cyberrich wrote:Happy birthday Honor! For many years I thought she had been born in 1926, as this was reported in many film books, etc. Only last year did I discover that Honor was a year older. I'm not sure where the missing year went. Maybe one of the first researchers initially wrote down the wrong year, and this was reported as fact for many years after. I've even thought that maybe Honor knocked a year off her age when she heard The Avengers were auditioning. She certainly looked years younger than her age anyway. It's incredible to think she was 39 when Goldfinger was released. She looked a good 6 or 7 years younger.
Yes, since most sources indicated 1926, it seemed that this was true. Fun, among many years ago was amusing to study different information in the books and newspapes, where sometimes even 1929 was mentioned. That's the number!
I know that before 1954, there was correct information for this. For example, book "Motion Picture and Television Almanac, 1954" indicates: Honor born August 22, 1925.
It looked like at some point (somewhere at from 1954 to 1962) many different tricks were made with her birthday to confuse. It's hard to say who was the initiator, but most likely one of the actor agencies who knowingly did rumors in the media.
So,
somewhere from the first half of 1960s to 2014, it was customary to assume that Honor was born in 1926. Very long years.
Things changed after the release of Mike Richardson's book "Bowler Hats and Kinky Boots" in 2014, where was mentioned that Honor born 12 December 1927. I ordered this book in August of the same year, but received it only on October 3, 2014. When I read this I came to the conclusion that I was must to seriously study this issue, since the confusion with her age began to get stronger thanks to IMDb, where someone indicated December 12, 1927 as Honor's birthdate at the time and hence it came into Mike's book.
I felt my responsibility because at that time I was already seriously studying the data for the Avengers crew and performers on IMDb, and I knew that 1927 was wrong, because it did not correspond to the results of my early studies at all. Personally, I thought like many others at the time that 1926 was like the truth and so my goal was to prove it and fix the information on IMDb. And what was my surprise when I finally found the proof that Honor was born in ... 1925!!!
The confirmation was in the form of a certificate of her birthdate. In fact, it is logical, considering that previously official sources (before 1954) referred to this information.
Yes, I realized that if I had taken this clue more seriously, I could have come to an answer earlier. I think somewhere in late October 2014 I provided proof of my research to IMDb and afterwards began to disseminate the information on other sources. So since October 2014 things have returned to their place, and like old times, most sources began to write that Honor was born in 1925. Cheers!
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Recently there was a similar discovery with actress Elizabeth Sellars, who played in Avengers episode Take-over (1969). This is indicated in all the books I studied and other sources that she was born in 1923, but it turned out that the birth certificate refers to 1921.
I already changed the data in Wikipedia, while for some reason IMDb still goes with a delay for.
Definitely there are similar situations with wrong year of birth for other performers, who played in The Avengers.
For example, Pamela Ann Davy.
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0205853/
Indicated as Born: 1939 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
This is an absolute fib. In fact, she is older and I think, on the basis of my research, she was born in Melbourne.
Famous actress, Carole Gray:
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0336500
Indicated as Born: 1940
Again, wrong information. She is older.
Mark Heath
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0372685
Indicated as Born: 1940 in Kingston, Jamaica
Very far from the truth as for year of birth.
I think this is somewhere 1925 in reality.
And etc.
Luckily, 80 percent, I think, the information for the performers and crew who participated in The Avengers is true accordingly to IMDb.