Linda Thorson

Tall (5'9"), svelte, adventurous young actress Linda Thorson, invariably known as the brunette dish who replaced Diana Rigg on the highly popular The Avengers (1961) spy series, was born Linda Robinson on June 18, 1947, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

She is the only female lead of the TV show The Avengers (1961) not to appear in a James Bond film: Honor Blackman was in Goldfinger (1964), Diana Rigg and Joanna Lumley were both in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969).

The second of four children of a math and physics teacher, she made a move to England in 1965 and initially studied dance and voice. A teen apprentice at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, her professional career took off abruptly in another direction, away from the theatre lights, when the 20-year-old was chosen over 200 hopefuls to succeed Ms. Rigg's "Emma Peel" character as Steed's (played by Patrick Macnee) new TV partner, female spy Tara King. Despite her equally luscious looks and a set of beautiful, crystal blue orbs, Linda had major boots to fill and the stay was not long or heralded.

Fans and critics alike were rather unkind to Linda and the series was canceled after one season (1968-1969).

Out of the limelight for much of the 1970s, with occasional film and TV parts coming her way, including Valentino (1977) and The Greek Tycoon (1978), and as Vera in a TV version of the Turgenev play A Month in the Country (1977) starring Susannah York.

By the late 1980s, she was appearing with more frequency on the big screen in such lesser-known films as Walls of Glass (1985), Sweet Liberty (1986) and The Other Sister (1999).

Linda eventually made the trek to America, Broadway to be exact, and went on to win a Theatre World Award for her superb performance in "Steaming" in 1982. Immediately following came rave reviews for the Drama Desk Award-winning comedy farce "Noises Off. " Linda was now back on her own terms.

Elsewhere (1982) and, as a regular cast member, on the daytime soap One Life to Live (1968) and the series Marblehead Manor (1987). Although she has yet to gain the same kind of attention (and controversy) she did as a 20-year-old, her career has been consistently rewarding over the last three decades.

Later Broadway work would include a sexy femme fatale role in the noirish musical "City of Angels" (1989), the title role in "Zoya's Apartment" (1990) and the Circle in the Square production of "Getting Married" (1991). As a transatlantic player working in the U. S. , her native Canada and in England, she went on to perform with the prestigious Royal Shakespearean and Old Vic theatre companies.

A number of TV credits also came her way, including guest work on Law & Order (1990) and St.

Outstanding stage work in "Shirley Valentine" (1993), "The Sisters Rosenzweig" (1995) and "Amy's View" (2000) have added to her value as an artist.

On TV, she was a regular in a couple of TV series dramas (Emily of New Moon (1998) and The Hoop Life (1999)), a single season (2006-2007) of the British series Emmerdale Farm (1972) and, more recently, a Canadian series based on the famous teenage detective books The Hardy Boys (2020). She was also seen in a few guest TV parts on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," "Kung Fu: The Legend Continues," "F/X," "Law & Order" and "Schitt's Creek. "Married four times, Linda has one son, Trevor, from her third marriage to husband actor/producer/newsman Bill Boggs).

Linda remained a vivid presence in millennium film work including the Steven Seagal crime thriller Half Past Dead (2002); the Canadian/British romantic dramedy Touch of Pink (2004); the U. S.

action horror Straight Into Darkness (2004); the U. S.

co-production action film Max Havoc: Ring of Fire (2006); and the touching Canadian romancer The Second Time Around (2016) in which she co-starred with Stuart Margolin.

With the passing of Diana Rigg in 2020, Thorson is the last surviving regular cast member of The Avengers (1961).