I was talking the other day about favourite childhood reads and mentioned The Adventures Of The Black Hand Gang, a collection (of four stories) written by H. J. Press. I decided to have another look through the book and, opening that beloved cover, I realised it was the 1978 Methuen reprint, making my copy forty years old this summer.
I got my copy from the Rothwell Juniors Bookworm Club. Translated translated from the German by Barbara Littlewood, it was first published in the UK in 1976 with the paperback appearing the following year. The original book, as Die Abenteur der ‘Schwarzen Hand’, was first published in West Germany in 1965.
Hans Jürgen Press was born on 15th May 1926 in East Prussian Masuria. During World War II, trained as an unarmed sail plane glider pilot, he was captured in France and transported to the US where, held at Fort Russell in Texas, he painted detailed murals of West Texas mountain scenes. After the war, he moved to Hamburg and began illustrating for Sternchen, the children’s supplement of the magazine Stern. In 1953, he created Der kleine Herr Jakob, a strip about a little man with a moustache and bowler hat who never talked, through the comic had comment in verse. The Adventures Of The Black Hand Gang, a combination of story and illustration, was published in weekly chapters, the solution to the week’s riddle given in the next edition. Press was one of the inventors of "Wimmelbild", a genre of illustration where the picture was deliberately overcrowded with detail, to entertain children as they searched for certain items. His books have been translated into more than sixty languages and his son, Julian - also an author and illustrator - not only looks after his literary estate but publishes similar mystery stories. H. J. Press passed away on 19th October 2002.
My copy looks beaten up because it was very well read and not just by me - in 1978, my friend Claire Gibson and I set up our own little investigators group and The Black Hand Gang adventures were used as a training aid (as it happens, we never did find any crimes to be investigated, more’s the pity). Years later, I introduced Dude to it when I still read him bedtime stories and that was great fun, watching the excitement in his eyes as he tried to find the clues (whilst I tried really hard not to lead him to them).
I originally wrote about The Black Hand Gang in a Nostalgic For My Childhood post in 2013 (you can read it here, it’s been quite popular) but as a recap, the book contains four adventures - The Mysterious House (featuring a forger), The Treasure In Breezy Lake (the gang help solve a burglary), The Smuggler’s Tunnel (the gang go to stay with Ralph’s Uncle Paul and stumble across a drug smuggling ring) and A Theft At The Zoo (featuring the hunt for stolen animals).
The Black Hand Gang made its headquarters at 49 Canal Street, “at the top of the house, up seventy-two creaking stairs” and their clubroom was called the ‘Airport’. Meeting regularly after school, the gang comprises: “Frank, who played the trumpet, was the leader; then there was quick-witted Angela; Ralph, who usually wore a striped sweater; and lastly Keith W.S. and his inseparable companion , a squirrel (W.S. stands for With Squirrel). Well known locally as amateur sleuths”, their friend is Police Sergeant Shorthouse.
From The Mysterious House:
What was Mr X doing?
What was the stamp called?
From The Treasure In Breezy Lake:
look at that detail!
What had Fraser thrown into the lake?
Which door did Angela mean? (clue - the police are looking for the baddie and think they've checked everywhere)
From The Smugglers' Tunnel:
What was the substance in the cubes?
From A Theft At The Zoo:
How did the thief take the key?
In case you're interested, there's a Facebook group dedicated to the book, moderated by Gavin Worby, which can be found at this link.
As someone lucky enough to be a kid when the first Star Wars film appeared, I was a huge fan of the action figures produced by Palitoy which began to appear in the summer of 1978 (as I wrote about here, for my Star Wars At 40 thread). Imagine my delight, then, when I discovered the excellent New Walk Museum in Leicester was holding a May The Toys Be With You Exhibition.
We went a couple of weeks ago, the first day of my two-week holiday and combined it with a long overdue trip to the Stonebaked Pizza company (which was delicious) and the opportunity to call into the Leicester Vintage & Old Toy Shop, run by my friend Joe (who sold me the bulk of my 85-strong vintage Stormtrooper army) - when he found out we were going to the exhibition, he told me the legend of the buried Star Wars toys. Apparently, by 1986, they almost couldn’t give the figures away and Palitoy (whose factory was at Coalville, about 12 miles from Leicester city centre) buried the last of their stock (the 'Last 17' which, ironically, are now amongst the most sought after because of their rarity) in landfill (which the Leicester Mercury reported on here). I then bought a 1997 Micro-Machines AT-ST off him, we said our goodbyes and trooped up to New Walk and the museum.
I like the New Walk a lot (they have a terrific, permanent Mummy display) and they did a grand job with the May The Toys Be With You exhibit. While I might have liked more figures (in dioramas, perhaps), it certainly had something for everyone and there were several pieces on display I’d only ever read about before, rather than having seen myself. Starting with the toys themselves, you get a potted history (most of which I’d already researched for my blog) and a display of all the figures (most in excellent condition, including a lot of carded examples), with their original sculpt and the variant edition. I explained this to Alison using the Han Solo figure as an example - mine is the original 1978 'small head' version while the later variant has a much larger head but an allegedly ‘better sculpt’ (though not in my opinion). I was seeing some of those figures for the first time (certainly some of the variants) and there was also a wonderful comparison between the Gamorrean Guard from Jedi (1983) and the re-used body for Friar Tuck, an action figure from Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves (1991). Most of the vehicles were also represented, a slew of bootlegs (figures and cardbacks) and the astonishing bundle packs, sold in Woolworths in 1986 as Star Wars mania was fading, where you could buy 8 figures for 99p (I wish I'd been interested in collecting when I was 17)!
