Martine Beswick

Brunette bombshell and second-string goddess 'Martine Beswick' (qv)(e) was born on September 26, 1941, to a British father and Portuguese/Japanese mother in Port Antonio, Jamaica. Some brief modeling and pageant entering came to be before seeking a career in films. She allegedly once won a "Miss Autoville" contest and won a car only to sell it in order to move to and study acting in London.While finding roles on such British TV series as "Secret Agent," "Love Story" and "Court Martial," a minor break occurred for Martine in the James Bond "007" film series. Director 'Terence Young' (qv) cast her twice -- as the gypsy girl Zora in _From Russia with Love (1963)_ (qv) and then as the doomed spy Paula in _Thunderball (1965)_ (qv). After playing in the well-tanned minority ranks for years, Martine finally got noticed after cat-fighting with 'Raquel Welch' (qv) in the cult prehistoric saga _One Million Years B.C. (1966)_ (qv), which also starred handsome caveman 'John Richardson' (qv). She also starred in her own back-in-time Neanderthal low-budget _Prehistoric Women (1967)_ (qv).Transporting herself to Hollywood in the late 1960's, Martine guested on such shows as "It Takes a Thief," "Mannix," "The Name of the Game" and "Longstreet." She then made an infamous mark as the distaff evil incarnate in the Hammer Studio horror cult hit _Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde (1971)_ (qv). Other films during that time usually had her in various stages of sexy undress, including _The Last Italian Tango (1973)_ (qv), _The Kiss of Death (1974)_ (qv) and _Seizure (1974)_ (qv).She later focused on TV with such mini-movie entries as _Crime Club (1975)_ (qv), _Strange New World (1975)_ (qv), _Der Höllenhund (1978)_ (qv), _My Husband Is Missing (1978)_ (qv) and _The Tenth Month (1979)_ (qv), plus the mini-series _Aspen (1977)_ (qv) and episodes of "The Six Million Dollar Man," "Baretta," "Quincy," "The Fall Guy," "Fantasy Island," "Hart to Hart," "Buffalo Bill" and "Sledge Hammer." In the mid-1980's, Martine also found back-to-back daytime work on the soap operas _Days of Our Lives (1965)_ (qv) and _Santa Barbara (1984)_ (qv).On film, she would quicken pulses as Xaviera Hollander as _The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood (1980)_ (qv), but not return until the early 1990's with the horror films _Evil Spirits (1990)_ (qv) and _Trancers II (1991)_ (qv), the comedy _Life on the Edge (1992)_ (qv) and the drama _Wide Sargasso Sea (1993)_ (qv). After filming _Night of the Scarecrow (1995)_ (qv), Martine retired from films.Since then, she has mainly participated in film documentaries, providing commentary and relating her experiences on the many films in which she has appeared. She owned a removals business in London and is semiretired except for guest appearances at James Bond conventions. She did, however, more recently return (after 25 years) to star with fellow Hammer actors 'Caroline Munro' (qv) and 'Veronica Carlson' (qv) in a horror "tribute" to Hammer entitled _House of the Gorgon (2019)_ (qv).::Gary Brumburgh / [email protected]