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Streaming Stars, Then and Now

Tall (5' 9"), svelte, adventurous young actress Linda Thorson, invariably known as the brunette dish who replaced Diana Rigg on the highly popular action series The Avengers (1961), was born Linda Robinson on June 18, 1947 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The second of four children of a math and physics teacher, she made a move to England in 1965 and initially studied dance and voice.

A teen apprentice at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, her professional career took off abruptly in another direction, away from the theatre lights, when the 20-year-old was chosen over 200 hopefuls to succeed Ms. Rigg's character Emma Peel as John Steed's (played by Patrick Macnee) new partner, female secret agent Tara King. Despite her equally luscious looks and a set of beautiful, crystal blue orbs, Linda had major boots to fill and the stay was not long or heralded. Fans and critics alike were rather unkind to Linda and the series was canceled after one season (1968-69).

Out of the limelight for much of the 1970s, with occasional film and television roles coming her way, including Valentino (1977) and The Greek Tycoon (1978), and as Vera in a television version of the Turgenev play A Month in the Country (1977) starring Susannah York. Linda eventually made the trek to America, Broadway to be exact, and went on to win a Theatre World Award for her superb performance in "Steaming" (1982). Immediately following came rave reviews for the Drama Desk Award-winning comedy farce "Noises Off". Linda was now back on her own terms. Later Broadway work would include a sexy femme fatale role in the noirish musical "City of Angels" (1989), the title role in "Zoya's Apartment" (1990) and the Circle in the Square production of "Getting Married" (1991).

As a transatlantic player working in the United States, her native Canada and in England, she went on to perform with the prestigious Royal Shakespeare and Old Vic theatre companies. By the late 1980s, she was appearing with more frequency on the big screen in such lesser-known films as Walls of Glass (1985), Sweet Liberty (1986) and The Other Sister (1999). A number of television credits also came her way, including guest work on Law & Order (1990) and St. Elsewhere (1982) and, as a regular cast member, on the daytime soap opera One Life to Live (1968) and the sitcom Marblehead Manor (1987). Although she has yet to gain the same kind of attention (and controversy) she did as a 20-year-old, her career has been consistently rewarding over the last three decades. Outstanding stage work in "Shirley Valentine" (1993), "The Sisters Rosenzweig" (1995) and "Amy's View" (2000) have added to her value as an artist.

Linda remained a vivid presence in millennium film work including Steven Seagal's crime thriller Half Past Dead (2002); the Canadian/British romance dramedy Touch of Pink (2004); the American action horror film Straight Into Darkness (2004); the American co-production action film Max Havoc: Ring of Fire (2006); and the touching Canadian romance drama The Second Time Around (2016) in which she co-starred with Stuart Margolin. On television, she was a regular in a couple of drama series (Emily of New Moon (1998) and The Hoop Life (1999)), a single season (2006-07) of the British soap opera Emmerdale Farm (1972) and, more recently, a Canadian series based on the famous teenage detective books The Hardy Boys (2020). She was also seen in a few guest roles on Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), Kung Fu: The Legend Continues (1993), F/X: The Series (1996), Law & Order (1990) and Schitt's Creek (2015).

Married four times, Linda has one son, Trevor, from her third marriage to husband actor/producer/newsman Bill Boggs). She married Canadian filmmaker Gavin Mitchell on November 20, 2005.

[on replacing <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/name/nm0001671/?ref_=nmqu_qu">Diana Rigg</a> in <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/title/tt0054518/?ref_=nmqu_qu">The Avengers (1961)</a>] I win battles on the fact that I am a woman. The clothes are all feminine - silk and chiffon. And we are bringing back the bosom. The dresses will have plunge neck lines.

[on <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/name/nm0001495/?ref_=nmqu_qu">Patrick Macnee</a>] An absolute gentleman. Patrick took me under his wing. And by that time...well, I think he didn&#39;t even want to do it anymore.. But they threw some money at him and said that it wouldn&#39;t be forever...just a couple more years. Patrick was just charming and delightful.

[2021, on &#39;The Avengers&#39;]: The thing that I really love is that The Avengers continues to have many, many, many followers. I am - sadly, at this point - the only living actor from the original series, and Jo Lumley is the only living actor from the second incarnation, The New Avengers. But things like these Big Finish plays keep it alive, and it fits really well into that mad world of The Avengers.

Quotes

Linda Thorson

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