Under the Mango Tree…..Day 64 of Bond 365

It’s almost Friday and I am so ready for the weekend. I have a magazine article write and turn in by Saturday and more articles on the horizon. It is never a dull moment! I hope your week is going well and thank you for stopping by. Here’s Day 64!

Diana Coupland (Wikipedia)

Diana Coupland

Born this day in 1928

Singing voice for Ursula Andress in Dr. No

She wanted to be a ballet dancer, but because of a horse-riding accident, Betty Diana Coupland turned to music. She was discovered by a BBC producer and began performing full-time at the Mecca Locarno at the age of 14. She moved to London to continue singing with Mecca’s Tottenham Court Road ballroom. She did quite well by the 40s and 50s including dubbing actresses that could not sing. Coupland dubbed Lana Turner and Ursula Andress, singing “Under the Mango Tree.” At some point in the 60s, she gave up singing and her secondary career eventually became successful for her: acting.

Coupland was married to Monty Norman, who composed “The James Bond Theme” – a fact that was challenged in 2001 after the Sunday Times suggested the theme had actually been written by John Barry. Coupland testified and Norman won the suit and £30,000.

Let’s have a look at Coupland’s brief contribution to Dr. No when Bond first hears Honey Ryder sing “Under the Mango Tree” as she walks up out of the waves inspecting her shells.

© Copyright. Michele Brittany. 2011 - 2015. All rights reserved. All text, graphics, and photos are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without written permission.