Ursula Andress in Toronto to promote osteoporosis awareness

Original Bond Girl Ursula Andress was in downtown Toronto today to promote osteoporosis awareness for women. Forty-seven years after famously strolling out of the ocean to meet Sean Connery, she finds herself in a battle with weakened bones, but can still make men weak in the knees. The National Post was in attendance:

9:49 I walk into a quaint but classic meeting room in the back of Queen Street’s George Restaurant. The event, Timeless Women, is attended by a smattering of reporters, but the Post photographer and I are the only two men in the room.

9:52 Time to peruse the press kit, and it appears the woman made famous as Bond Girl Honey Ryder has some ‘‘riders’’ on her appearance agreement. No photographs or video taken during the press conference. The restraint irks my photographer. I can only imagine what the television crews in attendance are thinking. Also, no questions about her personal life.

9:55 The meeting begins with doctors and the president of Osteoporosis Canada in attendance, but no Bond Girls. A grand entrance planned; am I underestimating exactly how big a star she was?

10:00 Osteoporosis fact No. 3: One out of every five Canadians who fracture their hip will die within the next year.

10:03 Dr. Robert Josse explains osteoporosis brittles the bones, and once they start snapping they just keep snapping. He calls it the “fracture cascade.” Terrible, no doubt, but what a great name for a rock band.

10:06 How do you avoid osteoporosis? Stay young. But pounding vitamin D pills and calcium can decrease the risk of fracture by 17%.

10:12 Ms. Andress is introduced through a montage of photos from her career. Everybody loves a montage. It begins with her famous Dr. No beach scene and progresses, including two separate photos of her posing with Sean Connery and one of her with a chimpanzee.

10:14 Ms. Andress enters with a series of hellos. You can still see Honey Ryder around the eyes. I’d guess she is about 64, but it turns out she is 72. She starts by saying that it is important for women to be aware of their bone density. Vitally important, I’m sure, considering the massive gold bracelet and watch she is wearing around her left wrist. Yowza.

10:17 “My freedom is so important, I’d give everything for my freedom.” In this way, she described her battle with osteoporosis as William Wallace would describe his fight for a free Scottish homeland.

10:19 Asked how she will spread the word about osteoporosis prevention, she said it was the media’s responsibility. Which on some level is true, but seemingly negates the need for a spokesperson entirely.

10:24 They are talking about recent advancements in osteoporosis scanning, but all I can think about is that photograph of Ursula and the chimpanzee. I wonder what film that was from. Was she Jane in a former Tarzan feature?

10:33 Dr. Josse describes osteoporosis as a “pediatric disease,” highlighting the case for prevention from an early age. Women reach their peak bone density at 16, followed by a period of stability before bones begin to deteriorate. Ms. Andress suggests that growing up in Switzerland during the war made it difficult to eat properly as a child. I’d love to follow up on that thought, but that might be ‘‘personal.’’

10:43 A brief photo shoot is held in an adjacent room, but we are told no photographs of Ms. Andress entering the room would be allowed, only shots of her in front of a Timeless Women backdrop. I finally have to ask about all the rules being set on Ms. Andress’ appearance and am told they are written into her contract. I forget to ask who wrote them in.

10:45 Ms. Andress shines as photographers gather around, smiling and laughing with her fellow speakers. “Make me look good,” she calls out. “I don’t want them to say, ‘look at the old lady with osteoporosis.’”

10:45 Dr. Josse hits the nail on the head: “All I remember is the lady coming out of the water. I remember that to this day.”

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