**Actress Diana Rigg**

As a showgirl, no one swung her legs higher -- or wider, according to Maggie Smith in Evil Under the Sun.

Emma Peel and John Steed in the eccentric English TV show "The Avengers."

She's built like a brick mausoleum with insufficient flying buttresses.

Stick 'em up!

Cool T-shirt. "Mrs. Peel, we're needed."

I wanted to be her as a kid. Especially in the leather attire...

Never drawn much to watching her in TV or Movies, but her Medea on stage was phenomenal and discussed by many in the best theatrical performance thread.

I STAN!!!

I love The Avengers so much. I was shocked to see a DVD set, with only her seasons, at Walmart of all places, I had to grab it.

Whenever she enters a scene wearing a skin tight jumpsuit, that's when you know it's ass kicking time, and she does it without ruining her hair or makeup.

Flawless!

Focking Lady Olenna Tyrell, the HBIC.

The Avengers: I live for that shot during the opening credits when she appears from behind the chair, holding her gun, and swiping that hair out of her face. WERK!!!

Have loved her since The Avengers. Wanted to be her when I grew up.

r10, she went out like an OG too!

I loved her in In This House of Brede

She may have capably demonstrated her skill in her profession over the last 40 years but —speaking personally— I cannot warm towards her.

Perhaps because her first roles were nothing more than silly childish 1960s sexual titillation.

But more probably I'm irritated by her perky profile. That kind of impertinent nose may be OK in children or Jessie Matthews or Dame Wendy Hiller but not me.

She figures in two of my guilty pleasure movies: "Theater of Blood" and "In This House of Brede."

Iconic as Emma Peel. Also a doomed Bond Girl.

Chosen for the cast of "King Lear"(as Regan) when Olivier committed it to film.

Remember the HellfireClub episode? That was pretty risqué for US tv at the time.

I love this woman. She and Maggie Smith (the dueling Dames) made "Evil Under the Sun" such great fun to watch. I am old so I remember when I was a kid watching her in "The Avengers" every week. I was in love with her. the "Mrs. Bradley Mysteries" were harmless entertainment. She was a terror as Mrs. Danvers and deserved her Emmy foe "Rebecca". I would love to see her on stage. As you can see, I am a unabashed fan of hers.

She made a classic TV movie called "In This House Of Brede" back in 1975. I remember watching it and liking it. She played a successful career woman who gives everything up, including her boyfriend, to become a nun.

In This House of Brede!! Made such an impression, read the book and then have read most of Rumer Godden’s other books. She’s one of my favorite writers.

Loved her in Detectorists with her daughter Rachael Stirling.

R14 Thanks a lot for posting the movie! I'm going to watch and enjoy it again.

I loved the novel too r20

Can you recommend something else by Godden?

R23 You must know Black Narcissus which used to make the wondrous film version!

I saw her in Follies in London. She was excellent.

I heard her Broadway performance as Medea was legendary.

She even starred in a James Bond movie. On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

She is now 82.

R17 As the Queen of Sin in The Hellfire Club.

I’d forgotten that she wrote “Black Narcissus “ r23. I haven’t read it, or seen the movie by P&P (another obsession)...I guess I’m saving them. She wrote a few about her time in India/Kashmir...”Kingfishers Catch Fire” is about a slightly dotty woman who moves with her kids to the Kashmiri countryside. If you liked the recent Durrells in Corfu, it has a similar feel. They are all very mid-century.

She also wrote the novel which “The River” was based. That was an odd film.

Her Hedda....

R18. Also a fan. One of her famous jumpsuits in The Avengers.

R31 Diana Rigg doesn't appear in that clip until 7:36.

Loved her as Helena in Mother Love.

I believe the other parts are on Youtube in case you want to watch the whole thing, r33. Here, let me save you the trouble. Hedda remains a bitch until the very end until she shoots herself. Oops...spoiler alert.

Dame Diana and Helen Mirren.

Good heavens, according to IMDb, they are making a mini series of Black Narcissus and she’s in it.

I had a terrific crush on her when I was a kid. Loved watching her in The Avengers. Strangely enough, my first gf in high school looked a lot like her.

I think she wore leather a lot.

I wish I had an Emma Peel t shirt...that would be cool.

Easy enough to make r40. The issue is getting it printed, copyright. If you have a decent printer though, you can buy the transfer paper.

