British actress Pamela Salem, who played Bond's secretary Miss Moneypenny in the film “Never Say Never Again,” has died.
Salem's agent, Maddie Burdett Coutts, confirmed in a phone call with The Times that the actor died Wednesday at his home in Florida at age 80. No additional details, including the cause of death, were released.
“She was a friend, not just a client,” Burdett Coutts said. “We've been friends for a long time, so it's all a bit raw. “She was just the loveliest person.”
British production and publishing company Big Finish announced Salem's death in a press release on Friday. “Everyone at Big Finish was shocked and saddened to learn of the passing of our friend and colleague Pamela Salem,” the statement said, before sharing details of Salem's life and career.
Big Finish contributor David Richardson, who produced the various Salem audio dramas, recalled the actor's work ethic and warm personality.
“He was a very kind person, always interested in everyone, from his co-stars to the production team, guest actors and visitors,” he said in the statement. She “talked happily about her house in Miami Beach, when she woke up to the heat and the waves, and she knew everything about our lives, our families and our life stories.”
Salem, who was born in 1944 in India, touts a film career spanning several decades, from the late 1960s to just before 2020, according to IMDb. Among her most notable projects, however, was a role as secretary Miss Moneypenny opposite Sean Connery's James Bond in the unofficial Bond film “Never Say Never Again” in 1983.
Salem's legacy also includes appearances in nine episodes of the original series “Doctor Who.” His time on the beloved sci-fi series informed the multiple audio drama projects he pursued with Big Finish in the years before his death.
The actor's major television work also included the British series “Buccaneer,” “Into the Labyrinth” and “EastEnders.” His additional television credits include “French Fields” and appearances on the American dramas “ER,” “The West Wing” and “Big Love.”
Salem's film credits include 1978's “The Great Train Robbery” (also opposite Connery), “Salome,” “Gods and Monsters” and “April's Shower.”
Salem grew up in England and attended the University of Heidelberg in Germany and the Royal Central School of Speech in London, before beginning her acting career in repertory theater in Chesterfield and York.
In the '90s, he moved abroad, settling in Los Angeles and eventually Miami. She was married to Irish actor Michael O'Hagan, who died in 2017 aged 77. Salem is survived by her sister, the puppeteer and poet Gille Robic.
