Valerie Leon – Up Front at Live at Zédel, London.
Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
When actress Valerie Leon walked out to a packed house and a very extended standing ovation, she seemed almost overwhelmed by the reception she received.
Never a star in the accepted meaning of the word, she has nevertheless survived the trials and tribulations of working in showbusiness and always appeared to be enjoying herself, be it on stage, in films or on television.
Her account of her career thus far was highly amusing and she proved to be a fine raconteur, but then, with a life that included working in the Carry On films, the James Bond franchise, the Hammer horror productions, and with the notorious Peter Sellers in the Pink Panther series, it has been a good laugh from beginning to end.
Starstruck from an early age, Leon’s first attempt at a career in showbiz was her writing to Harry Corbett of Sooty fame, offering to do his dry cleaning after his impossible bear companion ruined his clothes at every performance.
Corbett replied saying that she needn’t worry because the BBC Television studio had its own wardrobe care. She still has the letter framed on her bathroom wall.
Anyway, young Leon, being besotted with films and their stars ( she sings ‘Mad About the Movies’, a song written for her by a friend) and a great collector of celebrity autographs, she was determined to go on the stage.
Her recounting how she failed the audition at RADA was hilarious but it didn’t stop her. After being an au pair in France she worked at Harrods as a buyer but, when she spotted an advertisement in The Stage for chorus girl auditions for a tour of the musical The Belle of New York, she applied, got the job (because she was very tall) and went on tour.
However, the show closed after six weeks when the money ran out. Her next audition was for the London premiere of Funny Girl with Barbra Streisand, and that was her big break when she acquired an agent.
After that there was no looking back. Her first television appearance was in an episode of The Saint, the first of several times she worked with Roger Moore.
More TV followed including The Baron, The Avengers, Hark at Barker, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), Up Pompeii with Frankie Howerd, The Persuaders (Roger Moore again) and many others.
Leon’s first film was Smashing Time with Rita Tushingham and Lynn Redgrave and then came Carry On Up the Khyber, followed by Carry On Camping, Carry On Again Doctor, Carry on Matron and Carry on Girls plus a Christmas special. She had had an uncredited role in The Italian Job with Michael Caine and continued to appear in both comedy and dramas.
Having found her forte in comedy, Leon demonstrated her dramatic acting powers in the Hammer film Blood From the Mummy’s Tomb in which she played two roles, a woman who is possessed by the spirit of an ancient Egyptian queen (also VL).
It was Leon’s best performance which gave audiences a chance to see her not only as a glamour girl but also as a fine dramatic actress.
Over the years there were more comedies and more television, but nothing was as completely satisfying as her performance as Queen Tera. She worked again with Roger Moore on The Wild Geese and The Spy Who Loved Me and with Sean Connery on Never Say Never Again, and then with Peter Sellers in Revenge of the Pink Panther. However, she may well be remembered more for the commercials she did for Hai Karate, the popular 1970s after shave.
Leon’s husband, the late Michael Mills (1919-1988), was head of comedy at BBC TV, and responsible for the likes of Dad’s Army, Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Up Pompeii, Some Mothers Do ’Ave ’Em etc. They had a son and a daughter.
Leon told her story with great enthusiasm and, although it was obviously rehearsed, it did come out as if she was telling it straight off the cuff.
It was an entertaining evening being with Leon and, as she still gets a huge amount of fan mail, I am sure she will be back again touring the UK with more tales of the Carry Ons, the 007s, the Pink Panther and the Hammer horrors.
Michael Darvell
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