Caroline Munro (born 16 January 1950) is a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
actressAn actor or actress is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and
modelthumb|200px|Alesya Nazarova modeling a dress by [[bebe stores|bebe]]A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed for the purpose of displaying and promoting fashion clothing or other products and for advertising or promotional purposes or who poses for works of art.Modeling...
known for her many appearances in
science fictionScience fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that aren't necessarily accepted by mainstream science. such as extra-terrestrial life forms, alien worlds, and time travel, often along with technological elements such as futuristic...
and
action filmAction movies are a film genre wherein the story is largely told through physical action as opposed to dialogue. The action typically involves individual efforts on the part of the hero. While action has long been an element of films, the "Action film" as a genre of its own began to develop in the...
s of the 1970s and 1980s.
Early career
According to Munro, her career took off in 1966 when her mother and photographer friend entered some headshots of her to Britain's
The Evening News "Face of the Year" contest.
I wanted to do art. Art was my love. I went to Art School in Brighton but I was not very good at it. I just did not know what to do. I had a friend at the college who was studying photography and he needed somebody to photograph and he asked me. Unbeknownst to me, he sent the photographs to a big newspaper in London. The famous fashion photographer, David BaileyDavid Royston Bailey CBE is a celebrated English photographer.-Early life:Although born in Leytonstone, his family were forced to move to Heigham Road, East Ham when a World War II bomb destroyed the family home...
, was conducting a photo contest and my picture won.
This led to modelling chores, her first job being for
VogueVogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine published in 16 countries + Latin America by Condé Nast Publications. Each month, Vogue publishes a magazine addressing topics of fashion, life and design.-Style and influence:...
magazine at the age of 17. She moved to
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
to pursue top modelling jobs and became a major cover girl for fashion and TV ads while there. Decorative bit parts came her way in such films as
Casino RoyaleCasino Royale is a 1967 comedy spy film originally produced by Columbia Pictures starring an ensemble cast of directors and actors. It is set as a satire of the James Bond film series and the spy genre and is lightly based on Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel.The film stars David Niven as the...
(1967) and
Where's Jack?Where's Jack? is a 1969 film based around the exploits of notorious 18th century criminal Jack Sheppard and London "thieftaker" Jonathan Wild....
(1969). One of her many photo ads got her a screen test and a one-year contract at
ParamountParamount Pictures Corporation is a Worldwide American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, California. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is the world's oldest existing American film studio; it is also the last...
where she won the role of
Richard WidmarkRichard Widmark was an American actor of films, stage, radio and television.He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the villainous Tommy Udo in his debut film, Kiss of Death...
's daughter in the comedy/western
A Talent for Loving (1969).
1969 proved to be a good year for Munro, because it was then that she began a lucrative 10 year relationship with
Lamb's Navy Rum. Her image was plastered all over the country, and this would eventually lead to her next big break.
1971 saw her appear alongside
Vincent PriceVincent Leonard Price II was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:...
in
The Abominable Dr. PhibesThe Abominable Dr. Phibes is a horror film starring Vincent Price. Its art deco sets, dark humor and "over the top" performance by Price has made the film and its sequel Dr...
, playing the deceased Mrs. Victoria Regina Phibes:
The most challenging scenes involved lying in the coffin with Vincent," she reveals. "You see, I’m allergic to feathers and I was attired in this beautiful negligee — but it was covered with feathers! It took a great deal of willpower not to sneeze or sniffle. On occasion, I would simply have to sneeze and this would result in having to do another take.
She would reprise the role in the sequel,
Dr. Phibes Rises AgainDr. Phibes Rises Again was the second Dr. Phibes movie, a sequel to The Abominable Dr. Phibes. It was directed by Robert Fuest, and starred Vincent Price as Dr. Anton Phibes.-Plot:...
in 1972. In the same year, she was referred to in
Colin BlunstoneColin Blunstone is an English pop singer-songwriter, best known as a member of the pop group The Zombies, and for his participation on various albums with The Alan Parsons Project.-Biography:He attended St Albans County Grammar School for Boys.Blunstone's plaintive, wistful voice was one of the...
's song "Caroline Goodbye", a song about the break-up of their relationship.
Hammer Horror films
Hammer FilmsHammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic "Hammer Horror" films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Hammer also produced science fiction, thrillers, film Noir, and comedies and in later...
CEO Sir James Carreras spotted Munro on a Lamb’s Navy Rum poster/billboard. He asked his right hand man, James Liggett, to find and screen test her. She was immediately signed to a one-year contract. Her first film for Hammer proved to be something of a turning point in her career. It was during the making of
Dracula AD 1972Dracula A.D. 1972 is a 1972 Hammer Horror film directed by Alan Gibson, written by Don Houghton and starring Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and Stephanie Beacham. Unlike earlier films in the Hammer Dracula series, Dracula A.D...
that she decided from this film onward she was a full-fledged actress. Up until then, she was always considered a model who did some acting on the side.
