Honor Blackman (born 22
August 1925) is an English
actress, who is perhaps best known for the roles of
Cathy Gale in The Avengers and as Bond girl Pussy Galore
in Goldfinger.
Biography
Early life
Blackman
was born in Plaistow
, Newham
, London
. Her
father was a
statistician. She trained
as an actress at the
Guildhall School of Music
and Drama in London, after persuading her father that an
appropriate birthday gift would be acting lessons. Whilst training
at the Guildhall, Honor worked as a Clerical Assistant at the
Home Office.
Education
Blackman
was educated at Ealing Girls'
School in Ealing
, West London, and at the Guildhall School of Music
and Drama.
Films
Blackman's films include
Quartet and
So Long at the Fair with
Dirk Bogarde, the 1958 story of the Titanic's
sinking
A Night to
Remember;
Life at
the Top with Laurence Harvey,
The Virgin and the
Gypsy, and the Western films
Shalako with
Sean Connery and
Brigitte Bardot and
Something Big with
Dean Martin.She played the role of
Hera in
Jason and the Argonauts
(1963). She also did an overdub for an actress in the same film
providing the voice for the character of
Medea. More recently, the actress has had small roles
in the films
Bridget
Jones Diary and
Hot Gold.
James Bond
Bond film supremo
Albert R. Broccoli admitted that Blackman had been
cast on the back of her success in
The Avengers, despite
the fact that the American audience had never even seen the
programme. Broccoli said, "The Brits would love her because they
knew her as Mrs. Gale, the Yanks would like her because she was so
good, it was a perfect combination". Blackman was the first and one
of two "
Bond girls" older than the actor
playing James Bond, and at 39 she was the oldest actress ever to
play a Bond girl.
[57359]
Theatre
In 1981, she was in the London revival of
The Sound of Music opposite
Petula Clark, which opened to rave reviews
with, at that time, the largest advance sale in British theatre
history.
She spent most of 1987 at the Fortune Theatre
. From 2005 to 2006, she toured the country
as Mrs Higgins in
My Fair
Lady. Her show
Word Of
Honor premiered in October 2006. In April 2007, she took
over the role of
Fraulein
Schneider from
Olivier
Award-winning actress
Sheila
Hancock, in
Cabaret
at the Lyric Theatre in London's West End. She left the show at the
end of September 2007.
Television
In a 1965 episode of
The Avengers, titled "Too Many
Christmas Trees",
John Steed received his
Christmas cards, one of which was from Cathy. "A card from Mrs
Gale!", Steed exclaims in delight.
Then, reading the inscription, he says in
a puzzled voice, "Whatever can she be doing at Fort Knox
...?". It was an inside joke, as Blackman was
filming
Goldfinger at the
time.
Blackman co-starred with
Richard
Basehart as a married pair of Shakespearean actors who commit a
homicide in the
Columbo
episode
Dagger of the Mind with
Peter Falk.
In 1986, she had a role in the
Doctor
Who serial
The
Trial of a Time Lord. From 1990 to 1996 she appeared as
Laura West on
The Upper Hand. Blackman took a guest
role on
Midsomer Murders
as ex-racing driver
Isobel Hewitt in
the episode
A Talent for Life.
In September 2004, she
briefly joined the Coronation Street
cast in a storyline about wife swapping.
In 2007, she participated in the BBC TV project
The Verdict, as one of 12 well-known
figures forming a
jury to hear a fictional rape
case. The series was designed to explore the jury system. She was
sworn in as a juror as "Honor Kaufmann".
Singing career
A song she recorded with
Patrick
Macnee during 1964, "
Kinky
Boots", was a surprise hit, peaking at #5 in 1990 after it was
played incessantly by
BBC Radio 1
breakfast show presenter
Simon Mayo.
After her appearance in
Goldfinger, Blackman recorded a full
album of songs, "Everything I've Got".
On 6 July 2009 Blackman released a new single "The Star Who Fell
from Grace" composed by Jeff Chegwin and Adrian Munsey and during
the summer will be compering an all-new James Bond Prom as part of
the "Welsh Proms" concert series.
Personal life
She married twice :: Bill Sankey (1946–1956) and the British actor
Maurice Kaufmann (1963–1975), with
whom she appeared in the slasher film
Fright (1971). They adopted two children,
Barnaby and Lottie.She enjoys watching football.
Politics
Blackman is a signed supporter of
Republic,
The Campaign for an Elected Head of State, the UK campaign to
replace the monarchy with a republic. She declined a
CBE honour in 2002. She has also
been a prominent supporter of the
Liberal Democrats.
Partial filmography
Discography
- Everything I've Got (1964)
References
- http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/3147
- There have been discrepancies in Blackman's birthday. However,
according to her official birth record at the General Registry
Office, at St. Catherine House, London and in the British Film
Institute biography she was born on 22 August 1925. The birthdate at IMDb is incorrect.
- The Lady - England's Oldest Weekly Magazine for
Women
- BBC report
- "Honor Blackman: Words from the wise" at
timesonline.co.uk
- Golden girl - Honor Blackman at
walesonline.co.uk
- Interview in Saga Magazine, October 2009
- Republic | Our Supporters
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