Happy Birthday Mrs. Peel, You're Still Needed!

Today is Diana Rigg's 69th birthday (hard to believe). She is probably most famous for playing Mrs. Peel in The Avengers (1965-1968), replacing Honor Blackman who left to play Pussy Galore in Goldfinger. Diana Rigg DBE later left the show & like her predecessor starred in a Bond movie. In this case she played Comtessa Teresa "Tracy" Draco Di Vicenzo, the only women to marry James Bond, in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. (As an aside, 1 of her co-stars in OHMSS, Joanna Lumley, later went on to star in The New Avengers. Their Avengers co-star Patrick McNee also went on to be in a Bond movie, A View to A Kill.)

But, to limit her to those 2 roles is to greatly ignore her wider body of work. So here is a fan video showing the wide range of roles she has played. It also showcases her vocal talent as she is singing the song used in the video, Ah, but Underneath from Stephen Sondheim's Follies. (She has appeared in several Sondheim shows.)

Here are the B&W & Color openning credits to The Avengers:

& of course we can't forget On Her Majesty's Secret Service:

Mrs. Peel, You're Needed!

DBE = Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (Added 21 July 2007 12:43 AM)