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Geoff Tate Unplugged: A Conversation with Geoff Tate

2012 marks the 30^th anniversary of Queensryche.  One of hard rock’s most popular bands, Queensryche is known for it’s thought provoking lyrics making them “the thinking man’s” heavy metal.  Currently on an acoustic tour of the West Coast and recording his second solo album, Queensryche lead singer Geoff Tate talks to PCA about a number of subjects including the history of the Seattle music scene, art and songwriting, his acting debut, life on the road and the origins of Queensryche in a laid back and candid interview.  A rare opportunity to visit with one of rock n’ roll’s most intense performers, PCA is proud to celebrate thirty years of Queensryche!

John Inman: 1935 – 2007

As Mister Humpheries on the British comedy staple Are You Being Served, comedian John Inman was the first openly gay man to play an openly gay character on television, endearing himself to the mass audience during an era when homosexuality was still a taboo subject.  However, Inman remained controversial amongst the gay community who were split on if he was a negative stereotype or a gay icon.

Dial “M” for Mamie: A Conversation with Mamie Van Doren

One of Hollywood’s most legendary sex symbols of the 1950’s, actress Mamie Van Doren was part of the platinum trinity known as “The Three M’s” – Marilyn, Mansfield and Mamie.  However, as fate would have it, Mamie is the only one of the three left to talk about her Hollywood experience as a sex goddess.  One of the most insightful actresses I have ever interviewed, Mamie sits firmly in the present, taking her memories and playing with them like a cultural historian, and comes up with some of the most remarkable commentaries on classic Hollywood that PCA has ever recorded.  Mamie talks about her career, censorship, her life today and her memories of legends such as Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, Howard Hughes, Rock Hudson and, of course, Marilyn Monroe.  Mamie Van Doren is nothing like I expected she’d be.  She is so much more.  Check out her amazing insights today at PCA!

Little Shop of Corman: A Conversation with Roger Corman

Sam sits down with legendary B film director Roger Corman, who Sam has often described as “the reason I watch the films I watch.”  Over a career spanning more than 50 years and almost 400 films, Corman has created drive-in staples, have mentored some of Hollywood’s most legendary directors and captured the imaginations of movie-goers.    Sam spoke to Mr. Corman from his home in Los Angeles.

At nearly 150 years old, Alice is returning to comic shops, sexier then ever, in Zenescope's latest chapter to Raven Gregory's "Wonderland" series

The literary world’s oldest seven and a half year old is coming to comic book shops this Wednesday like you’ve never seen her before.

For nearly a hundred and fifty years Alice, the heroine of Lewis Carroll’s classic children’s book Alice in Wonderland, has been a fixture on the cultural landscape via books, film, animation and comics.  One of literatures most endearing characters, Alice and all of the colorful characters she encounters, including the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter and March Hair, the Jabberwocky and the Red Queen, have been reimagined and reinterpreted time and time again.  While some interpretations stick to the innocent fairy tale aspect of Wonderland, others lean towards emphasizing the darker themes of madness that can be found in the original book’s subtext.  In 2007 comic writer Raven Gregory brought a brand new chapter of the Wonderland mythos to life with Return to Wonderland, published by Zenescope Entertainment.  Following the adventures of Alice’s teenaged children Callie and Johnny, Gregory enhanced the horror by creating a darker and deadlier Wonderland then anything seen before in print, and spiced the book up with twisted humor and fetish imagery.  With three dimensional characters, Callie and Johnny wage war against Wonderland, and each other, in a story that pits sanity against madness and good against evil.  Raven Gregory’s Wonderland became an instant cult hit, spawning two more mini-series, continuing Callie’s journey, and a series of one shot specials which further expanded Wonderland itself.

Zenescope Entertainment's "Alice in Wonderland" hits comic shops Wednesday January 25th!

Now, Raven Gregory is finally bringing readers back to the very beginning and reintroducing readers to Wonderland’s original victim, Alice in the latest chapter of his Wonderland series – Alice in Wonderland.  With his own Wonderland mythos as his backdrop, Raven is finally ready to tell his version of what happened to Alice when she fell down the rabbit hole, and how it turned her into the emotionally destroyed woman which readers were introduced to in the first issue of Return to Wonderland.  With art by Robert Gill and covers by a host of top comic professionals, Alice in Wonderland will be the final mini-series in the Wonderland series, leading to a bigger story in the much anticipated Wonderland on-going series coming later in 2012.

