George Baker

[Sysman]

BTW I didn't know Ian Hendry was a co-star in the Avengers.

No I didn't remember that either, and was surprised enough to look it up.

I vaguely remember fancying Wanda Ventham in the Lotus Eaters though.

[Doggy Styles]

My theory there is that one of the Wiki entries is mixed up, and sadly, journalists nowadays seem to take Wiki entries as gospel.

From the IMDB entry Dr. No (1962) Trivia

I counted 12 actors in there

BTW I didn't know Ian Hendry was a co-star in the Avengers.

[Sysman]

I thought it a bit strange too, but there are several references to Fleming preferring George Baker. Maybe Fleming thought they were the same person.

Wiki: Ian Fleming considered Baker to be the ideal candidate to play James Bond in the films but the role went to Sean Connery because Baker had other commitments.[1]

Torygraph: The Dam Busters led to a string of roles, many with a military bent. Baker had been Ian Fleming’s first choice to play his debonair secret agent, James Bond, but was unable to take the part because he was tied into a contract with a rival studio.

My theory there is that one of the Wiki entries is mixed up, and sadly, journalists nowadays seem to take Wiki entries as gospel.

From the IMDB entry Dr. No (1962) Trivia

Producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman used Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest as the template for this film and the subsequent early James Bond films. In fact, the role of James Bond was first offered to Cary Grant, the star of North by Northwest, who would commit to one film only and was otherwise too old, and then to its suave and urbane villain, James Mason, who would commit to only two, while Broccoli and Saltzman wanted an actor willing to make a multi-film commitment to the role and the projected series. American actor Steve Reeves who turned the role down. At the time, Reeves had become an international box office sensation in a group of European-made mythological/historical spectacles. Acoording to legend, Irish actor Patrick McGoohan of Danger Man turned the role down on moral grounds. Other actors considered for the lead role included Trevor Howard, Rex Harrison, Richard Johnson, William Franklyn, Stanley Baker, Ian Hendry (co-star of The Avengers) and Richard Burton. Director John Frankenheimer claims Broccoli offered him the role of James Bond. According to Albert R. Broccoli's autobiography "When the Snow Melts", Roger Moore was Ian Fleming's choice to play Bond, largely based on his performance as The Saint. This, however, turns out not to be true, as The Saint didn't begin airing in the UK until October 1962, one day after the premiere of Dr. No. David Niven, too old for a serious Bond, played the parody Bond in Casino Royale, and Roger Moore played the official James Bond in Live and Let Die and 6 other movies.

I counted 12 actors in there

[OwlHoot]

I remember him best from his playing Tiberius in the '70s series "I, Claudius".

Sad loss - I assumed he couldn't have been all that old, but according to IMDB he lived to be 80.

[Doggy Styles]

I thought it a bit strange too, but there are several references to Fleming preferring George Baker. Maybe Fleming thought they were the same person.

Wiki: Ian Fleming considered Baker to be the ideal candidate to play James Bond in the films but the role went to Sean Connery because Baker had other commitments.[1]

Torygraph: The Dam Busters led to a string of roles, many with a military bent. Baker had been Ian Fleming’s first choice to play his debonair secret agent, James Bond, but was unable to take the part because he was tied into a contract with a rival studio.

[Sysman]

Is no more. He was Wexford. I didn't know he should have been the first Bond.

Sure that wasn't Stanley Baker?

In 1961 [Stanley] Baker was offered the role of superspy James Bond for the forthcoming film Dr. No, but he turned it down because he was unwilling to commit to a three-picture contract. He may have regretted this decision because some years later he asked producer Albert R. Broccoli about playing a villain in one of the films. He played a war-weary commando in the 1961 war epic The Guns of Navarone.

I remember Stanley Baker being in Hell Drivers, most notable for the way they speeded up the footage to show the trucks going fast.

It's funny what sticks in the memory, eh?

[Doggy Styles]

I fed you that line, stek's Sid Little to Doggy Styles' Eddie Large....

Actually, I intended to add it to that thread about who's died this year but suffered a brain misfire.

[stek]

It was, but he's only just come back to life as undead.

I fed you that line, stek's Sid Little to Doggy Styles' Eddie Large....

[Doggy Styles]

That was like early October!! He was a Bulgar I believe, born in Varna, like in Bram Stoker's Dracula...

It was, but he's only just come back to life as undead.

[stek]

Is no more. He was Wexford. I didn't know he should have been the first Bond.

I first remember him in the Fenn Street Gang as Peter Craven's boss.

That was like early October!! He was a Bulgar I believe, born in Varna, like in Bram Stoker's Dracula...

[Doggy Styles]

Is no more. He was Wexford. I didn't know he should have been the first Bond.

I first remember him in the Fenn Street Gang as Peter Craven's boss.