1964

TV Times, 3 January, page 13, Viewerpoint, Letters Page, England.
Honor Bright.
  HONOR BLACKMAN'S performance in The Avengers episode, "Don't Look Behind You," was electrifying and one I will remember for a long time.  Miss Blackman deserves a Television Oscar for it.  (MISS) L. HARRISON, Hanstead, Birmingham, 22A.

Daily Mirror, 4 January, page 13, Hold That Tiger, Unknown, England.
Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman) locked in a tiger’s cage… John Steed (Patrick Macnee) fighting a big-game hunter against a "back-drop" of wild animals… These are some of the ingredients of tonight’s "Avengers" story on ITV. Setting is a private zoo – and pet-shop owner Clive Desmond, 33, of Colindale, London, who specialises in providing animals and birds for films and TV, was given the job of stocking the menagerie. He found a leopard, a kangaroo, two snakes, a dozen monkeys, a fruit bat and hundreds of birds, including storks and pelicans, a toucan and a macaw.

Daily Mirror, 6 January, page 3, "At last! Avenger Cathy Gets A Kiss", Don Short, England.
It's the moment when a real tough girl becomes flesh and blood... And 14,000,000 viewers get their wish. For the girl getting a kiss from the man in the clerical collar in the picture above is TV's un-kissed sex symbol - leather-suited pistol packin' Cathy Gale. And the man is secret agent John Steed. Viewers will see it happen in this Saturday's episode of "The Avengers".
Actress Honor Blackman who plays Cathy, and actor Patrick Macnee who interprets the imperturbable John Steed, spent hours rehearsing the kiss over the weekend at the ABC studios in Teddington, Middlesex. For this was the kiss that has take thirty-three episodes to be born. Producer John Bryce had ruled that the two secret agents should never kiss. He feared it would ruin Cathy's steel-blue image.
Often Steed flirted with her... But their lips never touched. Why the kiss now? "Well, Patrick insisted on it," Bryce said yesterday. "You see Steed is disguised as a clergyman in this episode and in the plot Cathy has to save him from danger." Then he added: "The kiss may look romantic... But they aren't going to fall in love. At least I hope not."
In real life, 37-year-old Honor is happily married. She told me in between the rehearsal kisses: "Viewers will be tickled by this kiss. They'll realise that it's not serious." Patrick Macnee, who is forty-one, had the last word: "I never thought I would persuade the producer to agree to it. I've been just as impatient for this as the viewer."

Daily Mail, 6 January, page 10, First Kiss, Michael Gowers, England.
At last!  A kiss from Steed (Patrick Macnee) for Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman) leather-jacketed agent extraordinary of ABC-TV's top series The Avengers.  But, of course, only in the line of their extraordinary duty.  And, of course, only while the ever-watchful Cathy is keeping her watch on other things.  The embrace is in next Saturday's episode of the show that draws ten million fans.  Steed has to pose as a vicar... and Cathy as a girl who gets kissed.

Daily Mail, 9 January, page 1, Honor is Bond's new girl, Barry Norman, England.

Daily Mirror, 9 January, page 1, Cathy Signs Up As James Bond’s Girl, Don Short, England.
Honor Blackman has landed a £10,000 film contract - to become James Bond's new girl friend. Last night, as she pulled on her kinky boots over her black leather tights in a rehearsal for the television "Avengers" series, she said, "This is tremendous."
T
hen she said that Gale, which she plays on ITV had given her the tough-girl image vital for her new part. Honor is to star opposite Sean Connery in Ian Fleming's thriller "Goldfinger". She plays the part of Pussy Galore, lieutenant to an international gold smuggler, and pilots his plane.
"She's bad, of course, and she's tough," said Honor. "In fact, I'll be taking a lot of Cathy Gale with me. I expect that was why I was chosen for the part." Finally, of course, Pussy gets seduced by the flamboyant James Bond.
In the book Ian Fleming writes about Pussy: "She had the only violet eyes Bond had ever seen... and they looked candidly out on the world from beneath straight black brows. Her hair was worn in an untidy urchin cut. The mouth was a decisive slash of deep vermilion. Bond thought she was superb..." Said Honor: "Doesn't she sound gorgeous!"