One of my favorite writers in the comic book industry today, it is always a pleasure to talk to Raven about his work.  With four comic book series currently in publication, Raven has one of comics busiest minds and biggest outputs.  In fact, Wonderland isn’t the only hit mini-series that Raven is reviving again in 2012.  Raven spoke to me about the return of The Waking which will also be returning later this year.

So let’s pour a cup of tea and let Raven Gregory be our guide down the rabbit hole and into a land of madness, murder and wonder.

CONFESSIONS OF  A POP CULTURE ADDICT PRESENTS

FEED YOUR HEAD:

DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE WITH RAVEN GREGORY

Sam Tweedle:  Now in keeping with the Wonderland series that you’ve already established, the real prequel to your series would have been the source material by Lewis Carroll.  However, you are going back to do an Alice prequel of your own.  What are you doing different with the already established story to make it fit into your distinctive Wonderland world.

The man behind the madness - Zenescope writer and Executive Editor Raven Gregory.

Raven Gregory:  Well a lot of it has to do with the fact that throughout [my] original [Wonderland] trilogy we’ve established this twisted different version of Wonderland from the Lewis Carroll version that everybody is so familiar with.  So when going back to do this actual Alice story, a lot of the mythology that we’ve pulled from is what [I’ve] already established.  You have this sense that Alice was there.  In the Tales From Wonderland one shot [featuring Alice] you get a glimpse of her origin and the fact that she left the remnant of her sanity back in Wonderland, but you never get to play with everything that really happened to her.  Calie was there, essentially, for a very short period of time while Alice was there for much longer, so her story will be more vast and epic in nature.

Sam:  How close did you use the original source material when doing this story?  Did you revisit the Carroll book at all, or are you just taking it in your own direction.

"There are things that have to happen in the story, like the tea party and the croquet game. They have to be in it."

Raven:  There are things that have to happen in the story, like the tea party and the croquet game.  They have to be in it.  When I did the first Return to Wonderland series most of it was pulled from the source material, and as we went to Beyond and Escape we kind of made the world our own.  Now it’s not so much at looking at the source material, but it’s in the confines of the story we’ve already established.  How will the prequel play out and how does Alice’s real origin story and her journey from being this little girl who was sacrificed to Wonderland to becoming what she ends up as at the beginning of Return to Wonderland is the adventure.

Sam:  You’ve created a whole mythos surrounding her family and the generational sacrifice through the mirror.  Will you be doing more with that element of the story?

Raven:  Not particularly.  This story is mainly focused on what happened in Wonderland.  Not so much her story outside of Wonderland because we’ve seen almost all of that.   We’ve explored that [already].  It would just be right for this series to just tell the hidden story that is in Wonderland.  There are a lot of really cool elements that I am really excited to touch upon.  Like, in Return to Wonderland there is no Jabberwocky, but in Beyond he’s a big part of that series.  By the end of Alice you get to see why that is.  It’s something that’s been planned for quite some time and all the pieces just kind of fit.

Sam:  What is your own perception of the character of Alice in your world?

Alice meets the Cheshire Cat: "Essentially, here’s this little girl who is betrayed by two people who she trusts more then anybody else in the world, and she’s growing up in a realm of insanity."

Raven:  Well, one of the things that was fun when I was writing Calie was that in the first series [I was] discovering who the character was so by the time I got to Beyond I knew exactly who she was, and I could explain fluently what she was all about.  With Alice it’s almost like working backwards.  We know how she ends up.  Essentially, here’s this little girl who is betrayed by two people who she trusts more then anybody else in the world, and she’s growing up in a realm of insanity.  Even though there is the separation of her sanity and the part that comes back into the real world, there is still the idea that there is this massive journey for this person who is essentially innocent and virtually childlike but growing up around nothing that makes sense.  To me it’s a story about a lost little girl trying to find herself and put herself back together, but at the same time you know it’s kind of futile.

Sam:  Does that mean that Alice will never find any sort of redemption in the Wonderland you’ve created for her?

Raven:  She does,but it’s a very strange redemption.  When you read the Alice story you see that she is going to make a huge sacrifice that is the kind of sacrifice that changes the way you read everything you’ve read before.  I don’t want to give it away but it’s a pretty big moment.

