Madeline Smith

Last updated

Madeline Smith
Born (1949-08-02) 2 August 1949 (age 75)
Hartfield, Wealden, East Sussex, England
Occupation(s)Actress, model
Years active1967–1986, 2011–present
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1975;died 1989)​
Children1

Madeline Smith (born 2 August 1949) is an English actress. After working as a model in the late 1960s, she went on to appear in many television series and stage productions, plus comedy and horror films, in the 1970s and 1980s.

Contents

She is perhaps best known for playing Bond girl Miss Caruso in Live and Let Die (1973), but also had larger roles in the Hammer horror films The Vampire Lovers (1970), Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970), Tam-Lin (1970), Theatre of Blood (1973) and Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974) and comedy films including Up Pompeii (1971), Up the Front (1972) and Carry On Matron (1972) amongst others. She also appeared in the films The Killing of Sister George (1968), Pussycat, Pussycat, I Love You (1970), The Amazing Mr. Blunden (1972) and the musical film Take Me High (1973) with Cliff Richard. [1]

After leaving the acting profession in the mid-1980s to raise her family, she returned to acting in 2011. [2]

Early life, family and education

Smith was born in Hartfield, Sussex, the only child of Robert and Ursula Smith (née Boas). [3] Her father owned an antiques shop and painting restoration business near Kew Gardens, and her Swiss mother was a translator. [2] Smith received a convent school education.

In her late teens, she held a temporary job at Biba, a boutique located on Kensington High Street, London. [4] [5] At the instigation of Barbara Hulanicki, founder of Biba, Smith became a model. [2]

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, she was regularly featured in the work of Disc cartoonist J Edward Oliver, who on one occasion devoted an entire strip to her entitled 'The Life and Habits of the Madeline Smith'. [6] [7]

Career

Smith's first screen role was a small part in the film Escalation (1968) following this with a role in The Mini-Affair (1967), although the latter was released first. Smith first worked for Hammer Film Productions in Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970), billed as 'Maddy Smith' and playing an East End prostitute. [8] Among her other film appearances, she played opposite Ava Gardner in Tam-Lin , Peter Cushing in The Vampire Lovers and Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell , Diana Dors in The Amazing Mr Blunden , Frankie Howerd in Up Pompeii and Up the Front , and Vincent Price in Theatre of Blood . [3] In 1972, Smith appeared in Carry On Matron in a scene alongside Hattie Jacques, Barbara Windsor and Joan Sims. [3]

In 1973, she played the Bond girl Miss Caruso in the post-opening titles sequence of Live and Let Die , the first James Bond film starring Roger Moore. Smith's role is therefore significant as Miss Caruso is the first Bond girl of the Roger Moore era. [9] Smith and Moore take part in a scene in which he unzips her dress with a magnetic wristwatch. She was recommended for the role by Moore himself, having previously appeared with him in an episode of the television series The Persuaders! . [10]

Smith's numerous stage credits include working with US director Charles Marowitz on Blue Comedy (Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford) and The Snob (at Marowitz's Tottenham Court Road venue the Open Space). She also acted opposite Alec Guinness in the original West End production of Alan Bennett's Habeas Corpus (playing Felicity Rumpers), supported Frankie Howerd again in the Volpone adaptation The Fly and the Fox (Churchill Theatre, Bromley), played Elma in a Cambridge Theatre Company revival of Frederick Lonsdale's Canaries Sometimes Sing , and spent two years playing the female lead in Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap at the St Martin's Theatre. [11] [12]

Her television credits include Doctor at Large (1971), The Two Ronnies (appearing in the serial 'Hampton Wick', 1971), Clochemerle (1972), His and Hers (1970) with Tim Brooke-Taylor, Casanova '73 (1973) with Leslie Phillips, Steptoe and Son (1974), The Howerd Confessions (1976), Why Didn't They Ask Evans? (1980) and The Steam Video Company (1984). She also featured in two episodes of All Creatures Great and Small, as two different characters (as Angela Farmer in "Pride of Possession" (1978) and as Anne Grantley in the 1983 Christmas special). She was a member of the regular cast of the BBC2 series The End of the Pier Show (1974) and In The Looking Glass (1978) alongside satirists John Wells and John Fortune and composer Carl Davis. [13] Smith also starred in The Passionate Pilgrim (1984) which was the final screen appearance of Eric Morecambe. [14]

