A Miss Moneypenny, 'er gone
BBC News' home page piqued my interest this morning as it teased (right): Miss Moneypenny actress Pamela Salem dies aged 80
. Wowzers! There are a lot of Bond films that I have only passing familiarity with—all of Pierce Brosnan's for a start—so I was curious to know which among the pantheon the late Ms Salem had graced with her secretarial thesping.
I didn't have to look too far for enlightenment, as the opening paragraph gave the game away.
Pamela Salem, who is best known for appearing in James Bond film Never Say Never Again, has died aged 80. She played the secretary Miss Moneypenny in the unofficial 007 film, starring alongside Sean Connery.
Annabel Rackham, culture reporter, BBC News
Never Say Never Again is definitely something starring Sean Connery in the role of James Bond, and there was undoubtedly a scene involving Miss Moneypenny, not that I remember it. But the film overall is so bloody awful that I bailed before the end, although that's unrelated to her role per se. In Doctor Who, she appeared alongside Sylvester McCoy, the doctor who—no pun intended—terminated the original classic run. I'm not suggesting she was responsible for the outcome in either case, simply noting an unfortunate coincidence.
Nevertheless, if she makes an appearance during the Oscars' In Memoriam tribute, it could sound its death knell. Pun intended.
If you believe Metacritic's aggregate review scores, Never Say Never Again comes in tied at number 6 on the ranking of the twenty seven Bond films to date, with a metascore of 68. There's no accounting for taste. (shrug)