Diana Rigg, or rather, DAME Diana Rigg, has been a leading star of the stage for nearly half-a-century.
But in the 1960s, she set trends (and heads a'poppin'), when she played Mrs. Emma Peel, in the quixotic fantasy and spy series, THE AVENGERS, co-starring Patrick (SLEUTH) Macnee.
Rigg's portrayal of an independent, self-sufficient (complete with karate chops), brilliant, elegant and WITTY woman of the era was an absolute pop cultural sensation, one which many view as iconic, and which still reverberates.
That fame, and legacy, is even more remarkable, when one realizes that Rigg only starred on the show for two seasons, before returning to the stage, and commencing a film career (including one of my favorite versions of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, in 1969, featuring David Warner, Judi Dench, and Ian Holm.)
Intriguingly, even though THE AVENGERS had even greater success when it ran here on the ABC television network in America, and through the 1970s in syndication, Rigg never really essayed that type of role again, or at least revisited her particular brand of insouciant derring-do.
(In a recent interview, Rigg mentioned that director Peter Hall told her she was wasting her talents when she signed for the espionage series. But the Royal Shakespeare Company was VERY grateful when her AVENGERS derived celebrity helped sell many tickets!)
ALL of which makes it all the more remarkable to discover that in the later '60s--
ON HER OWN--
Rigg made two mini-movies, where she essentially again played her most famous character--
Films which have been relatively unknown, until recently!
(The article enclosed below links to the two "Lost Riggs." Also revealed is the rather dirty deed two of THE AVENGERS' producers perpetrated upon her, or at least her celluloid personna, just a relatively few years later.)
Is it unusual for such a celebrated actress to have work that has remained known to only the most devoted of fans?
For those who may never have seen the series, or Rigg's in many ways unparalleled inspiration, the piece also includes, at its end, a lovely video tribute...
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