Martine Beswick

Martine Beswick

Beswick with Franco Franchi in Ultimo tango a Zagarol (1973)
Born (1941-09-26) 26 September 1941
Port Antonio, Jamaica
Occupation Actress, model
Years active 1962-1995
Spouse(s) John Richardson (m. 1967; div. 1973)

Martine Beswick (born 26 September 1941) is an English actress and model, best known for her roles in two James Bond films.

Early years

Beswick was born on 26 September 1941 in Port Antonio, Jamaica[1] to a British father and a Portuguese mother.[2]

Beswick, her sister and her mother moved to London, England, in 1954. In 1955, she left high school in order to work to help support her family.[1]

Film

Beswick is best known for her two appearances in the James Bond film series. Although she auditioned for the first Bond film Dr. No, she was cast in the second film From Russia with Love as the fiery gypsy girl, Zora. She engaged in the famous "catfight" scene with her rival Vida (played by former Miss Israel Aliza Gur). She was incorrectly billed as "Martin Beswick" in the title sequence.[3] Beswick then appeared as the ill-fated Paula Caplan in Thunderball.[4] She had been away from the Caribbean so long that she was required to sunbathe constantly for two weeks before filming, in order to look like a local.

Martine went on to appear in One Million Years B.C. opposite Raquel Welch, with whom she also engaged in a catfight. She then appeared in various Hammer Studio low-budget films, most notably Prehistoric Women and the gender-bending Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde, in which she played the titular villainess. She played Adelita in the well-regarded Spaghetti Western, A Bullet for the General in 1967 opposite Klaus Kinski and Gian Maria Volontè. She starred as the Queen of Evil in Oliver Stone's 1974 directorial debut Seizure, aka Queen of Evil. In the 1970s, Beswick moved to Hollywood and regularly appeared on both the big screen and small screen. She made numerous guest appearances in television series including Sledge Hammer!, Fantasy Island, The Fall Guy, Mannix, The Six Million Dollar Man, and Falcon Crest. In 1980, she played the lead role in the comedy film The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood.

Beswick's career was active well into the 1990s. In recent years, she has mainly participated in film documentaries, providing commentary and relating her experiences on the many films she has appeared in. She owned a removals business in London, but is now semi-retired except for her guest appearances at international Bond conventions.

In April 2013 she was one of 12 Bond Girl celebrity guests in an episode of the BBC's Masterchef.

Beginning with Melvin and Howard in 1980, she changed the spelling of her last name to "Beswicke," but reverted to her original name in the mid-'90s; her last credit with the longer spelling is Wide Sargasso Sea in 1993.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role
1963 From Russia with Love Zora
1964 Saturday Night Out Barmaid
1965 Thunderball Paula Caplan
1966 One Million Years B.C. Numpond
1967 John the Bastard Dona Antonia
1967 Prehistoric Women Queen Kari
1967 The Penthouse Harry
1967 A Bullet for the General Adelita
1971 Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde Sister Hyde
1973 Ultimo tango a Zagarol The girl
1974 Seizure Queen of Evil
1976 Short Ends
1978 Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell Red Haired Lady
1980 The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood Xaviera Hollander
1980 Melvin and Howard Realty Agent
1987 Cyclone Waters
1987 From a Whisper to a Scream Katherine White
1990 Miami Blues Waitress
1990 Evil Spirits Vanya
1991 Critters 4 Angela (voice role)
1991 Trancers II Nurse Trotter
1992 Life on the Edge Linda James
1993 Wide Sargasso Sea Aunt Cora
1995 Night of the Scarecrow Barbara

Television

Year Title
1965 Danger Man
1967 The Solarnauts
1969 It Takes a Thief
1970 Mannix
1971 Longstreet
1975 Strange New World
1975 Switch
1976 City of Angels
1976 The Six Million Dollar Man
1977 Baretta
1977 Aspen
1980 Hart to Hart
1981 Quincy, M.E.
1982 The Fall Guy
1983 The Powers of Matthew Star
1984 Fantasy Island
1984 Days of Our Lives
1985 Cover Up
1985 Falcon Crest
1987 Sledge Hammer!

References

  1. 1 2 Lisanti, Tom; Paul, Louis (2002). Film Fatales: Women in Espionage Films and Television, 1962-1973. McFarland. pp. 60+61. ISBN 9780786411948. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  2. ↑ Cotter, Robert Michael Bobb (2013). The Women of Hammer Horror: A Biographical Dictionary and Filmography. McFarland. pp. 23–25. ISBN 9781476602011. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  3. ↑ Duncan, Paul (2012). The James Bond Archives: Fifty Years of Bond, James Bond (40th ed.). Köln: Taschen. ISBN 978-3836521055.
  4. ↑ CORK, JOHN (January 1, 2007). JAMES BOND ENCYCLOPEDIA. DORLING KINDERSLEY. p. 138. ISBN 1405334274.
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