Daily Mail, 10 January, page ?, It's her devastating blend of pin-up and ton-up, Judy Innes, England.

Daily Mirror, 10 January, pages 12 & 13, Cathy’s Husband Says ‘I don’t like leather’, John Edwards, England.

TV Times issue 428, 10 January, page 18, John Gough Column, John Gough, England.
Actress Honor Blackman will have a real wrestler as an opponent in next Saturday's The Avengers.  He is Jackie "Mr. TV" Pallo - but he doesn't appear as a wrestler, he plays a sexton.  And Honor (as Cathy Gale) tangles with him in a cemetery.  The outcome?  That I am sworn to keep secret.  But since the result is dictated by the plot I suggested to Jackie that this was one fight I could say was fixed.  "Don't use that word to me," he said with a shudder.   Attraction of the part to Jackie is that it gives him some straight acting to do as well.  It goes on a bit more but no more Avengers mentions...

Daily Mirror, 11 January, page 2, Cruelty Probe After ‘Avengers’ Zoo Chase, Jack Bell, England.

Manchester Evening News, 11 January, page 4, Avenger Steed... TV Clothes Make Him Leader Of The Beau Brummels Of The Beat Age, Anne Batt, England.

Manchester Evening News, 11 January, page 5, Max North's Telereview, ?, England. Just A First Kiss, But What A Fuss!.

Daily Mail, 15 January, page 6, The Honor Blackman Story: Part One, Honor Blackman, England.

Daily Mail, 16 January, page 1, Ko'd by Honor!, Daily Mail Reporter, England.

Daily Mail, 16 January, page 6, The Honor Blackman Story: Part Two, Honor Blackman, England.

Daily Mail, 17 January, page 6, The Honor Blackman Story: Part Three, Honor Blackman, England.

Daily Mirror, 17 January, page 11, The Rex North Column, Rex North, England.
JACKIE PALLO, TV wrestler and stunt man, accidentally knocked out by Honor Blackman, returns to work today. "I’m used to knocks, but this one hurt my pride a little," said Jackie. "It’s not the first time, mind you. I had my nose broken by a girl cousin when I was twelve. She kicked me in the face and won the bout.

TV Times issue 429, 17 January, page 6, Just Off To Judo - Like Honor, The popularity of Judo, post-Cathy Gale, Alison Frazer, England.

Daily Mail, 20 January, page 8, The Honor Blackman Story: Part Four, Honor Blackman, England.

Daily Mail, 21 January, page 6, The Honor Blackman Story: Part Five, Honor Blackman, England.

Daily Mail, 22 January, page 6, The Honor Blackman Story: Part Six, Honor Blackman, England.

TV Times issue 430, 24 January , page 22, Viewerpoint, Readers' Letters, England.
Lip Service: What a fuss there was about the fact that Cathy Gale, of The Avengers, was going to get her first kiss from John Steed.  But, oh dear!  Did that feeble clinch really deserve all that publicity?  I expected something better than this from Steed!  (MRS.) B. FORD, Inkpen, Newbury, Berks.
Says John Steed: "I'd like to meet the man who could do better than this with two gunmen breathing down his neck!"

Daily Mirror, 25 January, page 12, Author Unknown, England,  Photo-caption.
If you were playing ‘What’s My Line?’ with Annette Andre, 21, you might guess that she is an actress. But guessing her role in tonight’s "The Avengers" story (ITV) is a bit tougher. She is still an actress but an out-of-work one who takes a job in a Christmas cracker factory. In real life, Australian Annette has not had to go to such extremes. Since she arrived in Britain eighteen months ago, she has been busy appearing in a West End stage show, five TV series, and next week her first film, "This is my Street", is out."

TV Times issue 431, 31 January, page 19, John Gough gossip column, John Gough, England.
Further news of the Grand Finals of the Miss TV Times Contest which will be screened on Sunday February 9: Adam Faith will sing and compere and the judges will include Pat Phoenix of Coronation Street and The TV Times and Patrick Macnee of The Avengers.

Cine Revue issue 5, January, page 8, Ces Femmes Vetues De Cuir Sont Elles Signe D'Une Baisse De Virilite Chez Les Hommes, author unknown, France.  Honor Blackman piece.

