An Exclusive London Interview from Ad Astra from the New Zealand TV Weekly. May 29, 1967
Angela Northage, 24 an ex-New Zealand model started working in British films crash-driving cars. Now married to a popular singer she plans to take her career further and Angela has the talent to reach the top.
Three years ago the vivacious Auckland model Angela Northage came to Britain looking for more opportunities in her career. Now she is married to popular Tony Mercer, a principal singer in The Black and White Minstrel Show and director of a number of London nightclubs. Angela Mercer at 24 years of age has given up modelling completely but she has not retired from hard work. She is carving a useful niche for herself in the world of films and television. I predict that very soon this attractive brunette may find herself in some "plum" roles and on the way to stardom. Her main TV appearances to date have been in British adventure serials, like The Saint and The Baron (both good blood-and-thunders in the Danger Man tradition). In the latter Angela has frequently "doubled" for Sue Lloyd, The Biaron's star assistant. She has played a number of small roles in The Saint, which stars Roger Moore as Leslie Charteris's sophisticated hero.
One of her biggeslt parts in The Saint was a "Devilwoman" (something like a hotted-up version of a Bunny girl
explains Angela) in a story with a nightclub setting. Other appearances have been in the serial Vendetta and Emergency Ward 10-in the latter she played a drum majorette assisting podgy actor Robert Morley in his election campaign, handing out leaflets . . . and the "glad-eye" to Win votes.
Angela has obtained many engagements by specialising in stunt work like crash-driving cars. This was one of the reasons why she doubled for Sue Lloyd, because the script called for Sue to crash a car through a fence. Angela looked sufficiently close to Miss Lloyd to take her part in many of the distant shots in exterior scenes while the other actress was filming close-ups with another unit.
She was never unduly frightened by her stunt work. Car crashes were faked so that cars looked to be going down steeper hills than they really were-or going through rough undergrowth when really a roadway had been cleared for them, she explained. She was coached in her stunt work by Bob Simmons who devised the stunts for many of the James Bond films.
But I am giving up stunts entirely now-I feel I am not expressing myself at all doing them and hope to get better acting parts . . .
Earlier this year Angela finished work in a small part in the Robert Bloch horror film The Torture Garden (in which New Zealand actress Barbara Ewing had one of the leading parts).
Angela married Tony Mercer two years ago and they live in a flat in fashionable Portman Square, London W.1. Tony's club interests include directorships of the Winston Club, Savoy Club and The Island, and he and a partner have just taken over The 400 Club off Bond Street. We usually make an appearance as hosts at one or other of Tony's clubs at night (or rather early morning) after his show,
says Angela, who has a useful hobby for keeping up with the swinging scene-she makes her own clothes.
I caught up with Tony and Angela at a gay night in the Savoy Club (and gambling casino) close by the august Savoy Hotel.
He told me that he was now in his eight year in the stage show of Angela with her husband Tony Mercer who is a Principal singer with The Black and White Minstrel Show and is also director of a number of London nightclubs.
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