Margaret Nolan: Tributes paid to Goldfinger and Carry On star following her death
Written by News on 12/10/2020
Tributes are being paid to the “beyond iconic” Margaret Nolan, who starred in Goldfinger and danced as the gold-painted model in the film’s title sequence, following her death at the age of 76.
As well as her famous James Bond role, the actress also appeared in several Carry On movies and alongside The Beatles in A Hard Day’s Night.
Her son, Oscar Deeks, said she died on 5 October, according to US entertainment magazine Variety.
Director Edgar Wright, who worked with Nolan in 2019 for his upcoming horror film Last Night In Soho, announced news of her death on social media, describing the star as “the middle of [the] Venn diagram of everything cool in the 60s”.
A former glamour model, Wright said Nolan would frequently send up “her own glamourpuss image” in her acting roles.
In a lengthy tribute, he began: “It’s my sad duty to report that actress and artist, the magnificent Margaret Nolan has passed away. She was the middle of Venn diagram of everything cool in the 60’s; having appeared with the Beatles, been beyond iconic in Bond and been part of the Carry On cast too.”
He continued: “She also appeared in five Spike Milligan Q series, Steptoe & Son, The Likely Lads, Morecambe & Wise and The Sweeney.
“She became deeply involved in political theatre and more recently created visual art; deconstructed her own glamour modelling in a series of photomontages.”
Wright then shared a photo of himself with Nolan, taken last year, and said: “I’m so glad I got to know her.”
Nolan was born in Somerset in 1943, and grew up in London. While working as a glamour model she went by the name Vicki Kennedy in the early 1960s, but switched back to her birth name when her acting career took off.
In Goldfinger, she played 007’s masseuse, Dink, alongside Sean Connery, but is perhaps best known for her role in the 1964 film’s title sequence, in which she danced painted entirely in gold as images from the film were projected on to her body.
After the role, she appeared in Playboy and continued to act, with Carry On credits including Carry On Dick, Carry On Girls, Carry On Matron, Carry On At Your Convenience, Carry On Henry and Carry On Cowboy.
She also appeared in TV shows such as The Sweeney, Brideshead Revisited and Last Of The Summer Wine.
Earlier this year, Bond fans paid tribute to Honor Blackman, who also starred in Goldfinger as Pussy Galore, following her death at the age of 94.
Diana Rigg, who starred alongside George Lazenby’s Bond in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, died in September.
Nolan is survived by her two sons.
(c) Sky News 2020: Margaret Nolan: Tributes paid to Goldfinger and Carry On star following her death