Photoplay, Vol. 15, #2., February, pages 6,7,40, and 52, Behind The Scenes With The Avengers, Peter Wright, Great Britain

Photoplay, Vol. 15, #2., February, pages 8 and 9, Honor Blackman Chooses The Black Leather Look, Cathy Gale's leather clothing. Frederick Starke, designer, Great Britain.

Manchester Evening News, 1 February, page 5, Max North's Telereview, ?, England.
The Two Pats. While Patrick Macnee is being seen on TV as agent Steed in "The Avengers" next Saturday he will, in fact, be in Blackpool surrounded by pretty girls. With that other Pat of the top-rating shows - Pat Phoenix of "Coronation Street" - he will be helping to judge the winner of a big bathing beauty contest at the Tower Circus. The show, "Glamour All The Way", will be recorded and transmitted for 40 minutes the following afternoon. The compere and star is Adam Faith.

TV Times issue 432, 7 February, page 18, Two-wheel Gale, Honor Blackman and motorbikes, John Gough, England, One paragraph and a photo in a gossip column.

TV Times issue 432, 7 February, page 13, Viewerpoint, Readers' Letters, England.
Match for Mick:  NOW we have seen Cathy Gale wrestling with Jackie Pallo in The Avengers, would it be possible to see her tackling Mick McManus?  Expect you'll be looking for someone to replace Mrs. Gale soon.  I have the right name, but when I try Cathy's tricks on my husband, I am the one who always finishes up on the deck!  (MRS.) P. GALE, Romford, Essex.

Daily Mirror, 12 February, page 5, Ton-Up Avenger, Author Unknown, England.

TV Times issue 433, 14 February, pages 18 and 19, Avengers' Disc, The recording of 'Kinky Boots', John Gough, England.  One paragraph and a photo in a gossip column.

Manchester Evening News, 15 February, page 3, Max North's Telereview, ?, England.
HONOR TOOK LESSONS ON MOTOR-BIKE. ATHENE SEYLER as a witch and Honor Blackman as a ton-up kid are two of the choice offerings in to-night's "Avengers" story. Miss Blackman mounts a 500cc to do her share in an investigation into the goings-on of two elderly women at an old mill - in a home-made laboratory they are producing strange scents and explosions and somehow immobilising everything mechanical that gets near the mill - including the machines of a local motorcycle gang. Miss Blackman had refresher lessons in motor-cycling - she was once a courier for a blood donor service - to help in the hunt. Patrick Macnee as agent Steed does the inside work, posing as an official of the National Distrust.

TV Times issue 434, 21 February, page 22, Viewerpoint, Readers' Letters, England.
A k-night Mum dreams about!  If I could have my choice of any male television personality as an escort for an evening out I would have to decide between my two favourites.  First, there's Len Fairclough (Peter Adamson), of Coronation Street, who would give me a happy, devil-may-care evening.  But I would be torn between Len and the immaculate John Steed (Patrick Macnee), of The Avengers - he would take me to the "best places," choose the best food and wine and, oh! he so suave and well-mannered.  Instead of being a middle-aged woman with four children, I would feel like a "lady" with ten years knocked off my age!  But there, anyone can dream can't they?  Mrs. V. E. Turner, Margate, Kent.  Mrs Turner wins two guineas for this letter.

Daily Mirror, 21 February, page 11, The Rex North Column, Rex North, England.
HONOR BLACKMAN, the hard-hitting heroine of ITV’s "The Avengers" turned up at the Butlin reunion at London’s Albert Hall in a blue chiffon gown. It flattered her a great deal less than all that black leather.

Daily Mail, 22 February, page 9, Cathy Gale To Quit The Avengers Next Month, Barry Norman, England.

Daily Mirror, 22 February, page 24, Cathy Gale Hangs Up Her Boots, Don Short, England.

Fabulous, 22 February, pages 20 and 21, I Say You Fellows, Fashion spread, or advertisement, for Nighties, featuring Patrick Macnee in Steed outfit, Great Britain.

