Honor Blackman

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Honor Blackman

Honor Blackman (born in London, England on 12 December 1927, although many sources have listed her date of birth as 22 August 1926) is a British actress.

She is mostly remembered for the roles of Judo expert Dr. Cathy Gale in The Avengers, and as Bond girl Pussy Galore in Goldfinger.

Bond film supremo Albert R. Broccoli was later to openly admit that she 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. Brocolli 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."

Aged 36 when she filmed Goldfinger, Blackman (as of 2005) remains the second oldest actress to play a Bond girl (the oldest being Maud Adams in Octopussy). She is one of two Bond girls who was older than the actor playing Bond, the other being Diana Rigg in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (Rigg had earlier replaced Blackman on The Avengers, playing the role of Emma Peel - as a coincidence, Joanna Lumley, who was to later to appear in the sequel to The Avengers, The New Avengers, appeared in On Her Majesty's Secret Service.)

Blackman 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. She married twice: Bill Sankey (1946 – 1956) and the British actor Maurice Kaufmann (1963 – 1975), (with whom she appeared in the film Fright (1971); they adopted two children (Barnaby and Lottie) but divorced in 1975).

She played the role of Hera in Jason and the Argonauts (1963).

Following her early career as a glamorous leading lady, she returned to television in the ITV sitcom The Upper Hand during the 1990s. In 1986 she had a role in the Doctor Who serial The Trial of a Time Lord.

Honor remains justifiably proud of her time in The Avengers. In July 2006 she appeared in a documentary about the series on BBC Four, talking candidly – but very amusingly – about her time on the show. Her fondness for Patrick Macnee was evident throughout.

[edit] Trivia

A song she recorded with Patrick Macnee in the 1960s, "Kinky Boots", was a surprise hit 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 entitled Everything I've Got.

She declined a CBE honour in 2002. She has been a prominent supporter of the Liberal Democrats.

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...?" Honor was filming a Goldfinger at a time.