LONDON–Diana Rigg, a commanding British actress whose career stretched from iconic 1960s spy series “The Avengers” to fantasy juggernaut “Game of Thrones,” died here Sept. 10. She was 82.Her daughter Rachael Stirling said she died of cancer that was diagnosed in March.
Rigg “spent her last months joyfully reflecting on her Rigg starred in “The Avengers” as secret agent Emma Peel alongside Patrick Macnee’s bowler-hatted John Steed. The pair were an impeccably dressed duo who fought villains and traded quips in a show whose mix of adventure and humor was enduringly influential.
MSTies will recall that she was mentioned in a host segment in episode 909- GORGO.
) to help our users cope with "trolls" and other commenters whom they find annoying. Go to our
Millions of formerly young men’s hearts are broken. RIP
For anyone who was ever bad-film indoctrinated to giggle over Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman (thankfully not by You-Know-Who yet)…you MUST watch Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg ace the glorious original.
Sean Connery in a teddy-bear suit will seem mild compared to the genuine tongue-in-cheek adventures.
Ditto for all the formerly young women who wanted to grow up to be just like Emma Peel. Plus, Rigg was host on Mystery! which was such a very, very cool show. I was glad to read that her last months were as happy and “full of love and laughter” – I think she earned that.
“MSTies will recall that she was mentioned in a host segment in episode 909- GORGO.”
I think it would be more accurate to say that we might recall things like that…
Here’s one of them, right here. I was SO in love with Emma Peel back when I was in high school. Alas, she didn’t know I existed . . . The Avengers is one of the greatest shows of all time. Intelligent, witty, well-written & acted.
OMG, I’m going to be staring longingly at that picture of Diana Rigg all day long . . .
We could only dream of being that cool. I remember playing the video game No One Lives Forever (2000) that everyone knew was modeled on Emma Peel. RIP
YouTube has that great Avengers theme song–https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeK3Lkd_XL4 This particular opening captures the amazing chemistry Patrick McNee and Diana Rigg had.
But, all things must end, as when Rigg left the series, in the episode that introduced Linda Thorson’s Tara King:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lt_BCLtLZfw :(
I was in junior high when I first started watching The Avengers, and had kind of a crush on her. Besides being blessed with great beauty, she also had charm and grace, and was clearly very intelligent. Her character was cool-headed and capable, and wasn’t just used as a love interest.
That is it, right there. Emma Peel was beyond cool–she had brains and wit and charm, and she was an equal partner to the hero. She was not anything like the usual heroine on American TV in those days. She was beautiful and sexy, but she was presented as so much more than that. I think it says a lot that we adolescent males still all fell so desperately in love with Emma Peel, despite the fact that it was obvious that she was ‘way smarter than us and could kick our ass, besides.
Loved The Avengers as a kid.
Honor Blackman was even more of a badass on The Avengers and she also passed on this year. Diana Rigg was the best actress to be a “Bond Girl.” And she had a very memorable cameo in the Daniel Radcliffe episode of “Extras.” So many Great Old Ones leaving us behind these days.
It was so nice to see her go out in a blaze of badass…Olenna Tyrell’s last scene was one of the last good things on GoT. Except that Ms. Rigg wasn’t done; seven more roles after Game of Thrones, imdb says she’s still got two films in post-production.
Charlotte Rampling is the only one who comes near her: uniquely gorgeous, self-assured, and successfully made the transition from Hot Hot Hot to Respected Elder. Other than a few flashes of skin and dialog in The Hospital, Diana Rigg never worked NSFW (I’ll take correction on this), and Charlotte Rampling certainly did. On the other hand, Diana never got an Oscar nom, and Charlotte did.
The most minor of MST connections: in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, she played Tracy, the only woman James Bond ever married. That was the Bond with George Lazenby, whom we all enjoyed watching so much as Mallory in Master Ninja II.
I have my first Wife to thank for introducing me to The Avengers. We would watch it late night on weekends- much like MST these days.
I loved Diana Rigg- such a great Woman. Thank you for sharing your talent Diana. RIP
In observation of the passing of Andy’s mum-in-law, the Danebury Metal Detecting Club will be performing a raised-detectors-salute in Veronica Stirling’s honor and to wish her Godspeed this Saturday, at the new solar farm public park area, at 11:00 AM sharp. There will be a gazebo with tables to put your sale items out. I still have a few copies of my published button book, I believe. And of course there will be plenty of hot dogs and fresh lemonade.
We will send Veronica off properly in a way the DMDC can uniquely provide.
– Terry Seymour
The plots were a little convoluted for me when I was young, but there was no mistaking the chemistry between Dianna Rigg and Patrick McNee. They were just…..fun.