Daily Mail, 29 February, page 4, The Bowler Hatted Avenger Girl, Charles Greville, England.
HONOR BLACKMAN can fairly be credited with starting something during her time with ABC TV's The Avengers.  All that leatherwork.  But on tonight's Avengers episode - The Charmers - she has a rival.  None other than our husky-throated friend Fenella Fielding.  And I predict that Fenella may possibly start something too.  For she wears a bowler hat.  There are certain types of girls that can wear bowler hats.  They look splendid in them.  Fenella is one.  And I just quietly suspect that every girl of ambition and charm will be having a try at the bowler-hat kick this spring.  I like them, anyway.  And I suppose I am fairly representative.

Manchester Evening News, 29 February, page 3, Max North's Telereview, ?, England.
NEW PARTNER.  What will happen to "The Avengers" when it goes off the air on March 23 and Honor Blackman abandons the role of Cathy Gale for a lush film contract. The show is not disappearing for ever, says ABC programme controller Brian Tesler. It will be back early next year with a new partner for agent Steed, played as before by the smooth Mr. Patrick Macnee. Said Tesler: "During the past three years the artists and production team have been recording a show a fortnight and sometimes a show a week. now we want to give them a good rest. We shall begin work in the autumn on a new series for transmission after Christmas.

The Times, 3 March, page 6, Eton Boys Admire 'The Avengers', unknown, England, regarding a questionnaire given to Eton pupils... "...the favourite television programme was The Avengers, starring an old Etonian, Mr. Patrick Macnee (25 per cent)."

TV Times issue 436, 6 March, pages 4,5, The Gallant Steeds, David Nathan, England.  The history of the Steed family with pictures of Patrick Macnee in period costumes.

Manchester Evening News, 14 March, page 3, Max North's Telereview, ?, England.
FANTASTIC. With one more week to go of the present "Avengers" season, writers and production staff have let themselves go in even wilder flights of fantasy than usual. Steed faces a firing squad and Cathy is discovered to be the Stuart pretender to the throne, with the strong support from a major-general who is a fanatical Scottish-Nationalist. He uses his position as honorary colonel of the Highland Guards to attempt a coup d'etat when the troops take part in an army exercise whose object is to capture London. Patrick Macnee, as Steed, set out to stop the plan, and is captured by a rotund private looking very much like Roy Kinnear of "TW3". INTRIGUING. Not long ago, ABC was making rash remarks about "The Avengers" having shot down "TW3". Says Mr. Kinnear: "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em". Fenella Fielding made an intriguing and exotic sidekick for Steed in the episode that was screened on Leap Year Day and - if she was willing and ABC could afford her fee - should fill the role admirably again. Clearly the part calls for someone with a distinct personality, a taste for the offbeat and a style very different from Honor Blackman's. Who could deny that Miss Fielding fits all these conditions. She is also a lot of fun.

Daily Mail, 16 March, page 9, It's the end for Cathy on Saturday, Daily Mail Reporter, England.

Manchester Evening News, 21 March, page 3, Max North's Telereview: Exit Honor with honour, ?, England.

Daily Mail, 21 March, page 8, On the day he becomes the LONE AVENGER, Barry Norman, England.

Daily Sketch, 26 March, page 11, Close range... 007 and Pussy Galore & Meanwhile, The Avengers' Mr. Steed is active!, Kenneth Passingham, England.

Psychology, May, pages 1 and unknown, title unknown, author unknown, England.

TV Times issue 444, 1 May, page 19, Change For Patrick Macnee, Patrick Macnee receives Silver medal for outstanding contribution to TV, England, One paragraph in a gossip column

TV Times issue 452, 26 June, pages 26 and 40, Honor Bright It's Cathy Again, Overview of the Cathy Gale years for The 'Best Of The Avengers' repeat season, W.O. Court, England.

Rediffusion and TV Guide, 31 July, pages 1 & 4, The Adventurer Turns Avenger - Patrick Macnee, author unknown, Malta. Note: This piece is reprinted from TV Times April 21, 1961, although that version of it is entitled 'The Restless Avenger'.

Daily Mail, 16 September, page ?, OO7: James Bond Film Is Larger Than Life... And Death, Review of Goldfinger that mentions The Avengers - but not much, Cecil Wilson, England.
...This time, however, he has no less a leading lady than Honor Blackman, the radiant leather-bound judo girl of The Avengers

TV Times, 24 September 1964, page 1, title unknown, author unknown, England.  Emergency edition without any listings.

