Gloria Hendry, a leading actress in Live and Let Die, highlighted the importance of self-acceptance and the growing appreciation for Black beauty within the community. She emphasized that embracing one’s identity is key to overcoming societal prejudice and fostering a sense of pride and confidence.
Published Friday, December, 1972
Gleaner Western Bureau
CURIO vendors displayed their goods with cheerful smiles as American tourists scrutinized both merchandise and sellers with the gay curiosity typical of happy-go-lucky vacationers in the tropics.
But this time, there was a difference. Cameras were everywhere, accompanied by bright lights, sound men, directors, actors, and hundreds of fascinated onlookers. Scenes for the eighth James Bond thriller, Live and Let Die, were being shot at Gunpoint Wharf in Montego Bay.
The presence of a strikingly beautiful Afro-haired Black woman, relaxing while a makeup artist worked on her face, soon caught my attention. She turned out to be Gloria Hendry, one of James Bond's (Roger Moore) leading ladies.
Gloria shared that although this was her first major movie role, it wasn’t her first movie. She had small parts in Black Caesar with Anthony Quinn and For Love of Ivy with Sidney Poitier. She said she received formal training at the Warren Robertson Workshop and is currently a Bunny at the Playboy Club in New York.
“I have also done a spot of dancing,” she revealed.
When asked about the often-criticized glorification of violence in the movie industry, she said, “It’s what is being sold that is important because people are in the business to make money, and really that is what matters.”
On the success of Black movies following similar violent trends, such as the widely acclaimed Superfly, Hendry commented: “To get breaks in the movies is a new experience for Black actors and actresses, and I am very happy that nowadays most of us are getting work.”
She believed that Black movies would gradually develop and improve in quality over time. “But for the time being, let us be happy that most of us are getting the breaks that we deserve.”
She expressed pride in the growing appreciation of Black beauty. “You see, you must learn to appreciate your own; and if you hate yourself, you will hate others. Prejudice doesn’t bother me anymore. I understand the ignorance of it.”
Gloria praised her leading man, Roger Moore. “He is a very kind, lovable man; a very unusual individual with a unique kindness about him,” she said.
On the topic of marriage, the 5’5” beauty, who has steadfastly refused to reveal her age to reporters or even her publicity agents, said, “I just have not found the right man, but I am looking, and I hope I will know when I really meet him.”
BLACK AND BEAUTIFUL starlet Gloria Hendry, one of the two female leads in the movie "Live and Let Die", being filmed on Jamaica's North Coast.
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