Munro completed her contract for Hammer with
Captain Kronos - Vampire HunterCaptain Kronos - Vampire Hunter is a 1974 horror film written, produced and directed by Brian Clemens for Hammer Film Productions that was originally the pilot for a planned series. It stars Horst Janson in the title role, along with John Carson, Shane Briant and Caroline Munro...
in 1974. Directed by
Brian ClemensBrian Horace Clemens is a screenwriter and television producer, possibly best known for his work on The Avengers and The Professionals...
, she plays the barefoot gypsy girl Carla. In
Paramount PicturesParamount Pictures Corporation is a Worldwide American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, California. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is the world's oldest existing American film studio; it is also the last...
DVD commentary, Clemens explains that he envisioned the role as a fiery, Raquel Welch type, red-head. Hammer pushed for Munro, and the script was adapted accordingly.
Munro has the distinction of being the only actor ever signed to a long-term contract by Hammer Films. She would later turn down the lead female roles in Hammer's
Dr. Jekyll and Sister HydeDr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde is a 1971 UK film based on the short story Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. The film was made by British studio Hammer Film Productions and was their second adaptation of the story after their 1960 film The Two Faces of Dr....
,
Frankenstein and the Monster from HellFrankenstein and the Monster From Hell is a 1974 British horror film from Hammer Film Productions. It was directed by Terence Fisher and starred Peter Cushing and David Prowse...
, and the unmade
VampirellaVampirella is a fictional character, a comic book vampire heroine created by Forrest J Ackerman for Warren Publishing's namesake black-and-white horror-comics magazine, and developed by Archie Goodwin with artists Frank Frazetta and Tom Sutton....
because they required
nudityNudity is the state of wearing no clothing.It is related to the concept of modesty and is sometimes used to refer to wearing significantly less clothing than expected by the conventions of a particular culture and situation, and in particular exposing the bare skin or intimate...
.
The Golden Voyage of Sinbad
Brian ClemensBrian Horace Clemens is a screenwriter and television producer, possibly best known for his work on The Avengers and The Professionals...
later helped her get a most memorable role, Margiana, the slave girl in
The Golden Voyage of SinbadThe Golden Voyage of Sinbad is a fantasy film released in 1974 and starring John Phillip Law as Sinbad. It includes a score by composer Miklós Rózsa and is noted for the stop-motion effects by Ray Harryhausen...
(1974).
I got the part — I had been signed by Hammer, for one year, for a contract, out of which I did two films, one being Dracula AD 1972Dracula A.D. 1972 is a 1972 Hammer Horror film directed by Alan Gibson, written by Don Houghton and starring Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and Stephanie Beacham. Unlike earlier films in the Hammer Dracula series, Dracula A.D...
, and the second one being Captain Kronos - Vampire HunterCaptain Kronos - Vampire Hunter is a 1974 horror film written, produced and directed by Brian Clemens for Hammer Film Productions that was originally the pilot for a planned series. It stars Horst Janson in the title role, along with John Carson, Shane Briant and Caroline Munro...
, which, kind of, would come full-circle, to Sinbad. It was written and directed by Brian Clemens, who wrote the screenplay for The Golden Voyage of SinbadThe Golden Voyage of Sinbad is a fantasy film released in 1974 and starring John Phillip Law as Sinbad. It includes a score by composer Miklós Rózsa and is noted for the stop-motion effects by Ray Harryhausen...
, so, I was lucky enough to be chosen for Captain Kronos, and they were searching for somebody to do Sinbad, and they wanted a big name, somebody American, or well-known, but Brian said "No". He kept lobbying Charles Schneer [producer] and Ray HarryhausenRay Harryhausen is an American film producer and, most notably, a special effects creator most famous for his brand of stop-motion model animation...
— saying: 'I think you should come and look at the rushes, and see what you think, because I think she's right'. So, they said "No", but, eventually, Brian persuaded them to do that, and they saw the rushes, and that was how I got the part. So, it was lovely, like work-out-of-work. I was very lucky to have done that.
Other appearances during this time included
I Don't Want to Be Born (1975) with
Joan CollinsJoan Henrietta Collins OBE is an English actress, author, and columnist.-Early life:Collins was born in Paddington, London, the daughter of Elsa , a dance teacher and nightclub hostess, and Joseph William Collins, an agent whose clients would later include Shirley Bassey, The Beatles and Tom Jones...
, and
At the Earth's CoreAt the Earth's Core is a 1976 science fiction film produced by Britain's Amicus Productions. It was directed by Kevin Connor and starred Peter Cushing, Caroline Munro, Philippa Herring and Doug McClure. It was filmed in Technicolor...
