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Honor BlackmanLuminary

Actress

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Honor Blackman

Born on this day (1925), Honor Blackman is an actress who works in tv, film and the theatre. Her film debut was a nonspeaking part in Fame Is the Spur (1947). Other films include Quartet (1948), So Long at the Fair (1950), in which she appeared with Dirk Bogarde, A Night to Remember (1958) an account of the Titanic disaster and the comedy The Square Peg (1958).

Her breakthrough to the mainstream came playing Cathy Gale in The Avengers opposite Patrick Macnee and in 1964 she played the highly memorable Pussy Galore in Goldfinger with Sean Connery.

On the Avengers, I originally signed up for 6 months and by the time that 6 months was up, they wanted me to sign for 2 years longer. I said I would sign 2 years in all, I had no idea how popular it was going to be. I don't like to settle, my longest settle was the Avengers really for 2 years - that was great. Who wants to be the same old character, I'm an actress and I want to move on and vary my life. I have got to a stage in my life when I like to work for pleasure. 

She has worked continuously in TV, film and the theatre ever since, appearing in Coronation Street, on the West End stage in Cabaret and The Sound of Music, and she's particularly fond of the character Laura West, the glamorous granny in 1990s sitcom The Upper Hand.

As Cathy Gale I got fanmail from fellas, obviously, thanks to the black leather and everything, but playing Laura I got lots more mail from women. That role made women who'd just retired and felt they'd been put on the back burner realise they had a lot of life left to live.

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