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Turning the big 8-0 today, Diana Rigg
Diana Rigg
Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg, CBE DBE (born 20 July 1938) is an English actress. She is best known for playing Emma Peel in the 1960s TV series The Avengers (1965–68), and Olenna Tyrell in Game of Thrones (2013–17). She has also had an extensive career in theatre, including playing the title role in Medea, both in London and New York, for which she won the 1994 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. She was made a CBE in 1988 and a Dame in 1994 for services to drama.
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Film and television career
Rigg appeared in the British 1960s television series The Avengers (1965–68) opposite Patrick McNee as John Steed, playing the secret agent Emma Peel in 51 episodes, replacing Elizabeth Shepherd at very short notice when Shepherd was dropped from the role after filming two episodes. Rigg auditioned for the role on a whim, without ever having seen the programme. Although she was hugely successful in the series, she disliked the lack of privacy that it brought. Also, she was not comfortable in her position as a sex symbol. She also did not like the way that she was treated by the Associated British Corporation (ABC). After a dozen episodes she discovered that she was being paid less than a cameraman. For her second season she held out for a pay rise from £150 a week to £450, but there was still no question of her staying for a third year. Patrick Macnee, her co-star in the series, noted that Rigg had later told him that she considered Macnee and her driver to be her only friends on the set.
On the big screen she became a Bond girl in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), playing Tracy Bond, James Bond's only wife, opposite George Lazenby. She said she took the role with the hope that she would become better known in the United States.[7] In 1973–1974, she starred in a short-lived US sitcom called Diana.
Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg, CBE DBE (born 20 July 1938) is an English actress. She is best known for playing Emma Peel in the 1960s TV series The Avengers (1965–68), and Olenna Tyrell in Game of Thrones (2013–17). She has also had an extensive career in theatre, including playing the title role in Medea, both in London and New York, for which she won the 1994 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. She was made a CBE in 1988 and a Dame in 1994 for services to drama.
....
Film and television career
Rigg appeared in the British 1960s television series The Avengers (1965–68) opposite Patrick McNee as John Steed, playing the secret agent Emma Peel in 51 episodes, replacing Elizabeth Shepherd at very short notice when Shepherd was dropped from the role after filming two episodes. Rigg auditioned for the role on a whim, without ever having seen the programme. Although she was hugely successful in the series, she disliked the lack of privacy that it brought. Also, she was not comfortable in her position as a sex symbol. She also did not like the way that she was treated by the Associated British Corporation (ABC). After a dozen episodes she discovered that she was being paid less than a cameraman. For her second season she held out for a pay rise from £150 a week to £450, but there was still no question of her staying for a third year. Patrick Macnee, her co-star in the series, noted that Rigg had later told him that she considered Macnee and her driver to be her only friends on the set.
On the big screen she became a Bond girl in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), playing Tracy Bond, James Bond's only wife, opposite George Lazenby. She said she took the role with the hope that she would become better known in the United States.[7] In 1973–1974, she starred in a short-lived US sitcom called Diana.
The Avengers (TV series)
Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg in the episode "The Hour That Never Was", first aired in 1965
The Avengers is an espionage British television series created in 1961. It initially focused on Dr. David Keel (Ian Hendry), aided by John Steed (Patrick Macnee). Hendry left after the first series; Steed then became the main character, partnered by a succession of assistants. His most famous assistants were intelligent, stylish and assertive women: Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman), Emma Peel (Diana Rigg), and Tara King (Linda Thorson). The series ran from 1961 until 1969, screening as one-hour episodes for its entire run. The pilot episode, "Hot Snow", aired on 7 January 1961. The final episode, "Bizarre", aired on 21 April 1969 in the United States, and on 21 May 1969 in London, England.
The Avengers was produced by ABC Television, a contractor within the ITV network. After a merger in July 1968, ABC Television became Thames Television, which continued production of the series, though it was still broadcast under the ABC name. By 1969, The Avengers was shown in more than 90 countries. ITV produced a sequel series The New Avengers (1976–1977) with Patrick Macnee returning as John Steed, and two new partners. In 2007, The Avengers was ranked #20 on TV Guide's Top Cult Shows Ever.
Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg in the episode "The Hour That Never Was", first aired in 1965
The Avengers is an espionage British television series created in 1961. It initially focused on Dr. David Keel (Ian Hendry), aided by John Steed (Patrick Macnee). Hendry left after the first series; Steed then became the main character, partnered by a succession of assistants. His most famous assistants were intelligent, stylish and assertive women: Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman), Emma Peel (Diana Rigg), and Tara King (Linda Thorson). The series ran from 1961 until 1969, screening as one-hour episodes for its entire run. The pilot episode, "Hot Snow", aired on 7 January 1961. The final episode, "Bizarre", aired on 21 April 1969 in the United States, and on 21 May 1969 in London, England.
The Avengers was produced by ABC Television, a contractor within the ITV network. After a merger in July 1968, ABC Television became Thames Television, which continued production of the series, though it was still broadcast under the ABC name. By 1969, The Avengers was shown in more than 90 countries. ITV produced a sequel series The New Avengers (1976–1977) with Patrick Macnee returning as John Steed, and two new partners. In 2007, The Avengers was ranked #20 on TV Guide's Top Cult Shows Ever.
I remember her best from The Avengers. Here is the 1965 version of the theme song:
I'm not sure what year this is from. We didn't have color TV, so I wouldn't have known anyway.
For the Lotus Elan fans at DU, and yet another version of the intro, though snipped.
10 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
I thought she was so cool. Loved her persona. Sad she was paid shit.
I didn't have a color TV either...
Love the show. 
