No replies to this topic

[Mourning Becomes Electra]

http://www.tcpalm.co...1358845,00.html

Bond girls' to let HGTV viewers spy on their houses
By Dave Mason Scripps Howard News Service
September 1, 2002

SILVER LAKE, Calif. They've all heard that line, spoken to them with an accent shaken, not stirred: "Bond, James Bond."

Three of the actresses from James Bond movies gathered at a recent press party at The Paramour, an elegant estate near Hollywood, to promote their new special on HGTV, "Zip Code 007."

Premiering Nov. 17, the special will take viewers into the homes of some of the actors and actresses in Bond movies.

Jane Seymour is the host, and that's appropriate. The "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" star got her big break as Solitaire, the tarot-card woman in "Live and Let Die."

"Zip Code 007" also will feature a look at James Bond novelist Ian Fleming's home in Jamaica, the Goldeneye Resort.

The actresses and HGTV celebrities were at The Paramour for another reason. The quaint, historical home will be featured in "The Homes That Made Hollywood," which will premiere Sept. 15 on HGTV. Silent film star Antonio Moreno lived at The Paramour, and the series will feature silent screen star Rudolph Valentino's Falcon Lair, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford's Grayhall and Will Rogers' casual ranch home.

HGTV made the press party complete with synchro|nized swimming in Moreno's old pool. During interviews at the party, the "Bond girls" talked about their homes.

"My home is on top of a mountain with a garden. It's a good tree house," said Luciana Paluzzi, who played the assassin Fiona Volpe in "Thunderball." She lives on top of Mulholland Drive and Laurel Canyon Boulevard in the San Fernando Valley; her house is a combination of Spanish and Italian architecture, she said.

"It's my little piece of paradise," she said. "I have a lot of animals. I put in a koi pond."

It sounds like a good spot for a James Bond adventure. Paluzzi said she enjoyed working with Sean Connery and still considers him the best Bond. (Current 007 Pierce Brosnan is the second best, she said.)

"I tested for the good girl but I got a call: We have good news and bad news. The bad news is you can't play the good girl. The good news is you'll play the villain.' I thought that was terrific because villains are more fun.

"Any girl back then would give her right arm to be in a James Bond movie," she added.

She said Connery was always kind and gracious.

Lynn-Holly Johnson, who played ice skater Bibi Dahl in "For Your Eyes Only," said her home doesn't have a lot of acreage but it's fairly close to the water. She lives near Newport Beach in a home with a Key West flavor.

And she said she prefers her current role of a mother to any Hollywood parts.

She praised Roger Moore, the 007 in that movie, for all the joy he showed in his work.

"James Bond works because it's an escape. It's a ride, and they're able to keep it going," Johnson said.

"The premiere (of For Your Eyes Only') was tremendous, meeting Prince Charles and Lady Diana; they weren't married yet. It was one of the highlights of my career," Johnson said. She recalled how much fun she and Roger Moore had on the set, especially when Moore knew her parents were visiting.

Moore and the crew cracked a lot of jokes during the scene when Bibi sneaked into 007's hotel room and his bed. Fortunately, 007 isn't one to sleep with a teenager, and he told her he would take her out for ice cream. (She was playing a teenager, but Johnson was 22 at the time.)

Tanya Roberts, who played the good "Bond girl," Stacey Sutton, in Moore's last 007 movie, "A View to a Kill," said she was treated well during filming, with good meals and rooms in the best hotels.

Dave Mason is television editor of the Ventura County Star in California. He can be reached at [email protected].