Daily Mail, 8 October, page 3, T. V. By Julian Holland, Honor Blackman's election broadcast for the Liberal Party on October 9th 1964, Julian Holland, England
Relevant section of text reads:
'I love co-ownership in industry', began Honor Blackman - and we all fell about on the floor, hooting and roaring at such an ingenuous statement from the original of those crypto-Fascist dolls, Cathy Gale and Pussy Galore

Daily Mail, 8 October, page 15, Like It Or Not Wrestling Is Here To Stay, Honor Blackman's penchant for wrestling (small aside in larger piece), England, Piece does not mention Avengers, but is accompanied by a photo: "On the set of The Avengers - wrestler Jackie Pallo, Judo enthusiast Honor Blackman"

The Viewer, 17 October, page ?, Honor's Not So Tough, Who wears the trousers in the Blackman/Kaufmann household, England.
HONOR BLACKMAN, who becomes James Bond's latest conquest, as Pussy Galore, in Goldfinger, was talking to me about her TV role as Cathy Gale in The Avengers. "It was tremendous fun while it lasted," she said, "but I didn't want to get into a rut, and I think there was the danger of this, had I continued."... "Actually," says Maurice (Kaufmann), "being married to Honor has not proved anything like as difficult as people may imagine. We both have our careers. And in spite of all this Cathy Gale and Pussy Galore stuff, Honor has always taken care to remember that I wear the pants in our house - and we both want to keep it that way."

Daily Mail, 20 October, page 3, Steed's New Girl, Introduction of Elizabeth Shepherd, with photo, Douglas Marlborough, England
A MISSIONARY'S daughter has been chosen to replace Cathy Gale, the leather-clad judo expert with kinky boots in A.B.C. TV's popular series, The Avengers. She is Elizabeth Shepherd, 28. Like Honor Blackman, who created the part, she has honey-blonde hair. Unlike Miss Blackman, she will not wear leather suits or be a judo expert. And she will not be called Cathy. What she will be like we will find out later. Producer Julian Wintle said: "She has terrific personality and good looks - all the ingredients for the series."
Miss Shepherd, who has a BA, appeared as a secret agent on ABC in July in Time Out of Mind. She studied classical Shakespearean and modern drama at Bristol University. She has met her Avengers co-star, Patrick Macnee, who plays John Steed, special agent extraodinary. The Avengers deal, worth thousands of pounds to her, was clinched a few days ago - before Miss Shepherd started a holiday in Naples. She returns to London next week and next month starts work on the series. It is expected to be screened early in 1965. Mr. Macnee said last night: "Elizabeth is very beautiful. She has a cleft chin and I love cleft chins." Miss Blackman, 38, left the series in the spring to play Pussy Galore in the James Bond film Goldfinger.

The Stage and Television Today, 22 October, page unknown, SUCCESSOR TO CATHY GALE, author unknown, England.
Patrick Macnee's new partner in ABC's THE AVENGERS has at last been chosen.   She is London-born Elizabeth Shepherd.  Elizabeth Shepherd will play Mrs. Emma Peel, widow of a test pilot, and instead of tossing villains over her shoulder with a judo show she will knock them cold with a karate blow.

Daily Mail, 23 October, page 10, T. V. By Barry Norman, Comparison of Honor Blackman and Lucille Ball, Barry Norman, England, He is writing about the previous nights repeat of the episode '?'
And yet I am not being entirely fair. The evening provided an additional bonus, the chance to take a nostalgic look at Honor Blackman, alas to be seen no more in The Avengers, and to compare her with Lucille Ball. For they can be compared. What they have in common is the ability to do totally unfeminine things while remaining unmistakedly feminine. Miss Blackman can be as "Butch" as she likes: Miss Ball can, as she did last night, go to a dance on roller skates, knock waiters over and fall into the fishpond. But while doing these things they never let you forget for a moment that they are attractive and desirable women. I cannot think of any other girls on TV, with the exception of Millicent Martin, of whom one could say the same.

Whisper, November, pages 24,25,50, How Honor Blackman Became TV's Most Sadistic Blonde, Percival Archbold, USA.

