Eunice Gayson

Eunice Gayson
Gayson in 1960
Born	Eunice Elizabeth Sargaison (1928-03-17)17 March 1928 Streatham, London, England
Died	8 June 2018(2018-06-08) (aged 90) London, England
Education	Edinburgh Academy
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1948–2018
Notable credit(s)	Bond girl Sylvia Trench in Dr. No and From Russia with Love
Spouses	Leigh Vance ​ ​ (m. 1953; div. 1959)​ Brian Jackson ​ ​ (m. 1968; div. 1977)​

Eunice Elizabeth Sargaison^[1] (17 March 1928 – 8 June 2018), known professionally as Eunice Gayson, was an English actress best known for playing Sylvia Trench, James Bond's love interest in the first two Bond films (Dr. No and From Russia with Love) and is thus considered to have been the first "Bond girl". Appearing in this capacity in two movies, she was unique in this regard until Lea Seydoux (as Madeleine Swann) in Spectre and No Time to Die nearly 60 years later.

Early life

Gayson and her twin sister Patricia were born in 1928 in Croydon to John and Maria Sargaison (née Gammon). Her father was a civil servant. The family lived in Streatham, London and moved to Purley, Surrey and later Glasgow, before settling in Edinburgh. There she attended the Edinburgh Academy and studied operatic singing.^[2]

Career

Gayson as Margaret in The Revenge of Frankenstein

Gayson played a major role in the Hammer horror film The Revenge of Frankenstein and appeared on television in series such as The Saint (which starred a future James Bond, Roger Moore) and The Avengers.^[3] She played the Baroness Elsa Schraeder in the 1962 London stage production of The Sound of Music, during which time she also filmed scenes for the first two Bond films, Dr. No (1962) and From Russia with Love (1963).^[4] She remained a regular in London theatre, appearing in, among other productions, the comedy The Grass Is Greener (1971). In the early 1990s, Gayson appeared in Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods in the role of the grandmother.^[2]

Bond films

In the first two James Bond films, Dr. No and From Russia with Love, Gayson played James Bond's love interest in London, Sylvia Trench. In early scenes, Bond attempts to set up a liaison with her but gets called away on a mission before anything serious can develop. This was intended to be a running motif in multiple films, but the character was dropped after the second film.^[2] The character is responsible for Bond's iconic introductory catchphrase, "Bond, James Bond"; when Trench introduces herself to Bond as "Trench, Sylvia Trench" during a game of chemin de fer in Dr. No, Bond replies in kind, mimicking Trench's own cadence, after she inquires of him "Mister..?"^[3]

Gayson had initially been cast in Dr. No as Miss Moneypenny, M's secretary, while the actress who played Moneypenny, Lois Maxwell, had been cast as Sylvia Trench. However, Maxwell found the Trench character too immodest, and their roles were switched. Gayson is therefore considered the first "Bond girl."^[5][6]

Personal life

Gayson married the writer Leigh Vance in 1953, a marriage that was featured on the American daytime television series Bride and Groom. They divorced in 1959, and in 1968 she married the film and stage actor Brian Jackson. She and Jackson had a daughter before divorcing after ten years of marriage. Their daughter Kate later appeared in the casino scene in the 1995 Bond film GoldenEye.^[7] Gayson died on 8 June 2018, aged 90.^[2]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1948	My Brother Jonathan	A Young Girl[8]
	It Happened in Soho	Julie
1949	The Huggetts Abroad	Peggy	Uncredited
	Melody in the Dark	Pat Evans
1950	Dance Hall	Mona
1951	To Have and to Hold	Peggy Harding
1952	Down Among the Z Men	Officer's Wife	Uncredited
	Miss Robin Hood	Pam
1953	Street Corner	Janet	Uncredited
1954	Dance Little Lady	Adele
	One Just Man
1955	Out of the Clouds	Penny Henson
1956	The Last Man to Hang	Elizabeth Anders
	Zarak	Cathy Ingram
1957	Carry On Admiral	Jane Godfrey
	Light Fingers	Rose Levenham
1958	The Revenge of Frankenstein	Margaret
	Hello London	Herself	Documentary
1962	Dr. No	Sylvia Trench
1963	From Russia with Love

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1948	Between Ourselves		Television film
	Halesapoppin!		Television film
	Lady Luck	Faith	Television film
1949	Pink String and Sealing Wax	Emily Strachan	Television film
	The Director	Katie	Television film
	Dick Whittington	Alice	Television film
1950	Here Come the Boys		1 Episode
	Treasures in Heaven	Carol Benson	Television film
	Mother of Men	Jennie	Television film
1953	Guess My Story	Self – Panelist
1959	Juke Box Jury	Self – Panelist	1 episode
1960	What's My Line?	Self – Guest Panelist	Episode: "George Jessel (2)"
1964	Danger Man	Louise Bancroft	Episode: "A Man to Be Trusted"
1964–1965	The Saint	Nora Prescott Christine Graner	Episode: "The Invisible Millionaire" Episode: "The Saint Bids Diamonds"
1966	The Avengers	Lucille Banks	Episode: "Quick-Quick slow Death"
1967	Before the Fringe		2 episodes
	The Dick Emery Show		1 episode
	Further Adventures of Lucky Jim		Episode: "Jim Cleans Up"
	The Reluctant Romeo	Gina Darletti	Episode: "What's in a Name"
1968	The World of Beachcomber
1970	Albert and Victoria	Madame Aix	Episode: "The Gothic Church" Episode: "Lovers' Quarrel"
	Turkey Time	Louis Stoatt	Television film
1972	The Adventurer	Countess Marie	Episode: "Thrust and Counter-Thrust"
2012	This Morning	Self	1 episode
2013	The Playboy Morning Show	Self	1 episode

References

1. "Eunice Gayson, 90". Classic Images (518): 45. August 2018.
2. Hadoke, Toby (9 June 2018). "Eunice Gayson obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
3. "First Bond girl Eunice Gayson dies aged 90". Sky News. 9 June 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
4. Nyren, Erin (9 June 2018). "Eunice Gayson, First 'Bond' Girl, Dies at 90". Variety. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
5. Masters, Tim (1 October 2012). "James Bond: How Dr No's Eunice Gayson made film history". BBC News. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
6. Hendry, Steve (16 September 2012). "First Bond girl Eunice Gayson reveals how she helped Sean Connery overcome nerves with stiff drink". Daily Record. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
7. Holson, Laura M. (11 June 2018). "Eunice Gayson, the First Bond Girl, Dies at 90". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
8. "Eunice Gayson filmography". TV Guide. Retrieved 10 June 2018.

External links

• Eunice Gayson at the British Film Institute
• Eunice Gayson at IMDb