"We’ve established throughout the entire series that time seems to shift and bend. So when she goes into Wonderland and her sanity is left behind, she’s still a child, but by the time we get into Wonderland she’s a full grown teenager."

Sa m:  Now in the original source material for Alice in Wonderland, Alice is seven years old.  Seven and a half to be totally correct.  How old is your Alice supposed to be?  I mean, on those covers she’s a lot older then seven and a half, not that I’m complaining mind you.

Raven:  In the first issue you see her grow up.  That’s the cool thing about writing a story in Wonderland.  Nothing has to make sense.  We’ve established throughout the entire series that time seems to shift and bend.  So when she goes into Wonderland and her sanity is left behind, she’s still a child, but by the time we get into Wonderland she’s a full grown teenager.

Sam:  Now you have the six issue prequel.  Is this the first of another trilogy, or does this bring us to the beginning of Return to Wonderland?

Raven:  It brings [the story] full circle.

Sam: So in the Wonderland Dream Eater Saga one shot readers saw Calie and Violet again, and it opened a lot of doors for new stories and a lot of new questions.  It was said that Escape from Wonderland was the end of Calie’s journey, but does that still hold true?  Is there more to come for Calie and Violet?

Alice and her daughter Calie. Calie's battle through Wonderland will continue later in 2012 in the "Wonderland" on-going series.

Raven:  Oh yeah.  We have a plot and a plan for all of this.  You are going to see The Red Knight.  He’s definitely going to be back.  It’s been well known for quite some time that we are going to do a Wonderland on-going series.  The Dream Eater story was supposed to lead into the Wonderland on-going series, but what was decided was that before we did the on-going, which will hopefully never end, we’re going to tell Alice’s story first.

Sam:  So let me get this straight.  The plan is that you are going to do the six part Alice story, and then we’ll see a Wonderland on-going starring Calie and Violet?

Raven:  Yes.  You’ll see a Wonderland on-going in 2012.  It’s a wild and crazy story.

Sam:  Meanwhile, you are still writing three other on-going series; Fly, Myths and Legends and The Theater.  I was under the impression you were giving up Myths and Legends.

Raven:  I actually was originally.  I was giving that story up to James Patrick.  He left the Grimm Fairy Tales series for a while and was supposed to take over but there were some schedule conflicts.  So I’m still on Myths and Legends.  The problem with Myths and Legends is that as soon as I’m ready to leave we come up with a new story and I think “Oh no!  Beauty and the Beast!  It’s such a good story!  I have to write that!”

Sam:  There is a rumor out there that you are bringing back The Waking.  Is there any truth to that?

"The Waking" returns in 2012!

Raven:  Yes.  It’s been in talks for a long time.  Originally we weren’t going to do any more Waking.  I wrote it intent on that was the end of it.  There is nothing more.  And it’s pretty closed up.  You can’t kill anymore.  That’s the bottom line.  And then fans kept coming up to me at the shows and saying “There should be more.”  I kept saying “No, that’s the end of it.”  But then somebody said something that sort of sparked and idea and from there on I thought “Oh my God.  That makes perfect sense. We could really make this work.”  So there is a series.  I have the first issue written now and it should be coming out later this year.

Sam:  You have a huge year.

Raven:  Yeah.  Fly will keep going, and The Waking and The Theater and a few other creator owned series that haven’t been announced yet are still in the works now.

Sam:  Just how many books can a guy write?

Raven:  Wow.  I can’t even tell you.  It changes from month to month.  It averages out to three to four scripts a month.  Every once in a while a script will get thrown out of me for no reason, so there is no rhyme or reason.  But it will be about forty books this year.

Sam:  That’s an incredible output from one writer.

Raven:  That’s what happens when you don’t play video games.  The world doesn’t want me to play video games.

The first issue of Raven Gregory’s Alice in Wonderland hits comic stores on Wednesday January 25^th so call your comic shop and make sure that they save you a copy.  Meanwhile, if you haven’t read Raven’s other Wonderland books, not to mention his other series such as Fly, The Waking, The Theater and Myths and Legends, most of these books are available in trade paperback and available here.  Do yourself a favor and order your copies today.  Raven’s books are not necessarily for everyone, but each is a masterpiece in fantasy and horror.  That’s why Raven Gregory was named PCA’s Comic Book Professional of the year.  I’ll be picking up everything Raven puts out this year, and if you want something truly unique make sure to put all of Raven Gregory’s books, as well as the other fine books published by Zenescope Entertainment, on your pull list.  You will not be disappointed.