After the birth of her daughter in 1984, Smith gradually wound down her career to enable her time to raise her. In 2009, Smith interviewed in, and was the cover star of, the coffee-table book Hammer Glamour. [10] She returned to acting in 2011 with an appearance in an episode of Doctors . She then followed this with a role in a docu-drama marking the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic before starring in the mini-series Dancing on the Edge (2013) and appearing in an episode of Not Going Out in 2014. In 2015 she appeared as a contestant on the red team in the BBC antiques gameshow Bargain Hunt . [15] In December 2018, she appeared in episode 4 of the Christmas series of Celebrity Mastermind with The History of Kew Gardens as her specialist subject. [16] In 2019, Smith reunited with her Up Pompeii! co-star Tim Brooke-Taylor and actors including Frazer Hines and Camille Coduri in a recorded audio play of the same name to mark 50 years of the series.[ citation needed ]

Personal life

Smith married actor David Buck in 1975; he died from cancer in 1989. [17] The couple had a daughter, Emily, born in 1984. [2]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1967 The Mini-Affair Samantha
1968 Escalation Girl on bicycleuncredited
The Killing of Sister George Nununcredited
1969 Come Back Peter Miss Beaufort-Smith
1970 Pussycat, Pussycat, I Love You Gwendolyn
Taste the Blood of Dracula Dolly
The Vampire Lovers Emma Morton
Tam-Lin Sue
1971 Up Pompeii Erotica
The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins Girl
Mr. Forbush and the Penguins Unknownscene cut
1972 Carry On Matron Mrs. Pullitt
Up the Front Fanny
The Amazing Mr Blunden Bella
1973 The Love Ban Miss Partridge
Theatre of Blood Rosemary
Live and Let Die Miss Caruso
Take Me High Vicki
1974 Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell Sarah
Percy's Progress Miss UK
1975 Galileo Young Lady
1976 The Bawdy Adventures of Tom Jones Sophia
Shadows of DoubtGirl
1977 Fern, the Red Deer Mrs. Gordon
The Quality Connection Wendy
1980 Why Didn't They Ask Evans? Moira Nicholson
1981 Late Flowering Love Girl
1984 The Passionate Pilgrim Damsel
2019 Up Pompeii! Ammonia
2020Crazy Bitch BluesAlison
Jeepers Creepers Fantasy Lovervoice
2021 The Amazing Mr. Blunden Geraldine

