Valerie Leon

Valerie Leon (born 12 November 1943) is an English actress who has had roles in a number of film and television productions, including six of the Carry On film series, appeared as a Bond girl in Never Say Never Again (1983), had parts in high profile films such as The Italian Job (1969) and The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and had a starring role in the cult horror film Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (1971).

Valerie Leon
Born (1943-11-12) 12 November 1943
Hampstead, London, England, UK
OccupationActress
Years active1967–present
Spouse(s)Michael Mills (1974–1988, his death)
Children2
Websitehttp://www.valerieleon.com/

Early life

Leon's father was a director of a textile company, and her mother, who trained at RADA, ended her acting career to become a full-time mother. Leon is the eldest of four children.

Career

Leon's career started as a trainee fashion buyer at Harrods. In April 1965, Leon went to an audition which led to her becoming a chorus girl. Leon appeared in a touring production of The Belle of New York. When the tour in Britain was cancelled after some weeks, Valerie contacted Central Casting and started to work as an extra in movies - her first film was That Riviera Touch for which she was hired as a girl in bikini. The following year, 1966, she appeared with Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London's West End.

Leon appeared in several of the Carry On films and has been a Bond girl twice: in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and Never Say Never Again (1983). Other film appearances include Revenge of the Pink Panther, The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer (as the secretary Tanya), a hotel receptionist in The Italian Job, and a callgirl in No Sex Please, We're British. The 1971 Hammer horror film Blood from the Mummy's Tomb gave Leon a dual role, as a reincarnated Egyptian queen.

On television, Leon is probably best remembered for her part as the tall buxom woman driven wild by a small, puny man wearing Hai Karate aftershave, in a successful series of commercials for the product.

Other TV credits include The Saint, Randall and Hopkirk, Up Pompeii!, The Avengers, Space: 1999, The Persuaders, Last of the Summer Wine, The Goodies episode "It Might as Well Be String", and the 1968 version of Johnny Speight's provocative comedy-drama If There Weren’t Any Blacks You’d Have To Invent Them as a nurse.

She has also made appearances on stage in the UK in her reminiscence show, "Up Front with Valerie Leon".

Personal life

Leon was married to the television comedy producer Michael Mills from 1974 until his death in 1988. The marriage produced two children: a boy, Leon, born in 1975 and a girl, Merope, born in 1977;[1]

Appearances in reference works
  • Paul, Louis (2008). "Valerie Leon". Tales From the Cult Film Trenches; Interviews with 36 Actors from Horror, Science Fiction and Exploitation Cinema. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. pp. 164–171. ISBN 978-0-7864-2994-3.

Filmography

Film
YearTitleRoleNotes
1966That Riviera TouchGirl in Bikini
1967Mister Ten Per CentGirl at Theatre Party
1967Smashing TimeTove's Secretary
1968If There Weren't Any Blacks You'd Have to Invent ThemSenior Nurse
1968Carry On... Up the KhyberHospitality Girl
1969Carry On CampingMiss Dobbin
1969The Italian JobRoyal Lancaster Hotel receptionist
1969Carry On Again DoctorDeirdre
1969Zeta OneAtropos
1970Carry On Up the JungleLeda
1970This, That and the OtherBath Girl
1970The Man Who Had Power Over WomenGlenda
1970The Rise and Rise of Michael RimmerTanya
1970All the Way UpMiss Hardwick
1971Blood from the Mummy's TombMargaret Fuchs / Queen Tera
1972Carry On MatronJane Darling
1972Carry On ChristmasServing Wench
1973No Sex Please, We're BritishSusan
1973Carry On GirlsPaula Perkins
1974Can You Keep It Up for a Week?Miss Hampton
1975The Ups and Downs of a HandymanRedhead
1976Queen KongQueen of the Nabongas
1977The Spy Who Loved MeHotel Receptionist
1978The Wild GeeseGirl Dealer
1978Revenge of the Pink PantherTanya
1980A Capital Idea
1983Never Say Never AgainLady in Bahamas
2006GasHooker / Dentist Receptionist
2006A Neutral CornerFlo
2015Golden YearsGilda Parker
2016Pitfire of HellUFO Spotter
TBAFor The Love of EllaTara

Television
gollark: > I thought it was going to break the entire filesystem and I'd have to reinstall everythingYou probably could just mount it from linux?
gollark: MacOS thing.
gollark: Look into "fbterm"?
gollark: I've seen programs for my raspberry pi do that.
gollark: I think Linux has some way to do that.

References
  1. "Official website, including biography and showreel". Valerie Leon. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
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