It has been reported that Dana Wynter has recently passed from congestive heart failure at the age of 79. She is best known for playing Becky Driscoll, the lead female role in the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but also had a long lasting TV career that included roles on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Gunsmoke, Get Smart and Hawaii Five-O.
Dana was born in Germany in 1931 and moved to England and began acting at the age of 20. She later moved to Hollywood, where she signed an exclusive contract with 20th Century Fox and made a number of films with the studio, including Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
In the 80's, she turned her attention toward writing, having had numerous articles published, along with a book she hand written titled Other People, Other Places: Memories of Four Continents. While she passed in California, she split her time between there and her house in Ireland, and it is expected that her ashes will be buried at her home in Irleand.
Her son, Mark Bautzer, said that she has suffered from heart disease over the last couple of years, but that she "she stepped off the bus very peacefully" at the local hospital and was not expected to survive. She will always be remembered for her memorable roles and will live on in those that continue to watch the films and shows she starred in.