Honor Blackman interview 12-05-2009

Discuss the people who wrote, produced, directed, acted or did anything else in The Avengers!
Post Reply
User avatar
Philippa
The Bird Who Wrote Too Much
Posts: 1380
Joined: Sun Sep 07, 2008 11:05 pm
Location: Amsterdam
Contact:

Honor Blackman interview 12-05-2009

Post by Philippa »

A really lovely, and very long interview with Honor Blackman
SHE oozes more style, sophistication and sex appeal than women half her age. And as she approaches her 82nd birthday, former Bond girl Honor Blackman can still pack a punch.

In an exclusive interview with the Daily Record, Honor reveals how she manages to look so young, the highlights of her 64-year acting career, her battle with breast cancer and working with "the best James Bond", Sir Sean Connery

Flanked by tourists in the lift of the Hilton in Glasgow, Honor Blackman emerges without a minder in sight.

Wearing her long-sleeved, above-the-knee black dress with a diamond-encrusted brooch, she looks every inch the celebrity, but, despite her killer heels, appears much smaller in real life than I'd imagined.

Having spent my teens watching ITV's The Upper Hand in the Nineties, it is almost as if time has stood still for this glamorous gran.

Although while playing LauraWest in the hit sit-com, which co-starred Joe McGann and DianaWeston, Honor was not actually a granny.

Today, she is a doting gran of four. She describes Oscar, six, Daisy, three, Olive, four, and Toby, two, as lovely beyond belief and admitted: "Everyone always asked me when I was in the Upper Hand, 'Are you a grandmother?' And I wasn't. I thought, 'Do stop being boring.' "I thought I would have one foot in the grave before one arrived.

"Now I am as boring as everyone else about their grandchildren. I never stop talking about them." Honor was invited to Glasgow by the Prince and Princess ofWales Hospice as special guest at its annual Ladies Lunch at the Hilton Hotel on Sunday.

Morag Cunningham, director of fundraising and marketing at the hospice, was responsible for booking Honor for the event, which was sponsored by Slater Woman and also starred all-male singing trio Tenors Unlimited.

Morag said: "To be honest, I didn't think we could get someone like Honor to come. But we asked her agent and she came back to us right away and said she'd be delighted.

"It was a privilege to have her there and the feedback from the ladies has been great." Honor has visited Scotland on a number of occasions while on tour with plays and her one-woman shows.

She is a keen supporter of charities, and hospices in particular, since the death of her ex-husband Maurice Kaufman, who lost his battle with cancer in 1997.

Honor revealed: "It's so necessary after having watched my ex-husband die in hospital. He was just drugged and drugged and didn't know what world he was in. It was all awful, so I am very much for hospices.

" Some people kick up a hell of a fuss about going into a hospice. I have a friend who did, but they were happy when they got there." S IX years after Maurice's death, the London-born actress was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had radiotherapy and considers herself extremely lucky.

Honor said: "I had a lumpectomy in 2003.

It was diagnosed just before Christmas and I couldn't be operated on until after Christmas.

"It was a tense time, but I had a marvellous surgeon and, touch wood, I am fine and have regular checks.

"I was very lucky because I knew exactly what it was when I got it, so I was able to be operated on fairly smartly." Although she's in her eighties, you could be forgiven for thinking Honor was still in her fifties or sixties.

Because of her youthful appearance, she is constantly asked to divulge her beauty secrets. When I asked her, she said: "I shall go mad if I am asked that question again." But she politely revealed her three top tips to looking good - eating sensibly, exercising and cleansing her face. Honor, who wrote How To Look And Feel Half Your Age For The Rest Of Your Life, in 1995, said: "I do my exercises and 15 minutes on my bike every day.

"I do pilates daily. I don't do the whole pilates like I used to because I kept doing in my back. I don't do a huge amount, but I do the basics because one needs to.

"I am strict about cleaning my face.

Millions of women aren't and then wonder why they don't have a good complexion.

"I cleanse so that there is nothing in sight left on my face. I don't just wash my face, I use removal cream." Entering her eighties in 2007 did not bother Honor in the slightest.

She laughed: "It was a lovely party. I can't say that turning 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 meant very much in my life. I mean, you don't change inside. They don't mean anything.

"When you are 79 and three-quarters and you go the last bit, it doesn't make any difference in your life. Age is just a number." In that same year, the iconic actress was among a host of female celebrities to back a hard-hittingWomen's Aid campaign against domestic violence. It was controversial because the stars were made up to look like victims. Honor sported a huge black eye.

She said: "Lots of people complained about that, but my thoughts were, 'If they think it's a good idea, if they think it would help, then of course I will do it.' "I know what the critics mean when they say 'A fat lot of good showing celebrities with black eyes and things would do', because they imagine, probably wrongly, that they don't ever get beaten up, but it does happen.

"Wasn't Ulrika Jonsson thumped about a bit? Masses of ordinary women get thumped regularly. It quite shocks me that some people seem to vaguely expect it.

