Jill Townsend on The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.



Jill Townsend's first appearance on TV was on Hawk, a short lived detective series starring Burt Reynolds, which aired in November of 1966. January 31, 1967 saw the airing of Jill Townsend's second television guest appearance on The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. In an episode called 'The Drublegratz Affair', Jill Townsend plays Sherilee, a young woman with a cast on her leg who happens to be at the same wintry mountaintop location where some evil-doings are happening. She shares a funny scene with co-star Noel Harrison and later gets locked in a wardrobe with Stefanie Powers and Noel Harrison. Jill Townsend's character is not heavily featured in the episode, but she does get a few opportunities to be on the screen and she does a great job with the material and time she is given.

Of course, later on in 1967 Jill Townsend would be cast in a starring role on the TV western Cimarron Strip. She would go on to do quite a few other memorable TV guest appearances over the years, not to mention a handful of film roles. However, it is quite fun to see her in this early role just prior to her achieving a greater level of fame.


Here are a few pictures of Jill Townsend on The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.:





Jill Townsend with Stefanie Powers and Noel Harrison

Charlotte Rampling on The Avengers



After being featured in the films Rotten to the Core and Georgy Girl in 1965 and 1966 respectively, Charlotte Rampling turned her attention to a string of UK television appearances. Perhaps the best remembered of her four TV guest spots was her role on The Avengers.




Unfortunately, Charlotte Rampling's Avengers episode is the only one of her four mid-'60s TV appearances that is generally available to the viewing public. The Avengers was popular in the UK and overseas and has been repeated consistently over the years on TV, made available on VHS and now has been released on DVD. The other shows that Charlotte Rampling appeared on (Five More, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Theatre 625) have not had the good fortune of enjoying such international success and are not as well remembered today, leading to a lack of repeats and home video releases. Maybe some or all of these items exist on the collector's circuit, or maybe they will turn up someday. Let's hope so!


Charlotte Rampling and Patrick Macnee


In the fifth season episode of The Avengers titled 'The Superlative Seven', Charlotte Rampling plays Hana. As one of a group of seven individuals, each outstanding in some way, she is ushered to an unknown location for sinister purposes. Hana is an expert shooter and dresses in cowboy gear for the duration of the episode, only occasionally removing a cowboy hat which normally places on the back of her head. Despite the silly costume, Charlotte Rampling still manages to look terrific throughout. She has a great exuberance and charming quality here, the same that she brought to many of her early roles.


Charlotte Rampling and Diana Rigg


Though they only share one scene together, it is also worth noting how amazing it is to see two of Britain's best and most beautiful actresses, Charlotte Rampling and Diana Rigg, on the screen together!




Here are some pictures of Charlotte Rampling on The Avengers:











Wendy Kilbourne on Matt Houston



In one of Wendy Kilbourne's earliest television appearances, she popped up briefly in a first season episode of Matt Houston. In the 1983 episode titled 'The Showgirl Murders', Wendy Kilbourne gets a few moments of screen-time playing Joyce (who just got off the bus from Des Moines), who shows up for an audition for a night club show. She even gets to say a couple lines before being swept off the screen, though she doesn't really get to interact with Matt Houston star Lee Horsley.




Wendy Kilbourne would return to Matt Houston the following year, though her role was still not a substantial one. This time, however, she would at least get her name on the opening guest credits and get to share the screen with star Lee Horsley.




1984 was the year that Wendy Kilbourne's TV career really started to take off. Just five days before her second episode of Matt Houston would originally air on ABC in January 1984, her first big guest role on Knight Rider would air on NBC. She would follow up these appearances with featured roles on Riptide and The A-Team (plus a minor role on Cover Up) that same year.


Here are some images of Wendy Kilbourne in the second season episode of Matt Houston called 'Houston Is Dead':






Janet Julian in Choke Canyon




In 1986, Janet Julian starred in two movies, Ghost Warrior and Choke Canyon, both science fiction influenced cult classics. 1986 was arguably the pinnacle of Janet Julian's acting career, with years of hard work on TV and in low-budget movies seemingly about to pay off with face-time in feature films. While neither Choke Canyon or Ghost Warrior were huge movies, they remain cult classics and a great way to see Janet Julian show off her charm and appealing beauty.




In Choke Canyon, Janet Julian plays Vanessa Pilgrim, daughter of John Pilgrim, the evil head of the Pilgrim Corporation. When the Pilgrim Corporation needs to illegally dump some toxic waste in a specific location in Utah, they must first remove a physicist turned cowboy (Dr. David Lowell, played by Stephen Collins) who has leased the location for 99 years. Since the cowboy-scientist is conducting safe-energy research which can only be conducted in this specific canyon, he does not want to give up his lease. The Pilgrim Corporation decides to wage war and regain the territory, but they encounter much resistance from Dr. Lowell, who acts like a one man army in order to defend his right to conduct sound wave experiments in the area. Eventually, Dr. David Lowell encounters Vanessa Pilgrim and proceeds to kidnap her in a ploy to have the Pilgrim Corporation quickly replace scientific equipment that was destroyed. Shortly thereafter, Vanessa joins forces with Dr. Lowell in his mission to bring down her father's company.

The first time we see Vanessa Pilgrim onscreen is during a protest outside of the Pilgrim Corporation's headquarters. She does not agree with everything her father does, but yet she maintains a relatively cordial relationship with him. We see Vanessa attending one of her father's parties and also see her playing tennis with him. David Lowell eventually gives her a talking to, demanding that she choose sides. Of course, she picks the side of the good doctor and agrees to help destroy the nefarious Pilgrim Corp.

Supposedly, Janet Julian beat out several other up-and-coming actresses for this part. I'd have to say that the correct choice was made. Janet Julian looks great here with a beautiful mane of brunette hair. She also seems to have a lot of fun with her role, bringing a great deal of energy and charm. Her chemistry with co-star Stephen Collins is also quite agreeable.




Here are some images of Janet Julian in Choke Canyon:











Barbara De Rossi in Son Contento




In 1983, Barbara De Rossi co-starred alongside Francesco Nuti in the movie Son contento. It's an Italian film and thus is in the Italian language. Since I don't speak Italian, and the movie has not been subtitled or dubbed as far as I know, I have not had the opportunity to actually watch it.

Roughly, Son contento (which translates to 'I'm Happy' in English) is about a stand-up comedian (played by Francesco Nuti who looks a bit like an Italian Martin Short) whose girlfriend (Barbara De Rossi) decides to leave him. After she walks out on him, he hits rock bottom. Eventually, he gets it together again, reconnects with his girlfriend only to lose her once more.

Son contento was produced during Barbara De Rossi's heyday in the 1980s and she looks fantastic in the film. I only wish I could actually watch the movie properly. Maybe it will be released with subtitles someday. Maybe I should learn Italian!


Here are some images of Barbara De Rossi in Son contento: