups. The tax man has hounded me so much- I will be made bankrupt, he mustn’t get anything of his £200,000 demands. He is a religious maniac.”
In another note, to David Sullivan, she wrote:
“Please print in your magazines how much I want porn to be legalised, but the police have beaten me”.
Now, a terrific box set of her work has been released:
These films have all been beautifully remastered – they look gorgeous!
Here is a trailer for the box set – check this out:
This incredible new box set has five films PLUS a feature length documentary about her life – and comes with a collectible booklet as well!
The documentary is terrific, with tons of vintage footage from all of her films – no hardcore material but CLOSE. It also has a ton of great new interviews from hose close to her, and even a recorded interview from Mary as well!
I also own this book about her:
Twenty years after her death, the author and film historian Simon Sheridan put Millington’s life into context in the biography “Come Play with Me: The Life and Films of Mary Millington.”
She was a tragic figure to be sure…here’s another provocative Actress and Model from that era:
Fiona Richmond was a Model, Actress and even Author!
See her wild, uninhibited career here:
Here’s another provocative British Actress from that time:
Virginia Wetherell had this memorable moment from “A Clockwork Orange” and so many others as well.
Click here for her story:
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Categories: 70's Films, Books / Media, Camp Cult Classics, Euro-Sleaze, Exploitation Films, Extreme Cinema, Grindhouse, JRsploitation, Nudity, sex kittens, Sexploitation Films, Talent / Celebrites
JR-Sploitation! 
Mary was one of my favourites in the seventies. I never saw her films, but always loved it when she was in Whitehouse and another British skin mag at the time. There was a sort of rivalry between her and a woman named Rosemary England or English. I’ve not been able to find anything on Rosemary.
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Thanks for sharing that!
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I don’t recall ever watching any of Mary’s movies. I assume if i did, i would have remembered this sexy lady!
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The movies are pure “nudge nudge wink wink” sex comedies, but they were hugely successful that’s for sure!
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Mary was a household name in the UK for many years. A big part of her appeal was that she looked quite ‘ordinary’, like a friend’s wife, or a neighbour up the street. It was sad that she died so young, when some good advice earlier about her tax affairs might have saved her.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Terrific point Pete!
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Hi Yes She was with David Sullivan, the Newspaper and Football Owner. i think Mary Millington was the only Woman He ever loved. best wishes
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Thanks for sharing that! It is such a sad story and a great career!
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Come Play With Me is a fun film. Those slap and tickle films from England can be a hoot. What a damn shame about what happened to her. England’s press can be pretty vicious at times.
RIP
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Terrific point: the documentary really dives into the turmoil around her life at the end…she deserved better as she was just giving the people what they wanted and not hurting anyone! Thanks for the comment!
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I think a few of the above pics, the one in the red outfit and the ones in her garden don’t really do justice to her, as they were taken right at the end of her life when she was quite ill. And though the British press is often pretty vile, it seems that Mary’s problems stemmed not from them, but from corrupt policemen who frequently harassed her, and false friends who didn’t give her the support she needed.
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Incidentally, Simon Sheridan’s Come Play With Me book is superb, fall of information about all things Mary.
Best wishes,
John
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Yes, I reference it in my story – I own it as well! Thanks for the comment!
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The documentary that is part of the box set suggests that I seem to remember and it’s such a sad end – she was doing so well and it really fell apart quickly due to harassment like you mention…thanks for commenting, great hearing from you!
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