One Tough Dame, Herbie J Pilato
One Tough Dame, Herbie J Pilato
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One Tough Dame
The Life and Career of Diana Rigg

Author: Herbie J Pilato

Narrator: Herbie J Pilato

Unabridged: 8 hr 55 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Oasis Audio

Published: 09/16/2024


Synopsis

One Tough Dame: The Life and Career of Diana Rigg offers a sweeping portrait of the revered performer’s life and career. Deemed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1994, Diana Rigg (1938–2020) initially found fame as super sleuth Mrs. Emma Peel in the 1960s BBC/ABC-TV espionage series, The Avengers. A classically trained and multi-award-winning thespian, Rigg is known for her diverse body of work ― from her big-screen debut in 1969 as Countess Teresa di Vincenzo, wife of James Bond in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, to her Tony Award–winning, leading role in Medea on Broadway, culminating with her Emmy-nominated portrayal as Lady Olenna Tyrell on the heralded small-screen gem, Game of Thrones.

This eclectic volume traces Rigg’s career as a renowned star of television, film, and the stage. The author includes insights from rare, archived interviews, encompassing both video dialogues conducted by the University of Kent and Oxford Union. The meticulously curated archival material is further complemented by equally rare  retrospections drawn from diverse media sources and hitherto unpublished accounts from the people who knew Rigg best, affording readers an unprecedented, all-encompassing glimpse into her private world.

With exclusive commentary from Rupert Macnee (son of Riggs’s Avengers costar and dear friend Patrick Macnee); the show’s stunt coordinator/director Ray Austin; actors Samuel West, Bernie Kopell, Barbara Barrie, Juliet Mills, John Schuck, and Damon Evans; director Bruce Beresford; and documentarian David Naylor, among others, One Tough Dame delivers an in-depth perspective of a beloved, brave, brilliant, and trailblazing actor.

About The Author

Herbie J Pilato is an award-winning writer, producer, director, actor, TV personality, and singer/songwriter who has written several acclaimed books about pop culture. In 2019, he hosted and served as a coexecutive producer on Amazon Prime’s Then Again with Herbie J Pilato, a classic TV talk show. In 2010, he founded the Classic TV Preservation Society nonprofit organization. He was born and raised in Rochester, New York, and now lives in Los Angeles, California.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Clay on November 11, 2024

Overall this was rather disappointing for me. Being a private person, there's no "juicy gossip" about the life of Dame Diana Rigg. So, this book falls back on her extensive career; first in the theater, then on to television and the movies, and back and forth between these medium. The bulk of the tex......more

Goodreads review by David on January 05, 2025

Firstly let me say I am a huge Diana Rigg fan, so I love anything and everything about her. This book has some wonderful moments about Diana Rigg, especially her latter days. The book has some great little stories and photos of Diana and is an interesting read. What is disappointing is how repetitiv......more

Goodreads review by John on March 13, 2025

For those of us of a certain age, there is a soft spot in our hearts for Diana Rigg as Emma Peel. There simply was no one like her on television or in the movies at that time: smart, funny, and absolutely unwilling to play second fiddle to anyone. It's been around 60 years since The Avengers was on......more

Goodreads review by Lucy on November 27, 2024

I’d actually rate this 3.5. I adore Diana Rigg, and the book provided new insights into her life. However, the writing needs proofreading/editing. I’d read a paragraph , and then the next paragraph would essentially be a repeat of what I just read several times. I do own a copy of her book. I saw he......more