British Film and television actress Pamela Salem has died at the age of 80.
Her long career in stage, television, and film included multiple roles in touring plays by Shakespeare, Chekhov, Pinter and Ayckbourn, as well as starring alongside Sean Connery in two films, The First Great Train Robbery and Never Say Never Again.
A move to Los Angeles in the 1990s, then Miami, led to a number of guest appearances in popular US drama series, such as ER and The West Wing, and a new career as a co-writer and producer of radio and theatre productions with her husband Michael O’Hagan.
In film, she played the role of Miss Moneypenny in the ‘unofficial’ 1983 James Bond film Never Say Never Again, starring Sean Connery.
She also appeared in Michael Crichton‘s The First Great Train Robbery (1979, another film which starred Connery), as well as supporting roles in The Bitch (1979), Night Train to Murder (1983), After Darkness (1985), Thirteen at Dinner (1985), Salome (1986), God’s Outlaw (1987), Succubus (1987), Gods and Monsters (1998), Quicksand (2002) and April’s Shower (2003).
On the small screen Salem was known for her co-starring role in the early 1980s ITV children’s fantasy series Into the Labyrinth as the evil witch Belor,and her late 1980s guest role in the BBC soap opera EastEnders as shady mafia affiliate Joanne Francis.
She also featured in two adventures of Doctor Who: as Toos in The Robots of Death (1977) and as Professor Rachel Jensen in Remembrance of the Daleks (1988), a role she reprised for Big Finish Productions’ officially licensed audio drama spin-off series Counter Measures.
She was also heard as one of the many voices of Xoanon in The Face of Evil (1977). She had auditioned for the role of the Fourth Doctor’s companion Leela but the role went to Louise Jameson.
David Richardson, who produced all of Pamela Salem’s work at Big Finish, said:
“Pamela Salem was lovely, and we all loved her. Whenever there was a Big Finish recording for her, she’d fly in from Miami on her own steam, without fuss or fanfare, and appear at the studio armed with the warmest smiles, the biggest hugs and often presents. She was a very gentle person – always interested in everyone, from her co-stars to the production team to the guest actors and visitors. She talked with joy about her home on Miami Beach, waking up to warmth and waves, and she knew all about our lives and families and life stories. When Miami was hit by a terrible storm a few years ago, and residents were evacuated to public shelters, the tight knit Counter-Measures team in the UK sat waiting nervously to hear how Pam was doing – and the moment she hit safety she was in touch. We were separated by thousands of miles and yet she always felt close – even if we might go for months without corresponding. There was an open and often offered invite to go to Miami and stay with her, but I don’t enjoy international travel anymore so didn’t take up the offer – something I regret.
“As a performer she’d been on my radar since I was a child – I’d seen and enjoyed her in Jason King, Doctor Who, Blake’s 7, Into the Labyrinth… as I grew up she was Miss Moneypenny in Never Say Never Again, appeared in dozens of episodes of EastEnders and after moving to the US guest starred in ER and The West Wing. Pamela had an extraordinary career and carried it lightly. She loved Big Finish and every opportunity to work with her was a gift – beyond Counter-Measures she guest starred in The Fourth Doctor Adventures (reunited with Tom Baker) and then reprised the role of Toos in our series The Robots. We had planned to continue Toos through all of the box sets, but sadly the pandemic put paid to that – international travel was out of the question and Miami was in lockdown. Nevertheless, we had many happy days together and I feel very lucky to have had her in my life.”