That photo of her and Mirren must be from the film of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM from 1968 (Mirren plays Hermia and Rigg plays a go-go boot wearing Helena). It has quite a cast: Judi Dench as Titania, Ian Holm as Puck, Ian Richardson as Oberon, and David Warner & Michael Jayston as Demetrius and Lysander.

The scene with her on Extras was hilarious.

Very stylish, witty, and technically proficient in her younger days, but I frequently felt she tended to stand slightly outside of the characters she played.

She got better as she matured, but I wouldn't put her in quite the same league as Redgrave, Dench, Mirren, or Jackson.

Her Medea on Broadway was excellent, though I saw Helen McCrory play it in London more recently and she was even better.

Every day...

[quote]r3 She's built like a brick mausoleum with insufficient flying buttresses.

Horrified by that review, Rigg later put together a very funny book called "No Turn Unstoned," made up of their own bad notices that sympathetic theater friends shared with her.

Highly recommend!

During her Avengers stint she was badly paid. The cameraman was paid more than her and MacNee certainly was. When she asked for a pay rise, stories about her "difficult" behavior began to appear in the press.

I saw her in a Tom Stoppard play years ago. Reading the summary now, I can see it went quite over my head. John Thaw was in it as well. Heathen that I am, I was bored.

As a kid, I loved her in a version of Snow White where she played the evil queen. A lot of 80's and 90's kids seem to be familiar with it. It's pretty entertaining and she seems to be having fun being as campy as humanly possible. I can imagine many a young gay acting this out in front of their mirrors.

Rigg should have come to the States after the Avengers since she was so big. She tried a sitcom in the 70s and it was nicknamed "Mary Tyler Less".

You'd think that today, she'd at least be able to afford a decent wig.

Love her. As others, loved the Avengers and she was the MVP of GoT and it wasn't close.

I often think that Rosamund Pike is almost trying to recreate her career, unfortunately she's not as accomplished as an actress.

I think Rosamund has a movie coming out where she plays Marie Curie.

Didn't Steed have partners before and after Emma Peel? Were they popular as well?

Saw her and David Suchet in London in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. She was terrific. He was better

Damn, Avengers was such a stylish cool show, and Diana Rigg was the best part of it.

As the “Queen of Thorns” Lady Olenna Tyrell she was good, very good!

Saw her in My Fair Lady at Lincoln Center in New York. Horrible show but I only went so that I could say I saw her.

Here ya go r40

R58 I can imagine she was long in the tooth for Eliza.

R54, Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman) before her, don’t think those episodes have been shown in US. Tara King afterwards, not a success. Then, Purdy in the New Avengers, also not a success.

Although Purdy was played by Joanna Lumley.

R51, don’t forget Charles Dance.

Has she ever done Ernest? She’d be fun as the Lady.

r46 I have that book. It's now on my bedside table to begin reading tonight.

r20 I have that book as well, and re-read it book occasionally. It has so many more plot points and characters, many of which do not appear in the movie. It really fleshes out the lives of the nuns at Brede.

r54 Have seen the Honor Blackman episodes(black&white), IIRC they were on Decades TV last year. Pretty crude, limited production values, acting was fair.

r59 Oh yes! Mrs. Peel in her 'Emma Peel-ers.'

r61 Actress Linda Thorson, as Tara King, just didn't make the grade for me.

At the height of her Avengers popularity she appeared on Hollywood Squares. The host of the show, Peter Marshall, said in his book that during rehearsals she wore a simple, tight T-shirt with 'Tits' written on it and he thought she was the sexiest woman times 2 that he ever saw.

I liked her in Rebecca but can’t find a clip on YouTube.

R66 Linda Thorson gave it the old college try but she simply could not replace the enormously popular Emma Peel as John Steed's partner and the show was cancelled both in Great Britain and America. But during the last year with her in it they made 33 episodes of the show so she received a great deal of exposure which helped her career.

Emma and Tara meet briefly during Diana Rigg's last episode of The Avengers.

yeah, nope, r69. Just, nope. Not the same.

R67, my grandmother said Peter Marshall was, "you know, like Paul Lynde."