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1969Who-Dun-ItGwynneth EvansEpisode: "Murder Goes to School"
1969Cribbins6 episodes
1970His and HersJanet Burgess6 episodes
1970 On the House AngelaEpisode: "A Little Bit on the Side"
1970 The Adventures of Don Quick LeonieEpisode: "The Love Reflector"
1971 Doctor at Large Sue Maxwell5 episodes
1971 The Mind of Mr. J.G. Reeder Miss ClutterbuckEpisode: "The Willing Victim"
1971HinePatricia HarrisEpisode: "The Little White Lady"
1971 The Two Ronnies Henrietta Beckett8 episodes
1971 The Persuaders! Carla IEpisode: "The Long Goodbye"
1971 Jason King Jonquil2 episodes
1972 Clochemerle Hortense Girodot3 episodes
1972 ITV Sunday Night Theatre Mary ToddEpisode: "Madly in Love"
1972ThemEpisode: "#1.2"
1972Milligan in...VariousEpisode: "Milligan in Autumn"
1972 Harriet's Back in Town Diane2 episodes
1973 The Fenn Street Gang Miss BedwellEpisode: "Business Deficiency"
1973Ooh La La!JulieEpisode: "A Pig in a Poke"
1973 Casanova '73 Tessa FinlayEpisode: "#1.6"
1974 Crown Court Patricia DrakeEpisode: "Falling Stars: Part 1"
1974 Wodehouse Playhouse / Comedy Playhouse Aurelia CammerleighEpisode: "The Reverend Wooing of Archibald: Pilot"
1974 Happy Ever After Sally ThompsonEpisode: "Amateur Dramatics"
1974 Steptoe and Son CarolEpisode: "Back in Fashion"
1974-1976The End of the Pier ShowVariousAll 7 episodes
1974RoomsFran2 episodes
1975A Touch of the CasanovasTeresaTV film
1976My Brother's KeeperAngela LloydEpisode: "Tooling Up"
1976 The Howerd Confessions The NurseEpisode: "#1.3"
1976Going For A SongHerselfEpisode: 27 August
1977 Big Boy Now! Debbie LonghurstEpisode: "Mr and Mrs"
1977RomancePeggyEpisode: "The Black Knight"
1978 In the Looking Glass VariousAll 6 episodes
1978 All Creatures Great and Small Angela FarmerEpisode: "Pride of Possession"
1980FeelifaxFridgeVoice
1980 The Bagthorpe Saga Aunt Celia3 episodes
1981 Funny Man PrunellaEpisode: "Letting Go"
1982 A.J. Wentworth, B.A. Mrs. HillmanEpisode: "Founder's Day"
1982-1986 Eureka VariousAll 32 episodes
1983 All Creatures Great and Small Anne GrantleyEpisode: "1983 Special"
1984 The Steam Video Company VariousAll 6 episodes
1985 The Pickwick Papers Miss NupkinsEpisode: "#1.7"
2011 Doctors Rita PrenticeEpisode: "Whip Hand"
2012Titanic: Southampton RemembersMaud NewmanTV film
2013 Dancing on the Edge Violetta2 episodes
2014 Not Going Out Party GuestEpisode: "Christening"
2021 The Amazing Mr. Blunden GeraldineTV film

Bibliography

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References

  1. ↑ McFarlane, Brian (16 May 2016). The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth edition. Oxford University Press. ISBN   9781526111968 – via Google Books.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Power, Vicki (23 June 2018). "Where are they now? Bond Girl Madeline Smith". express.co.uk.
  3. 1 2 3 "Madeleine Smith". bfi.org.uk. British Film Institute.
  4. ↑ "James Bond star Madeline Smith - my first job - film acting". thestage.co.uk. 3 July 2018.
  5. ↑ "Madeline Smith interview". Film-News.co.uk.
  6. ↑ Haase, Holger (1 September 2010). "Madeline Smith (*August 2, 1949)". Hammer and Beyond.
  7. ↑ "recurring people". jeoliver.co.uk.
  8. ↑ "Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970)". BFI.org.uk. British Film Institute.
  9. ↑ Barnes, Alan; Hearn, Marcus (1997). Kiss Kiss Bang Bang: The Unofficial James Bond Film Companion. BT Batsford.
  10. 1 2 "Actress recalls glamour of Hammer". bbc.co.uk. BBC News. 30 October 2009.
  11. ↑ "Madeline Smith". theatricalia.com.
  12. ↑ "Bond girl Madeline Smith heads to Buxton". buxtonadvertiser.co.uk.
  13. ↑ "Madeline Smith". TV.com.
  14. ↑ "Eric Morecambe – The Passionate Pilgrim". movingimageco.com. The Moving Image Company. Archived from the original on 26 November 2013.
  15. ↑ "Bond girls through the years: what happened next to 007's 'female associates'". The Telegraph. 23 May 2018.
  16. ↑ "BBC One - Celebrity Mastermind". BBC.co.uk.
  17. ↑ Marcus Hearn, Hammer Glamour: Classic Images from the Archive of Hammer Films, Titan Books, 2009
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