(1976) with
Peter CushingPeter Wilton Cushing, OBE was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played Baron Frankenstein and Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite Christopher Lee, and occasionally Vincent Price...
and
Doug McClureDouglas Osborne McClure was an American actor whose career in film and television extended from the 1950s to the 1990s...
. She appeared also as Tammy, a nursing employee of a sinister health farm, in "The Angels of Death" (1977), an episode of the TV series
The New Avengers that featured also rising stars
Pamela StephensonPamela Helen Stephenson Connolly is a New Zealand actress, comedian and clinical psychologist, now a resident of New York City, USA.- Comedy and acting :Stephenson was born in Takapuna, Auckland, New Zealand...
and
Lindsay DuncanLindsay Vere Duncan, CBE is a Scottish actress. She is a noted stage and television actress, winning the Tony Award for Private Lives.-Personal life:...
. This was notable, among other things, for a vicious fight between Munro and
Joanna LumleyJoanna Lamond Lumley, OBE, FRGS is an English actress, best known for her roles in the British television series The New Avengers, Sapphire and Steel, Absolutely Fabulous and Sensitive Skin...
's Purdey.
James Bond
In 1977, Munro turned down the opportunity to play
villainA villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters...
ess Ursa in
Superman in favor of what would become her most celebrated film appearance, the ill-fated helicopter pilot Naomi in the Bond film
The Spy Who Loved MeThe Spy Who Loved Me is the tenth spy film in the James Bond series, and the third to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert and the screenplay was written by Christopher Wood and Richard Maibaum...
. In one of the
franchiseA media franchise is an intellectual property involving the characters, setting and trademarks of an original work of media , such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or a video game. Generally, a whole series is made in a particular medium, along with merchandising and endorsements...
's most memorable car chase sequences, she seductively winks at Bond while trying to gun him down from her helicopter. In her role as Naomi, she holds the distinction of being the first woman ever undeniably killed by James Bond. Cubby Broccoli urged Caroline to make her way to America in search of more lucrative offers. She declined preferring to stay close to her family.
Late seventies and eighties
Munro continued to work in numerous British and
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
an horror and science fiction films through the 1970s and 1980s, most notably
StarcrashStarcrash is an Italian 1979 science fiction film, which was also released under the English title of The Adventures of Stella Star...
(1979) with
David HasselhoffDavid Michael Hasselhoff is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his lead roles as Michael Knight in the popular 1980s U.S. series Knight Rider and as L.A. County Lifeguard Mitch Buchannon in the series Baywatch...
,
Christopher PlummerChristopher Plummer, CC is a Canadian theater, film and television actor. In a career that spans over five decades and includes substantial roles in film, television, and theater, Plummer is perhaps best known for the role of Captain Georg von Trapp in The Sound of Music...
and
Marjoe GortnerHugh Marjoe Ross Gortner, generally known as Marjoe Gortner , is a former revivalist who first gained a certain fame in the late 1940s and early to mid 1950s when he became the youngest ordained preacher at the age of four, and then outright notoriety in the 1970s when he starred in an...
.
Munro's career continued to thrive well in the 1980s, appearing in many slasher and Eurotrash productions. Her first film shot on American soil was the
William LustigWilliam Lustig , also known as Bill Lustig, is an American film director and producer who has worked primarily in the horror film genre. As a film director, Lustig is best known for his films Maniac, Uncle Sam, and the Maniac Cop series...
production
ManiacManiac is a 1980 American slasher film , about a disturbed and traumatized serial killer who scalps his victims. It was directed by William Lustig, and co-written by Joe Spinell and C.A...
(1980). This was soon followed by the low-budget shocker
The Last Horror FilmThe Last Horror Film is a 1982 cult horror film directed by David Winters and starring Joe Spinell and Caroline Munro...
(1982), in which she was reunited with her
Maniac co-star
Joe SpinellJoe Spinell was an American character actor, who appeared in numerous films from the 1970s to the 1980s.-Biography:...
. She had a cameo role in the cult classic slasher
Don't Open 'Til Christmas as a singer (1984),
Slaughter HighSlaughter High is a 1986 slasher film written and directed by George Dugdale, Mark Ezra, and Peter Litten. It was shot in England, and many of the actors use fake American accents. Simon Scuddamore, who plays the film's slasher, committed suicide shortly after the film's release. The "original...
(1986),
Paul NaschyPaul Naschy is a Spanish movie actor, screenwriter, and director working primarily in horror films. His portrayal of numerous classic horror figures--the wolfman, a hunchback, Count Dracula, a mummy--have earned him recognition as a Spanish Lon Chaney...
's
Howl of the Devil (1987), and Jess Franco's
FacelessFaceless is a 1988 French slasher film directed by Jesus Franco. The film is about Dr. Flamand and his assistant Nathalie who lure unsuspecting victims to use their skin to perform plastic surgery on the doctor's disfigured sister - a plot reminiscent of Franco's first film, Gritos en la noche...
