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Post by brutalis on Sept 10, 2020 10:25:04 GMT -5
Dame Diana Rigg, the epitome of style, class, intelligence and beauty capable of handing anyone their butt. In EVERY way she is the template of the "modern" woman. Rest in peace...
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Sept 10, 2020 10:29:05 GMT -5
On a strictly comic book footing, there's really no question that Ms. Rigg and Emma Peel influenced the new look Wonder Woman of the late 60s, the Black Queen phase of The Phoenix and, probably, the change of Black Widow to the black catsuit.
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Post by Prince Hal on Sept 10, 2020 10:46:37 GMT -5
And quite a Shakespearean, too. As Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1968). Yes, that's Helen Mirren as Hermia. It was a superb cast that included Ian Holm as Puck, David Warner as Lysander, and Judi Dench as Titania. Diana Rigg was also famous for her Cleopatra, Regan (to Olivier's Lear) and Lady Macbeth (below), among others.
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 10, 2020 10:52:20 GMT -5
An amazing actress, beyond the iconic roles. Her stage work is legendary, resulting in her knighthood. Her movie career was not as lustrous as it should have been, due mostly to Hollywood offering her fluff. However, I quite like The Assassination Bureau, with Dame Diana and Oliver Reed (before his drinking got out of control). She is charming as a sort of Nellie Bly reporter, on the trail of a group conducting assassinations across Europe, while falling in love with the head of the organization, Ivan Dragamiloff. Quite fun, quite charming. Also features Telly Savalas, Curt Jurgens, Clive (The original Emperor) Revell, and Roger DelGado, the original Master.
As for Emma Peel.....the quintessential hero, who used her brains first, and her martial skills as necessary, but was never a sex bomb. She was class all the way.
She was also a terrific host for Mystery, on PBS, introducing the various British detective shows that were featured, including Sherlock Holmes, Poirot, Inspector Morse and Touch of Frost.
I like to think, when the time came, Patrick Macnee appeared and said, "Mrs Peel, we're needed."
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on Sept 10, 2020 12:23:12 GMT -5
Oh man. Mrs Peel was my first crush. I use to watch Avengers reruns on cable at my grandma's house any time I could. And Mr Steed was the man I wanted to be when I grew up. And now they're both gone. Guess it's time to break out my tapes and relive those moments again.
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Post by junkmonkey on Sept 10, 2020 12:51:00 GMT -5
"Never a sex bomb?"
Until the advent of the Internet I thought I had dreamed this:
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 9,601
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Post by Confessor on Sept 10, 2020 16:15:07 GMT -5
And quite a Shakespearean, too. As Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1968). Yes, that's Helen Mirren as Hermia. It was a superb cast that included Ian Holm as Puck, David Warner as Lysander, and Judi Dench as Titania. I watched that version of A Midsummer Night's Dream in its entirety on either YouTube or Vimeo about a year or so ago. As you say, the cast is great and it's a very good version...and very much of it's time too: it has a late-60s psychedelic vibe in places, which plays very nicely into the overall enchanted, whimsical mood of the play. Also, young Judi Dench as Titania...Phworrr! ♥️
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 9,601
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Post by Confessor on Sept 10, 2020 16:41:56 GMT -5
Like others, I was sad to hear about Diana Rigg's passing today. Like all sensible folk, I loved her as the unflappable, kick-ass Emma Peel in the Avengers TV show. She was gorgeous and a real, bona fide 60s icon.
I stumbled upon this tribute video to Mrs. Peel set to the song "Short Skirt/Long Jacket" by the band Cake a few months ago, so thought I'd repost it. Enjoy!
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Post by beccabear67 on Sept 10, 2020 16:58:16 GMT -5
I had many years seeing her as the host of 'Mystery'.
Gave this early '80s tribute by Seattle band The Allies a spin in her memory...
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Post by Prince Hal on Sept 10, 2020 17:00:52 GMT -5
And quite a Shakespearean, too. As Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1968). Yes, that's Helen Mirren as Hermia. It was a superb cast that included Ian Holm as Puck, David Warner as Lysander, and Judi Dench as Titania. I watched that version of A Midsummer Night's Dream in its entirety on either YouTube or Vimeo about a year or so ago. As you say, the cast is great and it's a very good version...and very much of it's time too: it has a late-60s psychedelic vibe in places, which plays very nicely into the overall enchanted, whimsical mood of the play. Also, young Judi Dench as Titania...Phworrr! ♥️The best costume she ever wore, IMHO.
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Post by Farrar on Sept 10, 2020 17:44:21 GMT -5
Aww, sorry to hear this. RIP Dame DIana.
I saw Rigg on Broadway in The Misanthrope (with the great Alec McGowen) and about 10 years later she came back to Broadway as Medea, which I saw a few times, as she gave a superlative, pared-down yet absolutely furious performance. Ibsenites should check out a televised version of Hedda Gabler starring Rigg that's available on YouTube (a few years ago I watched many different HG versions and Rigg's was near the top IMO, though the one with Ingrid Bergman has the.best. Tesman.ever, Michael Redgrave).
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 10, 2020 21:27:59 GMT -5
"Never a sex bomb?"
Until the advent of the Internet I thought I had dreamed this:
Let me rephrase; the character was not sold as a sex object. There were sexy moments, with that being the most blatant, though it was specific to the story. Contrast it with Charlie's Angels, where there looks were the defining feature of their characters. To put it another way, Emma Peel was not Barbarella. She was brains, class and charm; she just happened to carry all that in a beautiful package, but she was defined by the former, not the latter, even as they clothed her to show off her figure. Really, the Black Queen outfit was as far as it went. Her Emma Peelers were relatively practical and she was always tastefully dressed, though the bodystocking she wore in "The Gilded Cage," was probably a close second. The name was chosen to reflect the desired "Man Appeal," (M-Appeal....Emma Peel); but, Rigg was sophisticated, funny and sharp and they knew they had gold there and wrote to that. By contrast, her short lived predecessor, Elizabeth Sheppard, was chosen more for looks and didn't work on screen, so they recast and found Diana. Diana had the looks, but she also had the personality and presence, as well as the voice and sophisticated style. Plus, Cathy Gale had been established as a tough, capable woman, superior to Steed in her fields and capable of handling herself in his. Emma continued that tradition, though I always felt they lost that by making Tara King more of a neophyte, who worships Steed. I always felt that was part of why she had fewer memorable stories/ With Joanna Lumley, in the New Avengers, they recaptured some of that, though the scripts were rarely at the level of the original (there are a couple of really good ones).
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 10, 2020 21:29:05 GMT -5
RIP to Ronald Bell, co-founder of Kool and the Gang. Grew up with their music, in the 70s and early 80s; always great stuff.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 12, 2020 11:02:12 GMT -5
RIP to Frederick "Toots" Hibbert, Jamaican reggae legend. He was 77. I an not a huge reggae fan, but I first discovered his stuff when he collaborated with Warren Haynes' Gov't Mule and liked the song they did and his voice and explored more of his output. He will be missed.
-M
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Post by beccabear67 on Sept 12, 2020 14:48:07 GMT -5
Aw man... Toots is gone? They were playing Pressure Drop on some tv news show I caught the tail end of and I should've wondered about it more. I just thought someone was using some cool music for their outro like they sometimes do. So many classic recordings... Never Grow Old, Bam Bam, Sweet And Dandy, Reggae Got Soul, 54-46, Monkey Man... "complications of covid-19"
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