"I have never been thumped about because I could probably sort them out." Honor has had a glittering career in film, television and theatre spanning a staggering six decades. She entered the industry at the age of 17 after opting for elocution lessons instead of a bicycle for her 15th birthday.

Her big break was playing understudy to the lead in the West End play, The Guinea Pig.

The casting director was so impressed with her audition, he ran after her on her way out.

With a long and varied career behind her, Honor is best-known for playing crimefighter Cathy Gale in The Avengers and Bond girl Pussy Galore in Goldfinger in 1964.

In preparation for her physically demanding fight scenes in The Avengers alongside Patrick MacNee, Honor took judo lessons and did all the stunts herself.

She has starred alongside many acting greats, including Dirk Bogarde, Dean Martin and Sir Sean Connery. But at the hospice's

Ladies Lunch, she revealed, much to everyone's surprise, that one of the most interesting characters she'd met was former Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy, who she sat next to at a dinner.

Another highlight of her career was working with Sir Sean, whom she refers to as "the sexiest man on two legs".

When she was cast as Pussy Galore, she was one of the very few Bond girls older than the actor playing 007.

Her admiration for Sir Sean is clear and, as she reminisces, there's a cheeky glint in her eye.

Like her former co-star, who will turn 80 next year, she is still considered a sex symbol.

Honor said: "Sean is the best Bond as far as I am concerned.

"He has the distinct advantage of being the first and the prototype.

"But he was a stupendous figure of a man, and terribly good-looking, with a fascinating accent. He was sexy as well, and a terrible twinkler, so it can't be bad.

"I think he was underrated as far as playing Bond was concerned because he had been a milkman and there he was playing a suave, sophisticated creature. But he was one of the few people that you could accept.

"Bond wasn't a very nice character. He was a misogynist. He picked up women and threw them away. Until he got to me, of course. Sean made it very credible." Having met the latest actor to play James Bond - Daniel Craig - Honor is happy with his portrayal of the secret agent in Casino Royale and Quantum Of Solace.

"He's a terribly good actor, and has fascinating eyes," she said.

While working with Sir Sean "really was very exciting", Honor added: "The loveliest time I had was a national tour of A Little Night Music, the Stephen Sondheim musical.

"It was such a huge success. It was one of those parts that was absolutely right for my age and experience. It was such a beautiful show and I loved it.

"I prefer theatre because you can develop your character over quite a period in rehearsals, which is sometimes the most interesting time, but you have to recapture that night after night." Currently playing a Yiddish grandmother in the low-budget film Reuniting The Reubens alongside Timothy Spall, Honor still has ambitions. She's determined to continue working on projects that interest her, but is happy that her life now revolves around her four grandchildren.

The Ladies Lunch in aid of the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice was attended by 600 women on Sunday and raised £35,000..'Sean was a stupendous figure of a man and terribly goodlooking. He was sexy as well'
dailyrecord.co.uk
DiVicenzo
The Bird Who Wrote Too Much
Posts: 1476
Joined: Thu Sep 04, 2008 10:55 am

Post by DiVicenzo »

Wonderful - thank you, Philippa :)
User avatar
Frankymole
You Have Just Been Posting (a lot)
Posts: 6579
Joined: Mon Sep 01, 2008 9:33 am
Location: Carmadoc Research Establishment
Has thanked: 352 times
Been thanked: 271 times

Post by Frankymole »

So Honor was definitely born in 1927. There had been some controversy over that!

Thanks for posting the interview. Most interesting! And cheering... I'll soon be half her age :D
Last watched: "The Charmers"
User avatar
Timeless A-Peel
Posting à la Carte
Posts: 4864
Joined: Mon Sep 01, 2008 1:41 am
Location: New Scotland, Canada
Contact:

Post by Timeless A-Peel »

I love how she says she's never been "thumped about" because she could handle herself. But I'll bet playing Cathy was a pretty good deterrent as well (except for the drunk guys in pubs who always wanted to take her on).

And yes, we've got confirmation on her birthdate! Finally! I believe she's still the oldest Bond girl there's ever been in one of the movies.

Thanks for posting, Philippa!
Last Watched: Who Was That Man I Saw You With?

Image

Anew: A TNA Site. Updated 4/30/14
User avatar
Philippa
The Bird Who Wrote Too Much
Posts: 1380
Joined: Sun Sep 07, 2008 11:05 pm
Location: Amsterdam
Contact:

Post by Philippa »

Yes, the birthday mystery is finally solved!
And her grandchildren have got cute names :D
User avatar
darren
Diabolical Mastermind
Posts: 2114
Joined: Mon Sep 01, 2008 2:31 pm
Location: UK
Has thanked: 38 times
Been thanked: 27 times

Post by darren »

Honor Blackman must surely be one of the few actor for whom the term "Did all her own stunts" is actually true. :)
Post Reply