It really was an enchanted period--ultra-stylish, fun scripts, costumes, cars! Diana's Lotus Elan was just so cool! And her outfits! She may have never been on an elevated level as some actors, but I loved her then & I still love her! Something genuine, warm, and human always seemed to come through. Even now, I still cry uncontrollably at the end of "Her Majesty's Secret Service"; did you know that the tune Louis Armstrong did was one of his last performances? I'll get in one of those moods & just play it over & over . . .

Another fun thing she did was an episode of Doctor Who--"The Crimson Horror" with her daughter & she's really, really evil in it! So much fun!

[quote] Even now, I still cry uncontrollably at the end of "Her Majesty's Secret Service"

I've graduated to scowling at Fräulein Irma Bunt.

Rigg lucked out getting the role of Emma Peel. It was initially cast with Elizabeth Shepherd, who was let go after shooting 1 1/2 episodes.

She was a good, classically trained actress but turned out to not be a great fit for the role.

Rigg lucked out getting the role of Emma Peel. It was initially cast with Elizabeth Shepherd, who was let go after shooting 1 1/2 episodes.

She was a good, classically trained actress but turned out to not be a great fit for the role.

Shepherd had to wait for DAMIEN: THE OMEN II for her cult status.

The Avengers scripts were already going downhill when Rigg left so Thorson had little chance with such a poorly drawn character.

Tell Cersei. I want her to know it was me.

On the Avengers, John Steed's very first partner was another man (whose character name and real name I've forgotten). He stuck around for a couple of years, then was replaced by Honor Blackman, who was replaced by Diana Rigg, and then finally Linda Thorson for the final year. The show was on for 7 or 8 years. But over here we ae more familiar with the Diana Rigg/Linda Thorson episodes.

Honor left for Goldfinger and of course Diana left for OHMSS, two of the best Bond movies.

As a kid, I fell in love with her as the Evil Queen in the Golan Globus “Show White”. My folks used to let me stay up and watch her introductions to Masterpiece Theatre.

God I was so gay.

Ian Henry played John Steed's first partner. He played a doctor who was "avenging" his wife's death, as I recall. The show shifted such that John Steed rotated between three partners, one of whom was Honor Blackman. She then became his sole partner for a few seasons. After she left for the James Bond movie, along came Diana Rigg. That partnership catapulted the show to cult status, even while it was on and of course since. The shows, both black and white, and color, are classics. They tried to make the Linda Thorson partnership different by making her more of a young newbie who was obviously in love with John Steed, as opposed to Emma Peel who was completely independent and whose relationship with Steed was, at best, implied. When that didn't work, they made Tara King less dewy-eyed and tougher, but the magic wasn't there.

Diana Rigg was perfect as Emma Peel, poor Linda Thomson’s Tara King had big shoes to fill indeed. Plus, she had to contend with an ill-defined character and a matronly hairstyle. (A wig, maybe?)

They also changed the format and instead of the clever “we’re needed” tags, they introduced the Mother character, with the silent blonde aide dressed in white. I always thought that was creepy.

I thought she was great in this scene as the Duchess in "Victoria:"

I've been a fan of Rigg's since "The Great Muppet Caper", and even more so once I got to see "The Avengers" in English (only saw "The New Avengers" (fun as a small child watching with my dad, kind of painful now) and French dubs of the original growing up in Canada until I was in my teens). I only wish I could pull off haughty dismissiveness that well.

[quote](A wig, maybe?)

Yes, it was. According to one of Dave Rogers's books (which I read about 30 years ago as a dorky child and still remember), the producers wanted Tara to be blonde as a contrast to Emma, so they had Linda Thorson bleach her hair. It did so much damage that it started breaking off. Her actual hair didn't appear in the series until "All Done With Mirrors", which was about two months in.

Saw Thorson in Noises Off, but it really was Dorothy's show.

Remember, she was "Mrs. Peel", and I don't remember if they ever talked about her husband. Was she a widow?

R89 I believe her husband was lost/missing and then he mysteriously turned up well and alive which is why she left John Steed to go back to her husband.

r89 Mrs. Peel's husband returned in her last episode, IIRC. They were last seen driving off in a snazzy little sports car. Presaging her demise in OOMSC.

Thank you r90 and r91. I don't think I've ever seen that episode. This has inspired me to rewatch the series. A little trivia, her name came from the producers wanting a woman with "M appeal", meaning "Man appeal".

r91 here. Oopsie! Presaging her demise in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service." Not OOMSC. That was some brain fart that got me to post THAT incorrect acronym. Mea culpa.