Two Faces Have Dick: A Conversation with Andy Dick

Andy Dick’s reputation precedes his own career.  As one of the most controversial comedians of the current century, Andy Dick has been a fixture in the news and tabloids for his bad behavior and outrageous antics that have made him a house hold name with the public.  First breaking onto the pop culture radar in the 90’s, Andy had a promising television career, but due to his brushes with the law, and his problems with drugs and alcohol, a stigma has been created around the comedian.  However, with a new film, Division III: Footballs Finest, currently in theaters, Andy is seeking to turn around that stigma and forge a new, and healthier, existence for himself.  In a candid interview Andy talks about his life, his public image, his new film and fatherhood as well as his side to the infamous confrontation with Jon Lovitz in 2007.  Andy Dick is a man with two faces.  Discover them with PCA.  There is more to Andy Dick then you probably think.

BEST OF 2011

TELEVISION

PART 1

No longer satisfied with banal sit-coms, and with reality programs becoming mid-season filler, the audience has had a new lust for good television with superb acting and production value putting television into a new old age.  While the early part of 2011 seemed like a rough year with many of TV’s favorite programs beginning to grow stale and “jump the shark,” new life has been pumped into the TV schedule to the point that hy summer and fall there are so many amazing new shows to watch that we don’t have time to see them all.  These are the best of what we’ve seen

BEST TV SERIES OF 2011 – GAME OF THRONES

Sean Bean, as Lord Eddard Stark, leads a massive cast on HBO's epic medival drama "Game of Thrones"

Game of Thrones is the type of television program that makes you question the overall quality of everything you have seen before.  Based on the Song of Ice and Fire novels by George R.R. Martin, HBO premiered the ten episode premier season of Game of Thrones in the spring of 2011, just as other networks were about to go into finale season.  A heavy handed medieval drama primarily made up of a cast of European stage actors, Game of Thrones might seem like an odd series to capture the imaginations of the North American public, but riding high on the market left behind by the end of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Ring films, Game of Thrones filled the void that other fantasy based programs have failed to capture.  What makes Game of Thrones worth watching is that everything is exceptional.  Absolutely everything.  From the sets to the costumes, to the writing to the large ensemble cast made up of multiple generations of actors, Game of Thrones is like a weekly cinematic masterpiece making its debut on your TV set.  Five years in the making, Game of Thrones is the most brilliant and captivating television series to come on television in decades.

With a large cast of characters made up of primarily European stage actors, "Game of Thrones" makes viewers question the quality of everything they've seen before.

Following the dramas and rivalries of the various noble families of The Kingdoms of Westerns and their quest for the control of The Iron Throne, the first season of Game of Thrones focused on three families – The Stark family who rule the Northern kingdom of Winterfell, lead by patriarch Lord Ned Stark and his wife Catelyn; the Bareathions, lead by King Edward, who currently sits on the throne as the King of the Seven Kingdoms and the cruel and cunning Lannisters, who’s sister Cersie is married to Edward and is the reigning Queen.  Meanwhile, in the background, are Visyeras and Daenerys Targaryen, the excelled children of the previous king who are traveling with a horde of barbarians called the Dathraki who are concocting their own plans to reclaim the throne.  With a sprawling cast of over two dozen characters, multiple sub-plots weave in an out amongst the families, filled with sex, betrayal, war, romance, intrigue, heroism, villainy and every single element imaginable in what is possibly the greatest drama every put on network television.

The first season ended with even more plot threads opening and very little being resolved, with villains in power, loyalties being questioned, heroines in peril, new heroes arising from the dust, a war in full throttle and vengeance being sworn for the deaths of beloved characters.  It would take a novel to explain this series.  You just need to put ten hours of your life away and immerse yourself in the world of Game of Thrones.  Sword and sorcery isn’t my genre of choice, so if you are like me, put away your biases and watch this series.  You have never experienced anything like this.

