As to the first place I probably ever saw Honor Blackman, it was also the first movie I can remember watching all the way through, Jason and the Argonauts (1963). In the movie, Honor Blackman played the goddess Hera, who plays a game of wits against her husband Zeus (Peter Ustinov) with regard to the hero Jason (Todd Armstrong, dubbed by Tim Turner). Honor Blackman impressed me as a four-year-old in the role and she impresses me still. While others have played the role of Hera, when I picture her in my head it is still Honor Blackman I see.
While I have fond memories of Jason and the Argonauts (1963) from my childhood, I also have fond memories of Goldfinger (1964). Even as a kid I was a big fan of spy dramas, having watched shows like The Avengers and The Man From U.N.C.L.E., so I was naturally drawn to the James Bond movies. As a kid, my favourite was Goldfinger, in part because of Honor Blackman. It was Honor Blackman's talent that made Pussy Galore one of the coolest women in a Bond movie ever. She was smart. She could fight. She could fly a plane. Although I didn't realise it at the time, in many respects Pussy Galore was Cathy Gale transplanted from The Avengers to a James Bond movie.
As a kid, I also remember Honor Blackman in the Columbo episode "Dagger of the Mind." In the episode, she plays Lillian Stanhope, one half of a Shakespearean acting duo with Nicholas Frame (Richard Basehart). 'Dagger of the Mind" is one of the weakest Columbo episodes and has more than its share of flaws, but I do enjoy Honor Blackman and Richard Basehart as Lillian Stanhope and Nicholas Frame. I will admit that they were over the top, but it seems fitting given they are actors who are apparently always acting and are both off their trolleys.
I wouldn't see A Night to Remember (1958) until I was a teen or a young adult, but I was impressed with Honor Blackman as Mrs. Liz Lucas in the film. It is not a big part, but Honor Blackman does well with it, playing a passenger on the Titanic who does not want to leave her husband when the ship is sinking. Honor Blackman plays the part well, and grants Liz Lucas the sort of dignity one might expect of an upper-crust British woman of the time.
I would be an adult when I first saw the second and third series of The Avengers, and while Mrs. Emma Peel (Diana Rigg) remains my favourite of John Steed's partners, I have adored Mrs. Cathy Gale ever since I first saw her. Indeed, there would not be an Emma Peel without Cathy Gale. There also wouldn't have been a Honey West of the TV show of the same name. While Honey West was based on the novels by Gloria and Forest Fickling, the television version of Honey was inspired by Cathy Gale on The Avengers. Quite simply, Cathy Gale was the first female action hero in the history of either British or American television. She held a doctorate in archaeology, was an expert photographer, and was skilled in both the use of firearms and the martial art of judo. Cathy Gale would prove enormously popular with audiences, and it would be her partnership with John Steed that would make The Avengers a success.
I have no doubt that this was because of Honor Blackman's enormous talent. She was entirely convincing in the role. She endowed Cathy with intelligence, class, and charm. She made it fully believable for Cathy Gale to be at home serving tea or fencing. When Honor Blackman died five years ago, in the United Kingdom it was always the role of Cathy Gale that was cited in the headlines and ledes of new stories, and it was with good reason. She was remarkable in the role.
Of course, Honor Blackman played many more roles throughout her career. She appeared in movies from The Secret of My Success (1965) to To the Devil a Daughter (1976) to Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) and TV shows from Danger Man to The Saint to Midsomer Murders. Honor Blackman had an enormous talent and could play a wide array of roles. She was Cathy Gales, Pussy Galore, and Hera, but she was also so much more.
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