Linda Thorson

Linda Thorson
Linda Thorson
	Thorson with Patrick Macnee in a promotional photograph from The Avengers
Born	Linda Robinson; 18 June 1947; Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1968-present
Spouse(s)	Barry Bergthorson (m. 1964; div. 1970); Cyril Jeffrey Smith Jr. (m. 1979; div. 1981); Bill Boggs (m. 1984; div. 2003) (1 child); Gavin Mitchell (m. 2005; div. 2011)
Website	Linda Thorson: The Official Website

Linda Thorson (born Linda Robinson; 18 June 1947) is a Canadian actress, known for playing Tara King in The Avengers[1] (1968–69).

Biography

Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada,[1] she attended Bishop Strachan School,[2] and then moved to the UK in 1965 to study acting.[3] She graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art with an Honours Diploma, including speaking and singing honours (soprano), on 1 July 1967.[3][4] Her professional name is based upon her first married name, Mrs Barry Bergthorson.[5]

She was married to the American news anchorman and producer Bill Boggs with whom she has a son; they divorced.[6] She was married to production designer Gavin Mitchell in November 2005, but divorced in 2011.

Thorson is bi-dialectal, speaking in her native Canadian accent when she is in North America, and received pronunciation when she is in the United Kingdom.

Career

Thorson is best known for her role as Tara King (succeeding Diana Rigg as Emma Peel) in the last series of the British TV adventure series, The Avengers, with the original star Patrick Macnee.[4] She was reunited with Macnee in a commercial for Laurent-Perrier champagne in the mid 1970s which led to the series reappearing as The New Avengers,[7] although Thorson did not regain her role.

Since then, she appeared in character roles in many TV series and films, including Thriller, Return of the Saint, Valentino, The Greek Tycoon, the cult horror film Curtains, Blind Justice, Alan Alda's Sweet Liberty, and Marblehead Manor.[3]

She appeared from 1989 to 1992 in the daytime drama One Life to Live as Julia Wheaton Medina.[3] She also appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation, playing female Cardassian starship commander Gul Ocett in the 6th-season episode "The Chase" (1993).[8] From 1998 to 2000, she played Isabel in the Canadian series Emily of New Moon.

In 2002, she portrayed a Supreme Court Justice in the movie Half Past Dead with Steven Seagal and Ja Rule, and appeared in the 2006 action sequel Max Havoc: Ring of Fire. Throughout 2006–07, Thorson played the villainous Rosemary King in the ITV series Emmerdale.

Thorson has performed in many dramatic and musical stage productions, including appearances on Broadway in Nell Dunn's Steaming and Michael Frayn's Noises Off!.[9] In 1971, she starred alongside Michael Crawford and Anthony Valentine in the London West End hit show No Sex Please, We're British and later appeared as Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Open Air Theatre, Regents Park, London. She also played Hester Salomon in a UK tour of Equus opposite Simon Callow.[10] In the summer of 2008, she appeared at the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park in the Lerner & Loewe musical, Gigi.

In 2013, Thorson appeared onstage in Tracy Letts's play August: Osage County about a dysfunctional family in Oklahoma. In 2014, she is slated to appear in Jon Robin Baitz's play Other Desert Cities.[11]

In 2013, Thorson produced a new stage play called The Goodbye Bird written by Colleen Murphy.[11]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1977	Valentino	Billie Streeter
1978	The Greek Tycoon	Angela
1983	Curtains	Brooke Parsons
1985	Walls of Glass	Andrea
1986	Joey	Principal O'Neill
1986	Sweet Liberty	Grace James
1988	Olympus Force: The Key	Athene
1999	Giving It Up	Marlene Gigante
1999	The Other Sister	Drew
2002	Half Past Dead	Judge Jane McPherson
2004	Straight into Darkness	Maria
2006	Max Havoc: Ring of Fire	Denise Blaine
2010	Rachel	Texas Lady	Short
2010	Will	Greta	Short
2016	The Second Time Around	Katherine

