Pamela Salem, James Bond and 'Doctor Who' Actress, Dead at 80

British actress Pamela Salem

Pamela Salem, a film and television actress known for her role in the 1983 James Bond movie Never Say Never Again and for her guest appearances on Doctor Who, has died at age 80.

Big Finish Productions, which worked with Salem for years, announced her death with a statement on its website and also shared a 2019 photo of the late actress on Instagram. The production company said Salem died on Feb. 21, but did not disclose her cause of death.

Salem was born in India in 1944. She went to school in Germany at Heidelberg University and later attended the Central School of Speech and Drama in London.

Salem had many television and film roles over the course of her career, which began in the late 1960s. Her first major film role was 1978’s The First Great Train Robbery, a Michael Crichton-directed comedic heist movie starring Sean Connery, Donald Sutherland and Lesley-Anne Down. Salem reunited with Connery for Never Say Never Again, the film that saw Connery reprising his role as James Bond after a 12-year break from the character.

Salem continued acting in films into the 2000s and appeared often on television. In addition to her 1977 and 1988 roles on Doctor Who, Salem acted on shows like All Creatures Great and Small, Into the Labyrinth, Buccaneer and many others. She also had several guest appearances on TV, including in one 1996 episode of the hit medical drama ER and a 2005 episode of the political drama The West Wing.

Salem was married for decades to Michael O’Hagan, a fellow actor with whom she wrote and produced audio and theater projects. O’Hagan died in 2017.

Salem was remembered by her Big Finnish colleague David Richardson as “a very gentle person” who was “always interested in everyone, from her co-stars to the production team to the guest actors and visitors.”

“She talked with joy about her home on Miami Beach, waking up to warmth and waves, and she knew all about our lives and families and life stories,” Richardson said in a statement shared by the production company. Though Richardson said he and Salem were “separated by thousands of miles,” the actress “always felt close – even if we might go for months without corresponding.”

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