Actress who lived a life of glamour

Roedean-educated Edwina May King died aged 89 at Eastbourne District General Hospital.

She had been in poor health since seriously damaging her arm in Hollywood 12 years ago when she fell down an 8ft hole in the road. The injury virtually put an end to a career which brought her riches and fame in America where she worked on her own children's television show and in Walt Disney productions.

Mrs May King lived in Beverly Hills where her whirlwind lifestyle brought her into contact with big names like Burt Reynolds, Kirk Douglas and Steven Spielberg.

She became part of Hollywood's glamorous social scene in the Fifties. She met and married Ironside actor Raymond Burr.

They divorced after nine years and she never remarried. Mr Burr, who also starred in the TV show Perry Mason, died in 1993.

Mrs May King, who had no children, found a friend in retired dental technician Graham Lewis, now 70, who she met in Eastbourne 20 years ago during one of her visits to the resort.

He said: "We met at the Grand Hotel in Eastbourne in 1981 when she was ill and I was desperately lonely.

"We were total opposites in terms of our lifestyles. I was a mere dental technician while she was this beautiful, well-educated actress.

"Her skin was flawless, like peaches, and every time I took her out people would come up to her as they were fascinated by her.

"But, despite our lives being worlds apart, we got on wonderfully and we were soon inseparable."

Hampstead-born Mrs May King would often fly to Britain and visit Mr Lewis at his flat in Upperton Road.

Their favourite haunt was the five-star Grand Hotel, where Mrs May King lived almost full time when she came to Sussex.

Mr Lewis said: "She loved Eastbourne, especially the views from the Downs where she would often walk.

"It was so sad to see her finish up the way she did, so ill. It has hit me hard as she was a great companion. I am so sad to see her go."

A date for the funeral has yet to be set.