Martin Benson (Actor)

By: Anders Frejdh

Published:
2008-05-01

Mr Solo in GOLDFINGER 1964

The first and only time I met Martin Benson was in April 2008 at Pinewood Studios.

About Martin Benson: (by Bondstars)
Tall, grim-faced British actor Martin Benson worked concurrently on stage and in films throughout the late 1940s.

He then apperared in shows such as The Vise, Douglas Fairbanks Presents, Passage Home, Doctor At A Sea and perhaps his most familiar role to American audiences, was his portrayal of the dour Kralahome in The King and I (1956).

For 39 weeks in 1957, Martin Benson appeared as the Duke de Medici on the weekly Renaissance-based TV adventure series Sword of Freedom and then appeared in a number of episodes of Assignment Foreign Legion, Dangerman; as well as The Pure hell Of St Trinians, Captain Clegg, Cleopatra and A Shot In The Dark. He then played Mr. Solo, the ill-tempered American gangster with a "pressing engagement," in Goldfinger (1964) (1964).

Martin subsequently appeared in episodes of The Saint, The Champions, The Protectors, The Adventurer and, in 1976, played the chilling Father Spiletto in The Omen.

Martin then appeared in films such as The Sea Wolves, Sphinx and Angela's Ashes as well as balancing a formidable TV output with The Bill, Campion, Casualty, Last of the Summer Wine, The Hitchhikers Guide To the Galaxy and Tales Of the Unexpected.

Other people involved in Goldfinger that FSWL has met:
>Burt Kwouk
>Caron Gardner
>Desmond Llewelyn
>Guy Hamilton (director)
>Harold Sakata
>Honor Blackman
>John Barry (soundtrack)
>Ken Adam (production designer)
>Leslie Bricusse (lyricist)
>Lois Maxwell
>Margaret Nolan
>May-Ling
>Monty Norman (composer of the James Bond theme)
>Nadja Regin
>Norman Wanstall (dubbing editor)
>Rocky Taylor (stuntman)
>Sean Connery
>Shirley Bassey (singer of the title song)
>Shirley Eaton
>Tania Mallet
>Terry Richards (stuntman)
>Tricia Muller

Text written and published by Anders Frejdh in May, 2008

Tags:

#actors

All information, text and graphics (unless otherwise stated) on this website are protected by copyright law. Please contact us to use anything.

This website is not in any way endorsed by EON Productions Ltd, Danjaq, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Sony Pictures, United Artists, Ian Fleming Publications, or any other James Bond copyright holders. It is an independently run non-profit website from a personal basis in spare time.

Founder & Managing Editor: Anders Frejdh

Tag Cloud

Martin Benson (Actor)

Tag Cloud