Trina Parks, who plays "Thumper," a bikini-clad bodyguard of a multi-millionaire recluse, in the James Bond film, DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER, perches on a rock in employer's home, observes actions of Sean Connery as Agent 007.
"And I hope," she says, "that the industry doesn't start typing me as that kind of actress . . . you know, the superphysical type with not many lines to say. I'm interested in being an actress, not a stunt girl.
If she accomplishes that, Trina would be a "triple threat" - actress, dancer and singer. "Wonder if I can make it really big in all three fields . . . big hit records, good film roles, top club dates, even concerts?" asks Trina with all the bubbliness of a little girl who's just been handed three super-swell toys.
Trina grew up in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant ghetto (her mother died years ago; her father, Chuck Frazier, is a musician who played saxophone and flute with Cab Calloway and Duke Ellington) and made her professional debut as a dancer with the Katherine Dunham Review. She followed the Broadway and off-Broadway theater route while working up a nightclub act as a singer. She was in Las Vegas singing in the Flamingo Hotel Lounge when she heard that the Diamonds crew was in town looking for a girl to do a wild scene with actor Sean Connery. "I didn't know what kind of ‘wild scene' they were talking about," Trina laughs, "but I decided to go over and check it out anyway." She got the part - one which teams her with stunt actress Donna Garratt as bodyguards of a recluse millionaire. In a spectacular scene, the girls employ some well-placed kicks and blows to pummel Bond from the living room to the swimming pool of the millionaire's home. To film the scene, Trina was given a two-week leave of absence from the Flamingo Lounge. "James Bond only comes into a girl's life once - if she's lucky, so I just had to have that leave," she says. Rehearsal and filming of her fight sequences was not unlike a dance performance. "Just about everything was choreographed in detail by stunt producer Paul Baxley," Trina says.
Diamonds is Trina's fourth movie following earlier small roles in The Great White Hope, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls and Night Gallery. Her theater work has included roles in Emperor Jones, House of Flowers, Her First Roman, The Prodigal Son and Deux Anges Sont Venus, a production in Paris, France. Ms. Parks appeared in Deux Anges Sont Venus at the Theatre de Paris while on tour with the Dunham troupe. She also has appeared on a number of TV programs, including The Dean Martin Show, Hollywood Palace and the Dionne Warwicke Special.
It seems that Trina Parks is on her way.
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Bond is ever the gallant as he helps "Thumper" from her perch, but he learns too late why girl has been given unusual name as he recoils from her sudden attack. Trina is a dancer and singer who took a leave of absence from show in Las Vegas hotel lounge for filming of role.
"Thumper" is joined by another bodyguard, "Bambi" (Donna Garratt), for assault during which Bond is given one of worst beatings of his career. Below, he picks himself off floor to ward off new assault.
Temporarily beaten, Bond heads for a cooling-off in swimming pool of girls' employers' home. But the unconquerable 007 makes comeback when girls dive into pool after him to finish their job, yet instead fall prey to agent's savvy.
