It should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with me or this blog that I first took notice of Judi Dench when she took over as James Bond's boss M in GoldenEye (1995).
I became a true fan a couple of years later. When
Tomorrow Never Dies came out in 1997 - Dench returned as M and had a great adversarial relationship with Admiral Roebuck (Geoffrey Palmer) in the opening minutes of the movie.
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| Admiral Roebuck and M. |
Some months later - my wondrous wife Suze and I were sitting down to a fine steak dinner - and we had kept the TV on in the background as we prepped and cooked. Imagine my surprise when a 90's British sitcom called
As Time Goes By came on our local PBS station - and it starred Judi Dench and Geoffrey Palmer!
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| As Time Goes By - the early episodes. |
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| As Time Goes By - near the end of the long run. |
On the show they play a couple who'd had a torrid love affair in the 50's - then lost touch for more than 30 years. Now, both single after long marriages - they meet up again and start back to first friendship, then over the course of the series - love and marriage. The series was hugely popular in Great Britain, making their scenes together in
Tomorrow Never Dies all the more awesome, as now I realize it's an in-joke - plus the fun of seeing the couple duking it out verbally in their Bond roles.
Judi Dench was born in York England December 9, 1934. She attended Mount School and studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama. She started acting on stage at an early age.
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| On stage in the 60's. |
Her acting career covered every facet of show business - though I believe she'd tell you she is first and foremost a stage actress. But she also did television and movies - with several series over the years and small parts in different flicks - and for her work on stage and in television and films - she has won 10 (!) BAFTA Awards. (That's the combo Oscar/Emmy from Great Britain.) When she was cast as M it opened up her film career in a lot of ways. It helped her get a role in
Shakespeare in Love as Queen Elizabeth I - and that role - only eight minutes onscreen - won Judi the Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 1999.
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| With husband Michael Williams - A Fine Romance. |
One interesting series she did in the early 80's was called
A Fine Romance. It lays out the beginnings of a relationship between two middle aged people that is uncomfortable and funny - uncomfortable due to their awkwardness with each other. What makes this show special is that her co-star was Michael Williams - her real life husband from the early 70's until his passing in 2001.
In 2012 she was diagnosed with macular degeneration - a gradual loss of eyesight. It was decided that Skyfall would be her last 007 movie as M - and she made a spectacular exit in the movie. However, it appears treatment has helped - as she is still acting - with
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel a recent release. I hope she keeps working for years to come - check out some Judi Dench every chance you get!
Until next post - roughly 24 hours from now - you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!