Peter Peel, her husband, was only seen from the back and he was wearing a suit and the same kind of hat that Steed always wore. City gentlemen’s attire.

I cannot believe this was not posted yet.

The number loses its sexiness when she gets down to stocking'd feet. Keep the heels *on*, Di!

I already shared this in another thread, but I want to hear her on a speaking tour, and got her to autograph my copy of No Turn Unstoned. She asked how on earth I managed to find a copy, as it was long out of print. She ended up inviting me to a party at someone's home later that evening, and we sat and chatted. Absolutely delightful and intelligent -and a very good sport.

One of my favorite of her films hasn't been mentioned yet -The Assassination Bureau, Ltd. where she plays an intrepid reporter tracking down a murder-for-hire corporation.

Her turn as the evil queen in Snow White is inspired and incredibly funny while still retaining some threat. Not an easy task, especially in a cheesy, cheap children's film, but she managed it well.

Bronzie mentioned her turn in 'Theatre of Blood', where she played Vincent Price's devoted daughter, although she spends most of the movie disguised as a man. It was one of Vincent's favorite roles.

I thought I heard that she knew her way around most men. How did she do? I’m guessing will be jealous.

Thanks, R34, for mentioning "Mother Love". Talk about diabolical.

Why never a DVD of this in the US?

Dear R83, you have either accidentally mispelt the actor’s name or blindly followed a sloppy Chicago Tribune web page.

The original star of 'The Avengers' was Ian HenDry who specialised in tough-guy roles. He also appeared in that strange Sidney Lumet film called ‘The Hill’ and married a Disney actress, and also very slowly drank himself to death.

The original supporting actor was Patrick Macnee a man with a wide head who specialised in taking roles rejected by Nigel Patrick.

The slimy producers (who I suspected were the duo that pushed the career of Maurice Joseph Micklewhite Jr) chose to hire a series of females offering that English-style kind of naughty kinky titillation.

R34 'Mother Love' was amazing at the time. It had pretty James Wilby and interesting David McCallum (who seemed like a has-been in the 1980s.

The mother was the archetypal Karen and a psychopath. She had her own catchphrase "Treachery, disloyalty... are the most DREADFUL of crimes. And deserve the severest punishment!"

She old her son 'I brought you into this world, and I am going to take you out!'.

Evil Geisha

Who is J.S. R3?

I know about the appearance and purpose of a flying buttress but I don't understand how that nasty Broadway critic could compare her breasts to them.

The critic John Simon - “The Butcher of Broadway”

He was famous for harping on the pros and cons of actresses’ looks in a totally sexist way, and i believe was implying Rigg’s body needed corsetry or support in her nude scene.

[quote]But, NY Times reviewer Clive Barnes wrote: “It’s the most tasteful, tactful and apposite nude love scene I have ever encountered. As a matter of record, I suppose Rigg and Michell are the first major stars to appear naked on the Broadway stage, but the scene is neither prurient nor distasteful. Rigg is perfect: as sensuous as a cat, with hidden fires beneath the surface.”

[quote]Rigg: “I felt sorry for the audiences who had to see my poor old buttresses…”

[quote]Another actor, Sylvia Miles, whom Simon described as “one of New York’s leading party girls and gate-crashers” dumped a plate of antipasto over Simon in a New York restaurant.

[quote] Reviewing a 1982 television production of Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler, Simon praised her, and remembering his unkind review from earlier, wrote: “There is nothing remotely brick mausoleumish about her, and buttresses are well hidden by Victorian crinolines.”

R106, thank you.

She will always be an icon to me because of the Avengers. Beautiful, sexy, independent, playing by her own rules, and kicking ass in a leather cat suit. I realize how campy that show could be now, but not a bad example for a gay kid back in the day.

Good heavens indeed! R37.

The first reaction is WHY? There absolutely no reason to think that a ‘Black Narcissus’ mini series could improve on the original Oscar-winning, cinematic masterpiece.

(Everyone groaned at the needless remakes of Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’ and William Wyler’s ‘Ben-Hur).

The second groaning reaction is that it will be another ‘Wokes’ Revenge’. The BBC has quotas which they must fill by employing homosexuals, transvestites, non-English-people and disabled people and by forcing Ugandans, Jamaicans and Pakistanis into Woke versions of Shakespeare, EM Forster and Agatha Christie.