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1968–69	The Avengers	Tara King	Regular role
1973	Thriller	Toni Tanner	"Lady Killer"
1976	The Howerd Confessions	Eve	"1.5"
1977	A Month in the Country	Vera Alexandrovna	TV film
1977	King of Kensington	Suzanne	"The Teacher"
1978	Les palmiers du métropolitain	Anna	TV film
1978	Return of the Saint	Diamond	"The Roman Torch"
1979	The Great Detective	Sarah Lyall	"Murder at Blenheim Swamp"
1980	Matt and Jenny	Ann Winfield	"Wagon Train West"
1981	The Two of Us	Melissa	"Upstairs, Downstairs"
1981	McClain's Law	Teri Fields	"Portrait of a Playmate"
1982	The Great Detective	Sarah Lyall	"Death on Delivery"
1984	The Lost Honor of Kathryn Beck	Cory Fuhrman	TV film
1985	Lime Street	Uli	"Diamonds Aren't Forever"
1985	St. Elsewhere	Mrs. Cochrane	"Lost and Found in Space", "Close Encounters", "Watch the Skies"
1986	Blind Justice	Pamela	TV film
1986	Spenser: For Hire	Karen Cooper	"Hell Hath No Fury"
1986	Moonlighting	Agent Gregory	"Symphony in Knocked Flat"
1987	Dynasty	Dr. Mansfield	"The Birthday", "The Test"
1987	Tales from the Darkside	Elizabeth Eaton	"Auld Acquaintances"
1987	The Bronx Zoo	Connie Delvecchio	"Signs of Life", "Small Victories", "The Moral Equation"
1987–88	Marblehead Manor	Hillary Stonehill	Main role
1988	Buck James	Laura Browne	"Act of Aggression"
1989	Empty Nest	Janice Brattle	"The More Things Change..."
1989–92	One Life to Live	Julia Medina	Regular role
1990	Monsters	Jessica	"A New Woman"
1993	Tropical Heat	Janet	"The Last of the Magnificent"
1993	Star Trek: The Next Generation	Gul Ocett	"The Chase"
1994	Street Legal	Ellen Filipchuk	"The Morning After"
1994	E.N.G.	Barbara Stollery	"Before the Axe"
1994	Kung Fu: The Legend Continues	Helen Richmond	"Laurie's Friend"
1996	Kung Fu: The Legend Continues	Geena Sinclair	"Requiem"
1997	Dead Silence	Constance Stanley	TV film
1997	F/X: The Series	Cassandra Delarossa	"Medea"
1998–99	Emily of New Moon	Isabel Murray	Regular role
1999–00	The Hoop Life	Emily Yeager	Main role
2001	Law & Order	Martha Taylor	"Possession"
2006	Vital Signs	Mrs. Percy	"1.6"
2006	Silent Witness	Anne Wheaton	"Body of Work: Parts 1 & 2"
2006	The Wives He Forgot	Eva	TV film
2006–07	Emmerdale	Rosemary King	Regular role
2008	Doctors	Carol Francis	"Another Day"
2011	Committed	Isadora	TV film
2011	Flashpoint	Elaine Stearns	"Through a Glass Darkly"
2012	The Listener	Mrs. Slatterly	"Rogues' Gallery"
2012	Saving Hope	Melissa Hurst	"Out of Sight"
2012	Sylvia Plath: Girl Detective	Olive	TV series
2013	Rookie Blue	Eleanor Ward	"For Better, for Worse"
2014	Transporter: The Series	Rae Henson	"Sixteen Hands"
2014	Best Christmas Party Ever	Petra	TV film
2015	Two Wrongs	Judy	TV film
2018	Free Rein	Wilma	TV series; 2 episodes
2019	Schitt's Creek	Gloria Gregson	Episode: "Meet the Parents"
2019	Good Witch (TV series)	Mrs Hansen	Season 5 Finalé
2020	The Hardy Boys	Gloria Esterbrook	Main Cast

References

"Full Biography: Linda Thorson". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2009.
"Linda Thorson is Star at 20 in Avengers". Gettysburg Times. 9 November 1968. Archived from the original on 1 December 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
Lisanti, Tom; Paul, Louis (April 2002). Film fatales: women in espionage films and television, 1962–1973. McFarland & Company. pp. 287–289. ISBN 978-0-7864-1194-8.
Rogers, Dave (15 August 1989). The Complete Avengers: The Full Story of Britain's Smash Crime-Fighting Team!. Berlin: St. Martin's Griffin. p. 158. ISBN 978-0-312-03187-9.
Room, Adrian (1981). Naming names: stories of pseudonyms and name changes. Routledge & Kegan Paul. p. 196. ISBN 978-0-7100-0920-3.
Boehm, Mike (3 April 2000). "Her Art Imitates Her Life: Ex-Avenger Linda Thorson Revisits Trying Times in SCR Role". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. Archived from the original on 1 December 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
"The Avengers Forever: Behind the Scenes". theavengers.tv. Archived from the original on 23 February 2010. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
"Interview with Linda Thorson". BBC. 26 September 2005. Archived from the original on 29 May 2011. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
"Linda Thorson". playbill.com. Archived from the original on 30 September 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
"I, Audra: An Interview with Linda Thorson Part 2". The Terror Trap. 3 October 2013. Archived from the original on 6 October 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
"I, Audra: An Interview with Linda Thorson". The Terror Trap. 3 October 2013. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013.

External links

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[NYT_70859-1] "Full Biography: Linda Thorson". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2009.

[2] "Linda Thorson is Star at 20 in Avengers". Gettysburg Times. 9 November 1968. Archived from the original on 1 December 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.

[FF-3] Lisanti, Tom; Paul, Louis (April 2002). Film fatales: women in espionage films and television, 1962–1973. McFarland & Company. pp. 287–289. ISBN 978-0-7864-1194-8.

[Avengers-4] Rogers, Dave (15 August 1989). The Complete Avengers: The Full Story of Britain's Smash Crime-Fighting Team!. Berlin: St. Martin's Griffin. p. 158. ISBN 978-0-312-03187-9.

[5] Room, Adrian (1981). Naming names: stories of pseudonyms and name changes. Routledge & Kegan Paul. p. 196. ISBN 978-0-7100-0920-3.

[6] Boehm, Mike (3 April 2000). "Her Art Imitates Her Life: Ex-Avenger Linda Thorson Revisits Trying Times in SCR Role". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. Archived from the original on 1 December 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2020.

[7] "The Avengers Forever: Behind the Scenes". theavengers.tv. Archived from the original on 23 February 2010. Retrieved 6 December 2009.

[8] "Interview with Linda Thorson". BBC. 26 September 2005. Archived from the original on 29 May 2011. Retrieved 5 July 2010.

[9] "Linda Thorson". playbill.com. Archived from the original on 30 September 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2020.

[10] "I, Audra: An Interview with Linda Thorson Part 2". The Terror Trap. 3 October 2013. Archived from the original on 6 October 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013.

[The_Terror_Trap-11] "I, Audra: An Interview with Linda Thorson". The Terror Trap. 3 October 2013. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013.