British actor Pamela Salem from Bond film dies
NEW YORK (AP) — Former talk show host Wendy Williams is thanking well-wishers for their response to the revelation she has been diagnosed with dementia and ahead of the airing of Lifetime documentary about her struggles.
“I want to say I have immense gratitude for the love and kind words I have received after sharing my diagnosis of Aphasia and Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD). Let me say, wow! Your response has been overwhelming,” Williams said in a statement released to the Associated Press through a representative for her care team. “The messages shared with me have touched me, reminding me of the power of unity and the need for compassion.”
Williams’ statement came a day after her team revealed the 59-yearold has been diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia .
It also came hours after a New York judge ruled that Lifetime’s “Where is Wendy Williams?” documentary will air this weekend as scheduled. The order signed by an appellate judge, who was reviewing a petition to block the documentary’s release, says such a ruling would be an “impermissible prior restraint on speech that violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.”
The ruling clears Lifetime’s twonight broadcast plan for “Where is Wendy Williams?,” which includes footage of the former talk show host and interviews.
An attorney for Williams’ guardian did not immediately return an email seeking comment Friday.
“Lifetime appeared in court today, and the documentary ‘Where is Wendy Williams?’ will air this weekend as planned,” the network said in a statement.
“I continue to need personal space and peace to thrive,” Williams said in her statement Friday. “Please just know that your positivity and encouragement are deeply appreciated.”
She credited the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration for its support and efforts to educate the public about the disease, which is the same form of dementia Bruce Willis has, after her diagnosis was announced.
Frontotemporal dementia is a rare disease that affects parts of the brain controlling behavior and language. These parts of the brain shrink as the disease gets worse. The disease often includes primary progressive aphasia, which means it’s causing problems with language skills. A person with this type of FTD may have trouble finding words or understanding speech.
Williams’ self-titled daytime talk show ended in 2022 because of her health issues.
Sherri Shepherd, who filled in for Williams as a guest host, received her own show.
Williams said in 2018 that she had been diagnosed years before with Graves’ disease, which leads to the overproduction of thyroid hormones and can cause wide-ranging symptoms that can affect overall health. Thursday’s statement from Williams’ care team said Williams’ dementia diagnosis happened in 2023.
People magazine reported in a cover story on Williams this week that some family members say they don’t know where she is and cannot call her themselves, but that she can call them.
British actor Pamela Salem, who appeared as Bond secretary Miss Moneypenny in the film “Never Say Never Again,” has died.
Salem’s agent Maddie Burdett Coutts confirmed in a phone call with the Times that the actor died Wednesday at her home in Florida at age 80. Additional details, including a cause of death, were not revealed.
“She was a friend, she wasn’t just a client,” Burdett Coutts said. “We’ve been friends for a long time, so it is all a bit raw. She was just the most lovely person.”
British production and publishing company Big Finish announced Salem’s death in a news release Friday. “Everyone at Big Finish was shocked and saddened to learn about the passing of our friend and colleague Pamela Salem,” the release read, before sharing the details of Salem’s life and career.
Big Finish contributor David Richardson, who produced Salem’s various audio dramas, remembered the actor’s work ethic and warm personality.
“She was a very gentle person — always interested in everyone, from her co-stars to the production team to the guest actors and visitors,” he said in the release. “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.”
Salem, who was born in 1944 in India, touts a screen career spanning multiple decades — starting from the late 1960s and ending just before 2020, according to IMDb. Among the most notable of her projects, however, is a turn as secretary Miss Moneypenny opposite Sean Connery’s James Bond in the unofficial Bond film “Never Say Never Again” in 1983.
Salem’s legacy also includes appearances in nine episodes of the original “Doctor Who” series. Her time on the beloved sci-fi series informed the multiple audio drama projects she pursued with Big Finish in the years before her death.
The actor’s more substantive television work also included British series “Buccaneer,” “Into the Labyrinth” and “EastEnders.” Her additional TV credits include “French Fields,” and appearances on U.S. dramas “ER,” “The West Wing” and “Big Love.”