So the people on the ‘Britmovie’ website have been long dreading the anticipated all-black version of ‘Black Narcissus’.

R108 Emma Peel ready to fight and kick ass!

Love this gif!

Bullseye!

I love the episode of The Avengers called "The Hidden Tiger" where important men are being mauled and killed by a killer cat such as a tiger or a puma. But in reality the deeds are being done by ordinary domestic cats who have been conditioned by a scientist to viciously attack and kill. Again, one of the witty, eccentric, different Avengers episode.

Such a stylish and exuberant opening:

Diana's Emma was the target for full-on, kick-arse lesbian adoration.

She arrived at the same time as the Op Art Fad. The designers of the day —Mary Quant and André Courrèges— tried very hard to simplify the female body down into geometrical masculine rectangles and cylinders and all that frilly, girly stuff was thrown in the rubbish bin.

Diana Rigg studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (aka RADA) from 1955–57.

She studied Dramatic Art but without the grovelling that is taught at RADA now—

R102, of course I know the spelling is Hendry but it was either a mis-type on my part or an autocorrect-related error. Apologies. The "Hidden Tiger" episode has made me suspicious of cats all my life.

She and I share first names. I was born in the early 60's but before the show started. I've always loved her in The Avengers.

^ She was christened with the lovely Edwardian name "Enid".

I didn’t know she started out as an assistant stage manager. She came from humble roots, I think, and her town and school staff got behind her to help win some competitions and scholarships and stuff, so she could get to the big city.

I don’t know if that would happen today.

Could she leave him?

Except! R115 in her final season she wore a mini dress. After all the pant suits, body suits, and cat suits it was supposed to be shocking, instead it just looked impractical.

Also in her first? season, the b/w stills which ran during the opening credits, showed her wearing a dress with a frilly neckline and a bouffant hairdo and a rope of pearls. So her look varied. I can’t remember offhand if this intro was the one with the narration describing her as “Emma Peel, talented amateur “.

R105, it's a misquote. Simon wrote "As Heloise, Diana Rigg is build like a brick basilica with inadequate flying buttresses and suggests neither intense womanliness or outstanding intellect."

Since she appeared nude in Abelard and Heloise, the criticism of her figure was not out of line.

Pics?

To suggest that someone is miscast because her breast sag, is a little out of line.

If that is your stance, you need to justify the view. Did Simon think that women with saggy breasts cannot inspire passion? Or was that specific to Abelard?

If Simon thought that it was specific to the character of Abelard, is that not an issue with the script or Mitchell's performance (rather than her body) that his passion toward her as a woman with non-perky breasts was not believable?

Yes, this is a little ridiculous, but it points to the idiocy of Simon getting snarky about a woman with ordinary breasts as if it was relevant to the show. This was a historical drama, not porn (where criticism of the body might be relevant).

Agree R125. Simon's constant nasty remarks about women's looks and bodies wouldn't pass muster today. He was also virulently anti-gay.

It was no wonder that his career as a weekly critic ended at National Review.

This show was fun, except her ridiculously over-lined top lip drove me to distraction. She gives Joan Collins a run for her money in that regard.

I’ve only managed to see one episode of that. IIRC, they hinted she was sleeping with her chauffeur.

Yes, she was, but with everyone else as well.

Hey, found it online. Yes, the lipstick is a distraction. Was it supposed to be the style back then? It just looks very badly applied. Funny, last Sunday I watched another British show on PBS and one actress had the same distracting badly outlined lipstick. I kept thinking it must have something to do with her character.

R1 Maggie Smith did say Diana swung her legs high and wide.

I actually watched half an episode of the ancient 1967 'The Avengers' and there was Diana disarming the villain by swinging her legs high and wide.

She wore a figure-hugging jump-suit in Eau-de Nil with a enormous low-slung fake-buckle strategically placed over her vaginal area. The fake-buckle was polished chrome in an 'O' shape 5 inches high and 3 inches wide. It was a chrome vagina!

I compare Diana Rigg with Jane Fonda. Both were Sixties Sexpots with upturned button noses and some kind of acknowledgement to Girl Power.

Since that time Diana Rigg turned into a character actress unafraid to act her age. While Jane Fonda has been botoxed and knifed into a waxwork.

