Madeline Smith

For the 19th century Glasgow alleged murderess, see Madeleine Smith.

Madeline Smith (born 2 August 1949 in Hartfield, Sussex) is an English actress and comedienne. She was a model in the 1960s, and appeared in many comedy films (e.g. Carry On Matron), television series, and Hammer horror films during the 1960s and the 1970s.

Her father owned an antiques shop near Kew Gardens, while she had a temporary job working at Biba's boutique, a fashion house in Kensington High Street, London, during the 1960s.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Smith was frequently the subject of cartoons by J Edward Oliver, which made constant admiring reference to her disproportionately large bust.

Her television acting credits included The Two Ronnies (appearance in the comic serial "Hampton Wick"), Clochemerle, Doctor at Large (5 episodes), The Steam Video Company, His and Hers (1970) with Tim Brooke-Taylor and Casanova '73 with Leslie Phillips. She was a member of the regular cast for the BBC2 series The End of the Pier Show (1974) and In The Looking Glass (1978), along with John Wells, John Fortune, and Carl Davis.

Madeline Smith first worked for Hammer films in Taste the Blood of Dracula (1969), as an East End prostitute, a non-speaking role. Her "Hammer Heroine" cult status derives primarily from The Vampire Lovers (1970) and Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974); although she appears partially nude in the former, her character was the target of Ingrid Pitt's vampiric appetites. In 1973 she played the Bond girl Miss Caruso in the post titles sequence of Live and Let Die, the first James Bond film starring Roger Moore.

Smith made her last film in 1984. Then she gave birth to a daughter and stopped accepting work. She was married to fellow actor David Buck until his death of cancer in 1989. She appeared at Manchester's Festival of Fantastic Films in 2004. She contributed her production remembrances to an audio commentary track for the 2003 DVD edition of Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell, along side co-star David Prowse. During that session, she likewise touched upon various experiences of having worked on the stage, and her memories of having appeared in The Vampire Lovers and Theater Of Blood. She has also auctioned on eBay a dinner party with herself as guest host and speaker.^{[citation needed]}

Filmography

• The Vampire Lovers
• The Mini Mob
• Tam-Lin
• Up Pompeii
• Up the Front
• The Amazing Mr Blunden
• Live and Let Die, Roger Moore's first James Bond film (as Miss Caruso).
• Theatre of Blood

Bibliography

• Paul, Louis (2008). "Madeline Smith". Tales From the Cult Film Trenches; Interviews with 36 Actors from Horror, Science Fiction and Exploitation Cinema. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. pp. 214–220. ISBN 978-0-7864-2994-3. 

External links

• Madeline Smith at the Internet Movie Database
• Madeline Smith at HorrorStars
• Madeline Smith article from Bite Me horror magazine
• Madeline Smith biography
• Madeline Smith page on the SCIFIpedia
• Madeline Smith Retrospective at Den Of Geek
• BBC: Actress recalls glamour of Hammer - 2009 interview with Madeline Smith