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Persuaders!, The

TWO “HILARIOUSLY” (hence the exclamation mark) mismatched crimefighters – TONY CURTIS (Bronx-originated hard man Danny Wilde) and ROGER MOORE (posh toff Lord Brett Sinclair) join forces with much quipping, friendly rivalry, the inevitable bagging off and fistfights against blue screen backgrounds of glossy exotic locations. Concocted by LEW GRADE purely for America. They didn’t want it.

8 Comments

8 Comments

  1. Glenn Aylett

    November 21, 2020 at 1:20 pm

    Lord Brett Sinclair was a trial run for Roger Moore’s Bond and what we’d expect during Rog’s long reign as OO7, a debonair middle aged playboy who also happens to be the best secret agent in the world.

  2. Richardpd

    November 21, 2020 at 3:01 pm

    I heard if this had run for longer Roger Moore might have been unavailable to appear as James Bond.

    He had been on EON’s radar since Dr No but his commitments to The Saint had kept him busy for most of the 1960s. I’m not sure if he was considered for Diamonds Are Forever before Sean Connery returned to the role.

    • Sidney Balmoral James

      November 21, 2020 at 6:39 pm

      As I understand it, and this may be a very old chestnut, Roger was considered for Dr. No (along with a few others I expect – I think Patrick McGoohan was another candidate), Timothy Dalton was considered after Connery stepped down (Burt Reynolds also approached I believe), and then of course Pierce Brosnan was the producers pick to follow Roger, but couldn’t leave Remington Steele. I’ve also heard that John Gavin was actually signed before Diamonds, but let go when Connery became available.

      • Richardpd

        November 21, 2020 at 11:30 pm

        That sounds about right, I think Timothy Dalton was also considered for For Your Eyes Only when Roger Moore was slow renewing his contract & it looked like they would have to recast the part.

        Adam West was also considered for Diamonds Are Forever but turned it down.

        At one point it looked like Timothy Dalton wouldn’t be available for The Living Daylights because he was appearing in a play, & another actor (not Brosnon) was almost cast before the run of the play was cut back.

  3. Glenn Aylett

    November 24, 2020 at 5:32 pm

    The Persuaders was very popular in Britain, but for some reason fared badly in America, which led to its cancellation after one series. This meant with Sean Connery vowing never to play Bond again and George Lazenby ruled out after his underwhelming single film, this meant Roger could at last play Bond.

    • Richardpd

      November 24, 2020 at 10:46 pm

      I got the impression by the early 1970s the interest in big budget spy thriller series was waning, with Mission: Impossible being one of the last when it was axed in 1973.

      I don’t think ITC even attempted to sell Jason King in the USA.

  4. Glenn Aylett

    November 25, 2020 at 7:31 pm

    @ Richardpd, The Protectors was probably the last of these fantasy spy series. Tastes in crime fighting series were moving towards more brutal and realistic fare like New Scotland Yard( a series that is virtually forgotten now) and the better remembered Special Branch. Even The Avengers, when it returned in 1976, became grittier and lost the campness and charm of the original.

    • Richardpd

      November 25, 2020 at 11:15 pm

      At least one of those series has been on Talking Pictures recently.

      It’s odd that the Americans seemed able to make fairly light hearted crimes shows in the 1970s like the Rockford Files, Starsky & Hutch, CHiPs, while most British ones were hard edged.

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