Peter Dinklage, in the role of Tyrion Lannister, not only won the Emmy and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor, but is also PCA's Best Television Actor of 2011.

Special shout out goes to Peter Dinklage in the role of Tyrion Lannister.  One of the finest actors in Hollywood, Peter Dinklage has been limited in his roles due to his short stature of 4′ 5″.  Very rarely do parts such as that of Tyrion Lannister come up for dwarf actors, who have historically been limited to bit parts, comedic roles or novelty acts.  However, one of the most intense characters in Game of Thrones, Dinklage’s character has quickly become one of the series’ most multi dimensional characters and a fan favorites, giving Peter Dinklage an opportunity to finally flex his thespian muscles.  Deservingly, Dinklage won both  the Emmy and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor, making him the first midget to win a major Hollywood award in the history of show business.  PCA congratulates Peter Dinklage on his accomplishment and looks forward to what comes next for him in Game of Thrones, and the future.

BEST GUILTY PLEASURE OF 2011  – REVENGE

Emily VanCAmp stars as Emily Thorne, aka Amanda Clark, in ABC's cult hit "Revenge"

With unbelievable plots and near ridiculous melodrama, it is questionable if ABC’s new hit series, Revenge, could actually be considered a television masterpiece, but there is no denying that every episode becomes a classic, and the writers sure know how to pump out cliffhangers that keep audiences coming back for more.  As a result, Revenge has become the biggest cult hit of the year, and the first “must see” television  of 2011.

Making it’s debut with almost no fanfare, Revenge quickly became a cult hit within weeks purely by word of mouth from a loyal fan base that emerged nearly overnight.  The Count of Monte Cristo meets Beverly Hills 90210, what makes Revenge so appealing to such a broad audience is that it crosses genres, appealing to viewers who enjoys the mystery and intrigue of shows like Lost and 24, but includes enough romance and drama, not to mention one of the sexiest casts on television, to appeal to the Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill audience.

One of the sexiest casts on television, "Revenge" is filled with characters that you love to hate, and hate to love.

Emily VanCamp plays Amanda Clark who returns to the Hamptons years after her father was framed for terrorist activities that caused a flight filled with American passengers to crash by his former employees, the rich and powerful Victoria and Conrad Grayson, played by Madeline Stone and Henry Czeny.  Armed with a fortune and her diabolical cunningness, Amanda takes the alias Emily Thonre and, with the help of weasely cyber-billionaire Nolan Ross (Gabriel Mann), seeks to destroy the lives of everyone that betrayed her father.  Seducing the Grayson’s spoiled, but noble, son Daniel (Joshua Bowman), Amanda/Emily finds her way undetected into the Hamptons elite society, and begins strangling the spiders in their own web one by one.

Destroying lives via deciept, lies and betrayal, Emily Thorne and Nolan Ross are "Revenge's" heroes. If you think that's bad, you should see what the villains have done.

Revenge is made up of a cast of characters who are cruel, angry, dishonest, selfish, spoiled, egotistic and just simply nasty.  The only exception is bar owner Jack Porter, played by Nick Wechesler, who was Amanda’s childhood friend and finds himself attracted to Emily, not realizing she really is.  However, despite the nastiness of the majority of the characters, you judge the characters based on the varying levels of goodness which they come to display.  While the characters, at first glance, seem like cliques, they eventually show three dimensional qualities and shades of grey to their personalities.  For instance, the Grayson’s daughter Charlotte (Christa Allen) begins the series as a spoiled rich girl, but eventually wins over the audience for her own personal misery as a result of being raised by cold and cruel parents.  Her romance with Jack’s smart mouthed younger brother Declan (Connor Paolo) becomes the sweetest sub-plot in the series, making the audience embrace the two instead of loathing them.  Meanwhile, Nolan Ross, while sleazy, self indulgent, arrogant and obnoxious, is possibly the most loyal and likeable of all the characters on the show.  As for Emily herself, her sanity seems to sit in a limbo state between good and evil.  Nobody is what they seem on Revenge, which keeps the audience guessing.

Revenge is what made dramas like Dallas and Dynasty so popular in the 1980’s, but the stakes are higher and the drama far more intriguing.  Popcorn for the brain, Revenge is something that hasn’t even been seen on television before, and although networks will be sure to try, is so original that it can never be reproduced.