A weekend in the country!

( ^ Cole Porter wouldn't write a song where most of the lyrics are inaudible. And the most audible lyrics are a mere five words which get repeated THIRTY times!)

I don't think he was saying her breasts were saggy, simply that they were too small.

Neither Honor nor Diana left to do James Bond. The offers came after they'd made the decision to leave. Honor turned down "Honey West."

R136 "Honey West." Anne Francis got the job.

[Quote] The show shifted such that John Steed rotated between three partners, one of whom was Honor Blackman.

Yes. The first was another doctor (Hendry had played a doctor who lost his fiance to murderous criminals, hence the "avenger" he became) played by Jon Rollason, who only did two or three episodes. Then the season was split between Honor Blackman and Julie Stevens. Julie Stevens played a nightclub singer. She only did about six or eight episodes.

Blackman was such a runaway success that even pop singers were stealing her look. The Breakaways backed up practically everyone in 1960s London.

This is a crib from Cathy Gale's wardrobe.

Before Michael Jackson or Madonna...

Diana's is one of the best Random Roles.

[Quote] Vincent Price asked me if I’d go with him to a charity show, Cowardy Custard at the Mermaid Theatre. I went to the loo at the interval and Coral was in the next door cubicle and she suddenly said [imitating Browne’s nasal drawl], “It’s a long time since I’ve fancied a man of me own age, but I fancy Vincent Price.” So in the car on the way home, Vincent said, “It’s Coral’s birthday next week. What can I get her?” And I said, “You have it on your person. Look no further.”

Best Bond girl EVER.

I finally got around to watch that unappealing video at the Cambridge Union at R120. I know it will disappoint all those Mrs Peel fans but Dame Diana is very frank and informative.

She says—

6.99 Acting on stage is ‘a communion’.

8.22 Medea.

c.9.00 Emma Peel was written for a man.

c.12 No make-up on ‘Game of Thrones’.

20 Sarah Bernhardt

25 Her husband left her.

25 Make-up

27 Bernard Shaw.

28 I would have been insufferable.

32 being typecast.

32 spittle.

33 I did not lust after that boy. I don’t go for toyboys.

34 Harvey Weinstein.

42 Collaboration with a writer.

45 Star-struck with Arthur Miller.

50 Technology.

This Diana's Peter Brook story (35:00) get any press attention. It's very #MeToo, though there's not a jot of self pity as one might expect of Rigg.

*Did this Diana's Peter Brook story (35:00) get any press attention?

Earlier on R132 I compared Diana Rigg to Jane Fonda. But these later interviews demonstrate how different they are now.

Jane Fonda's PR people would be horrified at how Diana Rigg presents herself now, without make-up or surgery. The Cambridge Union interview presents her unflatteringly slumped over in her seat. To be frank, Diana Rigg looks old but she demonstrates such a lively intelligence.

R120, thanks for that video. An hour well spent. :)

Diana Rigg was born in India. Her fathered worked on the railways. They still had servants.

r144, I call bullshit on the "no makeup" on GoT. She clearly has eye makeup on in the pic at r142, and possibly some tinted moisturizer.

^ I've never heard of tinted moisturizer. Can it buy it to use on my 'dishpan hands', dry elbows or cracked heels?

IIRC late Way Bandy promoted use of tinted moisturizer, through it may have been common enough use in the industry before his book brought it to the masses.

Old way was to mix a bit of foundation with moisturizer and misting of water to create a sheer bit of color, this was as opposed to a heavy application of slap. For women (and men) with good skin tinted moisturizer was and is a way to add a bit of color that looks natural, especially during warmer weather.

Nowadays nearly every make-up line offers ready made tinted moisturizer, but purpose is same. Idea is to give illusion of fresh luminous youthful complexion .

Tons of guys both gay and straight used either tinted moisturizer or bronzer; must to the dismay of whoever does their laundry. Having little experience with "make-up" stuff gets all over shirt collars and bed linens where it makes marks that are difficult to get out.

R150 = Make-up queen, 10-6 at Macy's Cosmetics counter.

Those interviews make me realise that I shouldn't think of Dame Diana as the ex-Sex-bunny.

I should think of her as a character actress such as Gladys Cooper, Marie Dressler, Sara Allgood, Edna May Oliver or Kathleen Harrison.

Duh.

