Something For The Ladies!

 

March is woman’s history month here in the United States, it’s also the birth month of original Bond Girl Ursula Andress (March 19), so as the month draws to a close I thought I’d recognize this special woman as well as do a little something for the ladies.

 

What can you say about Ursula Andress?

Besides va va voom!

This woman ushered in the Bond Girl phenomenon, she was the archetype for all those who came after. 

At least until now. Those bedroom eyes are more about going to sleep than going to “bed.”

 

At any rate, she set the world aflame when she emerged from the Caribbean breakers in her white bikini:

A scene which has been emulated on more than one occasion in Bond history.

Sexy!

Oops!

This is a woman who dated James Dean and when asked why she posed nude for Playboy magazine replied, “Because I’m beautiful.” This is a woman who personifies the confident, unapologetic, worldly woman for whom the Bond franchise had become known.

Until recently.

 

In sad woman’s history news, this month we lost Nikki van der Zyl (March 6). You may not have heard of Nikki, but if you’re a classic Bond fan you’ve definitely heard from her. Van der Zyl dubbed almost every Bond girl in the Connery era, from Ursula Andress and Eunice Gayson (Silvia Trench) in Dr. No, golden girl Shirley Eaton in Goldfinger, Claudine Auger (Domino) in Thunderball to Mie Hama (Kissy Suzuki) in You Only Live Twice. So I raise a glass to you Ms. Van der Zyl for all the joy you’ve brought to Bond fans around the world and through the ages!

Cheers!

 

Names are for tombstones, baby! As well as for testimonials.

In more sad news, Yaphet Kotto who gave life to Dr. Kananga in Live And Let Die passed away March 15th. I loved Kotto’s cool calculated performance as Kananga and his streetwise thuggery as Mr. Big. My one complaint would be Kananga’s decent into mad silliness during the film’s climax as it’s a hard and unexplained shift in the character, but that’s just me.

What do I know.

 

Kotto has also made impacts in his long and illustrious career in films like Alien, The Running Man, Homicide: Life on the Street and a personal favorite, Midnight Run. So I raise another glass you you sir!

Cheers, Mr. Kotto your talent will truly be missed!

 

And finally to end on a high note, as promised earlier, a little something for all you ladies. March also marks the birthday of Mr. Timothy Dalton (March 21st).

You’re welcome ladies 😉

Dalton the the most underrated of the Bonds turned 75 years young this month. Dalton brought a harder edge to the character, which had it not occurred right after the much softer Moore, wouldn’t have been such a dramatic shift and more widely acclaimed. Something the Craig boys want to claim but after Casino Royale that fallacy fell apart.

Pictured: A hard edged super spy.

Dalton is also a Manchester City Football Club supporter as was my late granddad so he’s got that going for him in my book, happy birthday sir!

  7 comments for “Something For The Ladies!

  1. I never knew that Nikki van der Zyl was behind so many voices. She made an amazing contribution to the Bond movies.
    Yes, sad news about about Yaphet Kotto. A fine and memorable villain in, for me, one of the most memorable Bond movies. I didn’t notice a descent into silliness for his character – my interpretation was that he was just gleeful at Bond’s misfortune.

    • Hello Gareth, thank you for the comment. Perhaps it’s just me, but once Bond is captured in Kananga’s lair during the film’s climax Kotto’s performance suddenly becomes a bit more animated compared to his earlier interpretation, which comes out of nowhere and is a bit jarring, but again that’s just how I see it.

      • I think its possible that by the end, Kananga’s starting to lose his marbles a little bit as his plans unravel. Conversely, it could also be his overconfidence kicking in.

  2. Hate to be a pedant, but you skipped Maryam d’Abo (TLD) in the main picture. I understand the need for a nice even 20, but surely we could have dumped Eva Green instead.

    But seriously, it is quite sad that as time marches on, the Bond family is losing more and more members. Yaphet Kotto was a king. Dr. Kananga is definitely in my top 5 Bond villains.

    • I have a confession Rog, I pull a lot of my photos off Google images and that’s just how I found it. I’ll improve it as you suggest.

  3. One interesting fact about Yaphet Kotto that I only found out from his obituaries is that he was once considered for the role of Jean-Luc Picard before it eventually went to Patrick Stewart. Star Trek history could have been very different.

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