TV Times issue 471, 5 November, page 20, No title, Item on Elizabeth Shepherd, John Gough, England, One paragraph in a gossip column.

Daily Mail, 20 November, page 3, T. V.: Lament For S. W. A. L. K. By Monica Furlong, Repeat of 'Bullseye' episode, 7.30pm the day before, Monica Furlong, England, Part of larger column
Eating a kipper with one hand and twiddling the knobs with the other last night I happened upon Miss Honor Blackman apparently at a board meeting, and clothed all in leather, as the nursery rhyme has it. Is this what the well-dressed female executive is now wearing, and if so, doesn't she get a bit over-heated, what with the central heating and tossing the managing director around the mahogany? So what does she do then? Do her best friends dare to tell her? Does she bath with Breeze? Clean her teeth with Colgate? Bind up the boss's wounds with the plaster that lets the wound breathe? Have a man's drink? Light a cigarette as cool as a mountain stream? What a full, rich life it is in television, to be sure.

Rediffusion and TV Guide, 27 November, pages 1,4 & 5, Cathy's Leather Fashion, author unknown, Malta. This is a partial reprint of a piece from the TV Times 1 November, 1963.

TV Times, 3 December, Tivvy Column, author unknown, England.  Note: aimed at children.
...Then we hurried home, in time to see The Avengers.  I like watching John Steed.  He never falls over and bumps his head.  Perhaps if I had a bowler hat like his, it wouldn't hurt at all.

Daily Mail, 10 December, page 3, £30 000 For The Unusual Miss Mulberry By Douglas Marlborough, Unmade (?) Diana Dors series gets compared to The Avengers, Douglas Marlborough, England
Blonde Diana Dors was named last night as television's new Avengers-style heroine... It could be that the Unusual Miss Mulberry will fill the TV heroine gap left by the departure of Cathy Gale, leather-clad secret agent in ABC-TV's The Avengers... Miss Dors said 'It will be the opposite to Cathy Gale. I just don't see myself as a Cathy Gale....

Daily Mail, 15 December, page 3, Tougher Than Cathy, This New Avenger, The introduction of Diana Rigg as the new partner for Patrick Macnee, Hilton Tims, England.
CATHY GALE could throw a man with a flick of the wrist. But even she wouldn't stand a chance against the girl who is taking her place in ITV's The Avengers. Diana Rigg, 26-year old Shakespearean actress, starts work today as successor to Cathy, the judo girl made famous by Honor Blackman. Brian Clemens, associate producer of the new series, sums her up like this: "Tougher than Cathy. She moves like a boxer." Her co-star, Patrick Macnee, said: "I'm glad she's on my side." Programme chiefs considered doing away with the Cathy Gale Amazon image, but thought better of it.
So as well as brushing up her lines, Yorkshire-born Miss Rigg, alias Emma Peel, has been taking judo lessons. But, despite the judo, Emma Peel will not be a carbon-copy Cathy. There will be more comedy in the programme and more way-out fashion ideas. The show will be aimed at the American market but without any concessions to American styles. Miss Rigg, 5ft. 8 1/2in. tall and auburn haired, said: "After five years with the Royal Shakespeare Company I want a change. I shall be playing the part in my own way. I am not remotely like Honor Blackman as an actress or a personality."

The Sun, 15 December, page 3, The picture which made Diana Rigg the new girl in the Avengers, Revealing Diana Rigg as the new Avengers girl, England.

Castle of Frankenstein issue 7, exact date unknown, page 56, The Bizarre Avengers, ?, USA.

Unknown, Exact date unknown, Gale Force Blows Over, The difference between Mrs Gale and Pussy Galore briefly explained.
ACTRESS Honor Blackman, tells me there's one reminder of her judo expert Cathy Gale Avengers role in the new film Goldfinger, which she's making with Sean Connery. "It happens," she says, "during a scene in which I try to use a judo hold on James Bond, played by Sean. But it's myself who ends up on the mat, with Sean making love to me after applying a few holds of his own. It's certainly a switch. In some fifty Avengers shows I got kissed only once, and then the script called for me to dump the man on his ear for getting fresh with me..."

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