(1988), followed in rapid succession. She reteamed with
Starcrash director, Luigi Cozzi, for
Il Gatto nero in 1989. This would be Caroline's last major film appearance.
Throughout the 1980s, Munro was often cited by the press as being a candidate for the co-starring role in a proposed (but never produced) feature film based upon
Doctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a mysterious alien time-traveller known as "the Doctor" who travels in his space and time-ship, the TARDIS, which normally appears from the exterior to be a blue 1950s police box...
. The feature was being co-produced by her second husband George Dugdale. At various times, press reports linked her with numerous actors touted to play the role of
The DoctorThe Doctor is the central character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, and also features in a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series....
, including
David BowieDavid Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. Active in five decades of popular music and frequently reinventing his music and image, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
.
Music and television
In 1984, she signed a recording contract with Gary Numan's label Numa Records, and released a catchy dance single called "Pump Me Up". Written and produced by Numan, the single hardly sold, and Numan admitted later that his label was probably to blame. His superior original version of the single can be found on his 1984 album
Berserker.
Between 1984 and 1987, Munro was also a hostess on the
Yorkshire TelevisionYorkshire Television is the ITV contractor for the Yorkshire franchise. Up until 1974, this was primarily the three Ridings of Yorkshire and associated areas served by the Emley Moor television transmitter...
game show
3-2-13-2-1 was a popular British game show, made by Yorkshire Television for ITV. It ran for ten years, between 29 July 1978 and 24 December 1988. Throughout its run, the show was hosted by former Butlins Redcoat Ted Rogers. It was based on a Spanish gameshow called Un, dos, tres.....
. Munro was also a popular
pin-up girlA pin-up girl or pin-up model is a model whose mass-produced pictures see wide appeal as pop culture. Pin-ups are intended for informal display. Pin-up girls are glamour models, fashion models, and actresses....
during this time, though she refused to pose nude. In the early 1980s, she appeared in
music videoA music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music/song. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. Although the origins of music videos go back much further, they came into their own in the...
s with
Adam AntAdam Ant is an English musician, who gained popularity as the lead singer of New Wave/post-punk group Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist, scoring ten UK top ten hits between 1979 and 1983, including three No.1s...
and
Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday , better known by his stage names Meat Loaf and Meat Loaf Aday, is an American rock musician and actor...
.
Reduced appearances in the nineties
By the 1990s, Munro had decided to focus more on her family, daughters, Georgina and Iona, and husband George. Her sole film roles were confined to cameos as herself in
Night OwlNight Owl, a 1993 vampire film shot in New York's Alphabet City and directed by Jeffrey Arsenault, starred James Raftery as Jake, a brooding vampire/squatter who picks up women in nightclubs and while having sex with them, slices their necks with a matte knife and drinks their blood...
(1993), as Mrs. Pignon in
To Die ForTo Die For is a British comedy drama film directed by Peter Mackenzie Litten in 1994. It stars Thomas Arklie, Ian Williams, Tony Slattery, Dillie Keane and John Altman. The screenplay was written by Johnny Byrne, Paul McEvoy, and Litten...
(1994), and playing the counsellor in director and friend Jeffrey Arsenault's
Domestic Strangers (1996). Other work included a guest-starring spot in a 1992 episode of
Tropical HeatTropical Heat was a Canadian TV series produced in cooperation with Mexico and Israel that aired between 1991 and 1993 ....
, interviews for
Ted NewsomTed Newsom is an American writer, director, producer and actor.- Early life and education :Son of Vernon and Patricia Newsom; grew up in Portland, OR, Spokane, WA and the San Fernando Valley; served in the US Army 1972-75 as a surgical assistant in Heidelberg, Germany...
's
100 Years of Horror documentaries and the
Hammer FilmsHammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic "Hammer Horror" films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Hammer also produced science fiction, thrillers, film Noir, and comedies and in later...
tribute:
Flesh and Blood - The Hammer Heritage of Horror.
Other information
- The song "Caroline Goodbye" on the 1971 LP "One Year" by Colin Blunstone
Colin Blunstone is an English pop singer-songwriter, best known as a member of the pop group The Zombies, and for his participation on various albums with The Alan Parsons Project.-Biography:He attended St Albans County Grammar School for Boys.Blunstone's plaintive, wistful voice was one of the...
, lead singer of The ZombiesThe Zombies are an English rock band. Formed in 1959 in St Albans and led by Rod Argent on piano and Colin Blunstone on vocals, the band scored US hits in the mid- and late-1960s with "She's Not There", "Tell Her No", and "Time of the Season"...
, is about the break-up of their relationship. This was his first solo album.
External links