It’s a dirty job, but somebody’s gotta do it. So far I’ve share encounters with you of exactly fifteen “Bond-Girls,” that is those actresses who have portrayed a love interest of the iconic hero James Bond in one or more of the films in the James Bond series. Fifteen of them would be a feat in itself, but clearly I have no intention of stopping there, hence this fifth entry exploring another trio of these lovely gals, which span a year’s worth of collecting.
Valerie Leon made her appearance at the Chiller Theatre show on October 27, 2012. Once I started collecting the Bond girls, I pretty much had limited myself to purchasing photos of them from one of the Bond movies…but this was not the case with Valerie.
She actually starred in two different James Bond movies, the first in the official James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me as a hotel receptionist, but technically speaking since she had no affair with 007, this did not qualify her as a Bond girl. However her role in the non-canonical (or non -EON) Bond film Never Say Never Again did. She was the lady in the Bahamas, who went unnamed, which is quite unusual for a Bond girl. Only five of them shared this distinction.
But I have to be honest when I say that I was much more interested in the fact that Valerie Leon had worked with Peter Sellers in The Revenge of the Pink Panther as Tanya – so I went with a photo from that to have her sign. Granted that none of these were exactly massive roles, but she was definitely worth adding to my collection for 20 bucks, which included a photo with her.
Next up, we have Diana Lee-Hsu, who starred in the 1989 James Bond film License to Kill as Hong Kong narcotic agent Loti. She also told me that it was her who was dancing in the opening credits of the same film.
Her movie credits weren’t all that extensive, although she did manage to slip in an appearance in the sitcom Family Matters, but as long as we’re all friends and being honest, I can tell you that I was very familiar with Diana Lee without ever having seen her on screen. As it happens, she was the Playmate of the Month in the May 1988 issue of Playboy.
She was still looking mighty fine as she was just about to turn 52 years old when I met her at the Chiller Theatre Show in Parsippany, New Jersey on April 27, 2013, although I wasn’t terribly thrilled about the inflated price of $25 for the autograph and another $10 for the photo op. But then I remembered the enjoyment she had brought and I went forward with it.
Last and of utmost importance comes Shirley Eaton. Although many of the Bond girls went on to bigger and better things, some even achieving super-stardom, none were quite as iconic as Shirley Eaton. She had portrayed Jill Masterson in Goldfinger, and was the gal who was painted gold to death, resulting in one of the most famous of all James Bond images.
I had passed her up once before, and once I started to collect the Bond girls, I was afraid that I might have missed my chance. But I breathed a sigh of relief when she was scheduled to another gathering of Bond stars at the Hollywood Show on October 5, 2013. Perhaps it was because she left the acting industry in the late 1960’s, not long after Goldfinger, that she had neither the pretension or the ego of many actors and actresses, and was charging the ultra-reasonable $20 which included an autograph and photo op.
So we’re certainly going out on a highlight of the Bond actresses as I leave you until another time…another place. Enjoy your martini.
The James Bond girls will continue…
Celebrities of the Fall 2012 Chiller Theatre show will continue…
Celebrities of the Spring 2013 Chiller Theatre show will continue…
Celebrities of the Fall 2013 Hollywood Show will continue…
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