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Plucked from a dance class by a talent scout at the age of 14, she had already made several movies before gaining attention for her portrayal of the young Estella in Sir David Lean's film adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel "Great Expectations."
Considered one of the greatest British movies ever made, it had lasting impact on the actress, who was 17 the year it was released. Until then, moviemaking had mainly been "fun and games," she later said, but she realized it could be a career.
"That's when I thought, 'Oh, yes, I think this is it,' " Simmons told the San Diego Union-Tribune in 1990.
After Olivier cast her as Ophelia in his 1948 film “Hamlet,” she received the first of two Academy Award nominations. More than 20 years later, she was nominated for her searing portrayal of an alcoholic wife in "The Happy Ending."
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Jockey Jesse Davidson, 69, of complications from hernia surgery.
He had a colorful career to say the least:
Mr. Davidson would go on to achieve the rest of his goals, racking up 3,035 wins for more than $10 million and racing in the Kentucky Derby. But his career was tarred in 1975 in an incident dubbed the St. Valentine's Massacre, in which he and three others were accused in a $35,000 betting coup. Though he denied fixing races, he admitted in federal court to breaking the rules of racing by betting on horses other than his own. He spent months in a white-collar prison; one of his co-defendants committed suicide before beginning his sentence.
The Baltimore Sun reported that the penalties stunned the local racing industry, with many trainers disapproving of the punishment. Mr. Davidson battled for years to be reinstated, even as he aged into his 40s, when most riders would be calling it quits.
In 1985, a Baltimore Circuit Court judge reinstated the 45-year-old Mr. Davidson, who promptly obtained his jockey's license. Fifteen days later, he was at the track. And four days after he resumed riding, he returned to the winner's circle at Laurel Race Track.
His comeback didn't last long; about three years later he suffered a career-ending injury after a spill which damaged his kidneys.
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