Diana Rigg: An Avenger for Equal Pay

Recently, we lost one of the greatest TV icons of all time with the passing of Dame Diana Rigg. My earliest childhood memories include Emma Peel (Diana Rigg) and John Steed (Patrick Macnee) as the British dynamic duo crime fighters called The Avengers. Emma, oh Emma...said every pre-teen boy in the US. The Avengers 1960s reruns aired on free-to-air broadcasting on PBS, and one of 4 channels available to my family in Portland, Oregon using attenna ears in the 1970s. Great memories. But what many people do not know, is that Diana was one of the early champions for equal pay for women in film and television. While working on The Avengers, Diana was paid less than a camerman! Standing all alone, she fought (not for equal pay), but just to make more than than the damn camerman! She was earning ￡90 per week, versus the the camerman's ￡120. Really. Although her demand was satisified by doubleing her already paltry pay (even for the period), she suffered public scorn and ridicule. But that small victory, was one of many strategic and important tracks laid down for women in the workplace and equal pay. As a former PBS Executive Producer /Showrunner myself, I can hardly believe these inequities existed on the set. We should all open a bottle of champaign tonight (Avengers style) and toast this beautiful and brilliant pioneer in social justice. Thank you Diana.