Pamela Salem, Miss Moneypenny in James Bond Film “Never Say Never Again”, Dead at 80
The veteran actress also had guest appearances on series like ‘E.R.,’ ‘The West Wing’ and ‘Party of Five’
Shutterstock Pamela Salem in 2005
Pamela Salem, the actress who played Miss Moneypenny in the 1983 James Bond film Never Say Never Again, has died. She was 80.
Big Finish Productions, an audiobook and podcast company with whom Salem worked, confirmed the news of her death on its website.
Salem “was such great company, always smiling, with so much enthusiasm for the small things in life that bring us all joy, like walking your dog along the beach,” director Ken Bentley, who worked with her on the Doctor Who audio series Counter-Measures said in a statement.
“She had many gifts but her superpower was her ability to single-handedly restore your faith in human nature,” he added.
Masheter Movie Archive / Alamy Sean Connery and Pamela Salem in ‘Never Say Never Again’
Born in India in 1944, Salem attended Heidelberg University in Germany and the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, according to Big Finish.
She worked in theater before getting her start on TV series in the 1970s, including a stint on sci-fi favorite Doctor Who. In 1978, she costarred with Sean Connery in The Great Train Robbery. He then recommended her for the role of Miss Moneypenny, the secretary of the head of MI6, in Never Say Never Again.
“When he saw that I was one of the many people up for the part he personally suggested me to the right people, which was very nice,” she told Double-O-Seven Magazine, a James Bond fan publication, in 1984.
According to Big Finish, she moved to Los Angeles in the 1990s, and then to Miami. She had guest-starring roles on series including E.R., The West Wing and Party of Five.
ITV/Shutterstock Pamela Salem in the TV series ‘Jason King’
Salem also appeared with Ian McKellen, Lyn Redgrave and Brendan Fraser in Gods & Monsters, the acclaimed 1998 drama about the final days of Frankenstein director James Whale.
She also produced radio and theater productions with her husband, the actor Michael O’Hagan, who died in 2017.
In the later part of her career, Salem frequently worked with Big Finish on several audio series, reprising her Doctor Who character of Professor Rachel Jensen in Counter-Measures.
United Artists/courtesy Everett Collection Pamela Salem and Sean Connery in ‘The Great Train Robbery’
“Pamela Salem was lovely, and we all loved her,” her producer, David Richardson, said in a statement. “Whenever there was a Big Finish recording for her, she’d fly in from Miami on her own steam, without fuss or fanfare, and appear at the studio armed with the warmest smiles, the biggest hugs and often presents.”
“She was a very gentle person – always interested in everyone, from her co-stars to the production team to the guest actors and visitors. She talked with joy about her home on Miami Beach, waking up to warmth and waves, and she knew all about our lives and families and life stories,” he continued.
Read the original article on People.