Another one of my TV gals has passed. Emma Peel. She wasn’t the first co-lead in the show- that was the actress Honor Blackman. But, Emma Peel and John Steed made ‘The Avengers’ part of the must-see TV of the 1960’s. The Twilight Zone, Peter Gunn, Mr. Lucky, 77 Sunset Strip, and The Avengers completed the bill.
I wrote some three years ago when Edie Hart (of Peter Gunn) died. Now, the next heart-stealer (this one was deemed the “sexiest TV star of all time; note- she was beloved by both genders) has passed away the day after my birthday, at the age of 82.
Of course, her real name was Diana Rigg. Before she succumbed to TV, she was a Shakespearean actress. (She was awarded a Tony, too!) But, when Rigg was transformed into Emma Peel, well!
Emma was not only a stunning woman, she wrote treatises on thermonuclear physics, was a fencer par excellence, and (like the independent-minded Mary Tyler Moore decades later) she lived alone in an apartment, .
We met Emma (the first appearance in the show) when John Steed (Patrick Macnee) knocked on her door- and there she was in a skintight (or tighter still) catsuit, auburn hair, and a fencing foil at the ready. And, the two engage in a duel within moments.
Once we met, Emma, her habitual cue to appear was Sneed’s clarion call, “Mrs. Peel, we’re needed”. And, she was the one to deal with villains (a gun, karate, whatever), and when not in her sports car, she scooted around with Steed behind. Her tenure was short- while The Avengers lasted 8 years, Emma Peel only appeared in 51 episodes.
From TV, she moved to film. (Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg even appeared in a James Bond movie- the only one starring George Lazenby as the suave James Bond. She married him but was killed off!) And, then, she returned to the stage. That’s when she won the Tony for her role in Medea (appearing in both the London and Manhattan productions). She was also awarded an Emmy for her performance in the TV miniseries “Rebecca”.
My children (and probably most of you) know Diana Rigg for her performances in the “Game of Thrones” as Lady Olenna Tyrell. But, I will always remember her as Countess Tracy di Vicenzo in the James Bond (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service) and Emma Peel.
Oh, yeah. You know how the writers came up with her name for “The Avengers”? They wanted someone with ‘male appeal’. (Get it? M appeal?)
I remember her originally from the Avengers. She was always a class act and as you’ve pointed out she was known to many people across the years. An inspiring actor.
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Yes- and, as Alana reminded me, she was ‘knighted’- DAME Diana Rigg!
I mourned the passing of Dame Diana Rigg earlier in September, – it seems like every day, another familiar name passes on. Music, acting, sports – everywhere.
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You’re right, Alana. I forgot she got the appellation!
She was an amazing actress!! May she rest in peace!
I’m with you, Brenda!
A beautiful and amazing actress.
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I second that emotion.