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The world is a lesser place for the passing of Dame Diana Rigg. This year has been just heartbreaking. Rest in Peace Mrs. Peel, Contessa Tracy, et al. We will miss you.
"For thee the poet of beguilement sings."
I was just thinking about her yesterday, quite a bit, actually, I was reading her filmography because I wanted to watch her in more things than just the obvious things that I've seen, OHMSS, Avengers, GOT. I felt bad about it, now more so than ever.
I still remember the first time I ever saw Dame Diana Rigg. Back in the mid-90s, when I was like 15-16 (about the same time I became a Bond fan, but still fifteen years before I saw Diana in OHMSS or anything else), my dad introduced me to the Cadfael TV series, (a great show based on the mystery novels, starring Derek Jacobi as the titular character, a 12th century Benedictine monk who solves mysteries..anyway) and Diana hosted the episodes on Mystery! on PBS. She was already in her mid-50s then and even young me found her quite beautiful. The other thing that struck me about her initially was her accent, speaking as an American delighted by Brits, she has my very favorite English accent ever.
I finally saw On Her Majesty's Secret Service about a decade ago and it was an eye-opener, so wonderful. And the element of the film I love the most is Diana's strong, intelligent, quick-witted, badass driver (man, no wonder Bond loved her) Contessa Teresa di Vincenzo. This was the first time I saw Diana when she was younger, and I was bowled over by her beauty and talent. Tracy is my favorite Bond Girl of them all, but she transcends that common label to something greater, something all her own. Bond's equal, Bond's savior, Bond's wife. Though I love Tracy in Ian Fleming's original novel too, I much prefer the Diana's Tracy, partly because there's more of her in this version of the story to enjoy, but mainly because of the indomitable spirit that Diana imbued the character with.
Some time after that, out of curiosity, I checked out some episodes of The Avengers and was delighted with her iconic character Emma Peel. The feel of the show, the outfits she wears, all of it screams the swinging '60s. I will definitely be returning to the show.
Of course I was a huge Game of Thrones fan (I suppose I still am) and Olenna Tyrell is one of my top five favorite characters on the show (in case you're curious, my whole top five is: 5. Tyion Lannister 4. Olenna Tyrell 3. Daenerys Targaryen 2. Jon Snow 1. Arya Stark). Few if any are as sharp and witty as Diana, as Emma, Tracy and Olenna are all intelligent women not to be trifled with. Talk about perfect casting as the Queen of Thorns.
And there's so much more. I can't wait to dig deeper. Diana Rigg got to play three iconic, beloved women throughout her long career, as well as being a member of The Royal Shakespeare Company (so sad that I can't watch any of her performances) and she was an immense talent of stage and screen, wherever she did. And she was and endlessly delightful, fascinating, funny, feisty all on her own. One. Great. Dame.
We have all the time in the world.
Actress Dana Delany posted this on twitter today:
For a girl in the 1960’s, Diana Rigg was the embodiment of power and allure. To see her on stage in Medea 30 years later was sheer terror. And the icing was Game of Thrones. She outplayed them all. A great grand actor.
Of course, Dame Diana Rigg was more than just Emma Peel – or Tracy for that matter. She was an immensely talented and versatile actress (think of “The Great Muppet Caper’) And I’m especially happy that many younger people got to appreciate her as Lady Tyrell in “Game of Thrones.” Yet despite the vast variety of her roles, she always radiated a sense of wit and intelligence – that was all Diana Rigg.
RIP. Dame Diana Rigg.
And thanks.
That’s terrific.
And also my sincerest condolences to Daniel for losing his father.
We had gone a long time without losing any Bond leading ladies and now Claudine Auger, Honor Blackman, and Diana Rigg have left us in a span of less than 9 months.
Bad year for Bond girls. Just last year all the Bond girls were still with us. But this year we lost 3 main Bond girls - Domino, Pussy, and now Tracy.
YOUTUBE LINK
Link didn’t work, my fellow Coloradan.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https://www.dccomics.com/blog/2016/06/08/batman-66-meets-steed-and-mrs-peel-ian-edginton-and-matthew-dow-smith-unite-two-tv&psig=AOvVaw35rFz9Syfpsyj1YVt1beWL&ust=1599850021517000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCJi4yvqf3-sCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD
Fixed. Try now.
So beautiful and charming.
She was amazing in OHMSS. A wonderful actress and so beautiful!
But to say she was superb in OHMSS would almost be an insult--she was superb in everything. Throughout her full life she gave every role the gift of herself. Many of her roles have been mentioned, so I will highlight her performance as Regan in the TV production of King Lear, starring Laurence Olivier. Playing an evil daughter, Rigg uses her customary classiness and cut-glass pronunciation to embody a monster of iciness and sociopathy. It's almost shocking to realize the same woman played the warm and heroic Tracy. That's what great acting can do.
George Lazenby just released a statement on instagram expressing his sorrow at her loss.Says that the story of them not getting along during filming of OHMSS was just the media making up stories.