RIP 🙁

She was superb in Mother Love.

One drinks the hemlock with a smile.

r153, Oh honey, I did my time at the counter, and it was at Neiman Marcus. I have a very prolific IMDB page.

Thank you, Dame Diana Rigg, for bringing your fierceness and intelligence to all your roles.

I love Theatre of Blood!

She was a goddess.

^ Utterly. She was the best Bond "girl" ever and made so many other roles her own. Stunning woman. RIP.

My sister had the jumpsuit and was almost as pretty. Good old days.

Mother Love, the BBC movie where she is a delightfully elegant serial killer mom. Why can't I get the dvd???

I love that she aged naturally, no fillers, binding white teeth, pulled face. She wore her age well.

She had her eyes done in the early 1990s.

i though about her today and some of her iconic roles and scene. Synchronicity?

Rest in Peace.

And have some fun.

I burst into tears when I got the news this morning. I knew her slightly -I have wonderful memories of our conversations and I will miss her. She truly was a very special lady.

[Quote] I knew her slightly -I have wonderful memories of our conversations and I will miss her.

Share. Did she and Lazenby have an affair?

No, they didn't get along that well.

Yes, there's the famous onions for lunch before love scene story. But I've read that Rigg took Lazenby for a roll in the hay, perhaps to stimulate some chemistry for their onscreen relationship.

Well, we were never close enough that I asked her about it...

What did you ask her about? Her rose bushes?

Tinted moisturizer. I was thrilled when they finally came out with that. Before I was taking a bit of liquid foundation and blending it in my palm with my moisturizer. Even with the tinted moisturizer I was still blending it down for just a touch of all over cover.

Thank you so much, R145. That conversation with her was delightful. Now I'm up late and some whiner will think I'm from Eastern Europe.

Yes, R174, I usually avoid hour long clips but her interviews at R145 and R120 are informative and amusing.

R165 I read somewhere that she refused to have her teeth straightened but she did have her knees replaced recently.

I fear Dame Maggie may be the next to leave us.

Maggie must be at least 85.

Two favs together.

'70s fashions. Ugh.

Mrs Peel rest ye well you were my female crush as a young boy. All those quips and your fabulous leather catsuit. What a storied career and a great actress. You even did camp better than Davis and Crawford in Theatre of Blood. A bizarre film and an even better performance.

She elevated everything. How many little gay boys saw her fabulousness in The Great Muppet Caper, and intoned, while gesticulating from one imaginary camera to the next, "My jewels! My jewels!"

R145 I always thought that the lascivious Peter Brook was a nutty self-appointed guru.

That excellent interview mentions Dietrich and Hepburn as well as other juicy gossip about Leslie Caron and other hopeless performers.

She talks about the 'sanctity' of live theatre and convinces me that the stage actor is a completely different profession from those people who appear in film and TV.

Well, Rigg was outspoken about the lead in "My Fair Lady" cutting back on the shows she did. Rigg was playing Mrs. Higgins.

Now Diane was a HOTTIE for sure. She is exemplary of the female form as far as white women go.

Before Andrew Gillum, Diana held the title "Queen of Sin."

She was a hottie but she aged like milk. By the time she had that terrible sitcom she looked matronly at only 34 years old.

She looks good. Maybe she overdid it on the bangs look in her youth.

Ha ha...touché.

She always seemed so glamorous to me when I was a kid and I loved her voice.

I'm happy I splurged for a ticket to see her in My Fair Lady a few years ago. Mrs. Higgins isn't a great role, but she sold every line and it was a thrill to see her live and in the flesh. I'm only wishing I'd met her at the stage door afterwards.

I love the story that Rigg used to refuse to sign autographs in the street as she claimed it was illegal. She wasn't one for idol worship.

^ She was tough Yorkshire woman. She has said a lot of things over the years that an angry feminist might consider as 'anti-feminist'. She was very real person (as opposed to Jane 'Waxworks' Fonda).

I remember an interview from a decade or so ago when she was asked if she feared death. She replied that she feared being physically debilitated and helpless. So it seems that happened about 6 months ago when she was taken to live with her daughter.

Her mother's name was Hilda Rigg, a plain Yorkshirewoman who eked out a meagre existence as did many woman had to do in the days before Britain turned into a Welfare State..

I think the daughter evolved into her mother as the years passed.