BEST RETURNING SERIES OF 2011 – BLUE BLOODS

Tom Selleck stars and the patriarch of the Regan Family in the crime drama "Blue Bloods."

I’m a sucker for television crime dramas, but let’s face it.  The majority of them are all the same.  The plots are, for the most part, interchangeable.  What makes a crime drama special isn’t the premise as much as the actors on the show, and the chemistry between the players.  One of the surprise hits of the 2010-2011 season, Blue Bloods is jammed packed with the right amount of talent and chemistry, delivering an even stronger emotional connection between the characters.  The characters on Blue Bloods aren’t like a family.  They are a family, creating a powerful dynamic unique to the genre.

Following the lives of the Reagan Family, a multi-generational family of New York policemen, Blue Bloods has all the same elements of most crime shows, but where it differs is by having characters who are not only at different places in their career, but have very distinct points of view on the justice system and how crime should be dealt with.  At the head of the family sits Police Commissioner Frank Regan, played by TV veteran Tom Selleck, who not only is forced to deal with the political side of the justice system, but dishes out wisdom to his family.  The rest of the cast consists of former New Kids on the Block Donnie Wahlberg in the role of oldest brother Danny, a police detective who would rather use his fist then police procedures;  Brigit Moynahan  as sister Erin, who works behind the scenes in the district attorney’s office and follows things by the book; Will Estes as idealistic youngest brother Jamie, who sits in the middle of his siblings as a former law student turned rookie cop; and Len Carious as Frank’s father Henry who provides insight from an “old school” perception, as well as provides occasional relief.  Although the family fights crime separately with their own partners and in their own departments, they depend on each other for support and “favors,” as well as debate their various views of the way justice is handled in a weekly Sunday dinner scene which the writers use as a plot device to cleverly bring the cast together.

A suprise hit of 2011, "Blue Bloods" has been able to expand season spanning plots for their successful second year.

With the series being a hit, the writers have been able to create more complex season spanning plots for the second season, including Danny’s reckless behavior on the job creating a wedge in his marriage; Erin becoming involved with an art thief who steals paintings displaced in World War II to return the to the original Jewish owners and Jamie going undercover against the mafia.  Furthermore, the writers have been able to strengthen supporting characters, including Jamie’s loveable partner Sgt. Tony Renzulli played by Nicholas  Turturro, and Erin’s teenage daughter Nicky, played by Sami Gayle, who has the charm and poise to one day become a major leading lady herself.  Possibly the most underappreciated cast member on the series is, without a doubt, Jennifer Esposito who plays Danny’s partner Jackie Curotola.  While often having more scenes then even Tom Selleck, Esposito has barely graduated to co-star status and has yet to make it to the opening credit sequence.  Esposito and Wahlberg, who is quickly becoming television’s best tough guy, have a winning chemistry based on respect and trust without the cluque of sexual tension.  The fact that the Blue Bloods writers allow Danny and Jackie to just be friends is a refreshing element to the series.  With Jackie as the good cop and Danny as the bad cop, Esposito and Wahlberg have become the best crime fighting team on television.

With Criminal Minds no longer packing the punch that it did in previous seasons and CSI being staler the week old bread, Blue Bloods is a welcomed addition to television.  However, it is the family aspect that not only makes this series unique, but also gives it its power.  As television’s best returning series, hopefully there are still plenty of seasons to come from this exceptional program.

Stay tuned for Part 2 this weekend where we look at PCA’s pick for Best Comedy Series, Best Mid Season Replacement and Best Final Season.

The Olsen Twins: Exploitation, Anorexia and the Tragedies to Come

After the revelation that Mary Kate Olsen was battling anorexia in 2004, Sam Tweedle took a analytical look at the career of Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, the lovable twins behind one of the 1990′s biggest money making franchises.  However, was their climb to the top natural, or was it modern child exploitation.  Sam also makes a comparison of the Olsen’s career to that of Shirley Temple, and makes some bold statements and predictions for the future – with a few being hauntingly accurate!

Plenty O’Lana: A Conversation with Lana Wood

Little sister of Hollywood Icon Natalie Wood, Lana grew up in the limelight, starting her own acting career at age 8.  Years later, the little girl now a voluptuous bombshell, she starred opposite Sean Connery in Diamonds Are Forever, creating the unforgettable Plenty O’Toole.