The Palitoy Death Star playset - constructed from cardboard, to keep the price down, it is now a very rare find in good condition
After passing two Stormtroopers guarding a frozen in Carbonite Han Solo, we moved into the second section of the exhibition, a thorough and varied display of posters, lobby cards and advertising material. This was terrific, a lot of which I’d never seen and included some huge quad posters as well as the 1982 teaser trailer film spool from when Jedi was called Revenge Of The Jedi.
A surprisingly cheesy "coming soon" for The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
This was huge (I wish I'd got Dude to stand in front of it now, to give it scale)!
A cracking collection, this is well worth a visit for any Star Wars fan but of particular interest to those of us (of a certain age) who lived through the original trilogy (the only three films catered for in the exhibition) and I’d highly recommend it. In fact, Dude & I are already planning to go again!
The exhibition, housed on the first floor, runs until 28th October and is completely free of charge to enter (though donations can be made).
The A-Team was created by Stephen J. Cannell and Frank Lupo, from a pitch made to them by NBC president Brandon Tartikoff who called it a combination of “The Dirty Dozen, Mission Impossible, The Magnificent Seven, Mad Max and Hill Street Blues, with Mr. T driving the car.” Although Cannell had high hopes for the show he told Debra Pickett of The Chicago Sun-Times it was George Peppard who said it would be a hit “before we ever turned on a camera.” He was right. The pilot, Mexican Slayride, aired on 23rd January 1983 and the first regular episode, which was broadcast after Super Bowl XVII on 30th January, reached 26.4% of the total US television audience. It began showing in the UK on 29th July 1983 on ITV (Friday nights for the first series, Saturday tea-time for the remainder).
The A-Team (first series line-up) clockwise from top left - Dwight Schultz, Melinda Culea, Dirk Benedict, George Peppard, Mr. T
"In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire... the A-Team.”
The opening voice-over (by producer John Ashley), which started “ten years ago” in the first series.
An explosion, timed to the lighting of Hannibal's cigar, from the episode "Deadly Maneuvers"
The strength of the concept was its simplicity. The A-Team, formed during the Vietnam War from members of the 5th Special Forces Group, were tasked by their commanding officer, Colonel Morrison, to rob the Bank of Hanoi, which would help bring the war to an end. They succeeded but the base and Morrison were destroyed in a Viet Cong attack, meaning all proof they were acting under orders was gone. Arrested and imprisoned at Fort Bragg, they escaped before standing trial with their captor, Colonel Lynch, becoming their nemesis. The Vietnam War was a recurring theme, beyond the opening credits, with several episodes featuring old friends or enemies from their combat days and the team always stood up for the oppressed, on the side of good - even if each adventure featured a lot of gunplay, fighting and things exploding (often for little reason).
Naturally episodic, the only overall story arc was the characters desire to evade their pursuers and clear their names. Sticking to a proven formula - somebody in trouble finds the team and hires them to resolve the problem - certain elements became very popular, such as their ability to create weapons and vehicles from whatever junk and old parts happened to be in the building they were trapped or imprisoned in. While initially a boost to the series popularity, this formula also became the downfall and ratings dropped during the fourth series, leading to a format change for the fifth (in 1986-1987). With the A-Team finally apprehended, they began working for the CIA and were involved with international intrigue rather than taking on local thugs but the change wasn’t a success and the show came to an end after almost five years and 98 episodes.
Another popular element was the highly distinctive - and eminently hummable - theme tune (instantly recognisable to most people of a certain age), composed by Mike Post & Pete Carpenter. Oddly enough, re-watching the pilot episode, I was surprised to see it wasn’t more prominently used.
Colonel John “Hannibal” Smith, played by George Peppard, was the leader of the group, whose plans were effective if unorthodox. A master of disguise, he smoked cigars, wore black gloves, had a ready smile and a terrific catchphrase in “I love it when a plan comes together”. He was also an actor, specialising at playing monsters (like the Aquamaniac) in low-budget horror movies.
Although written with James Coburn in mind, George Peppard auditioned for the role - urged on by his young son - and won it. Once a big Hollywood star, a run of poor career choices - as well as his alcoholism (which he kicked in 1978) and notoriously difficult personality on set - had led him to television and a career slump. “I thought the pilot was terrific,” he told The LA Times in early 1983. “I realised the role would give me the chance to do the sort of thing I've never been allowed to do in movies. I mean, I get to disguise myself as a Chinese person, a Skid Row drunk, a gay hairdresser - [I’ve] wanted to change from leading man to character actor for years now but have never been given the chance before.” Cannell, who’d been one of the writers of Peppards earlier series Banecek, understood his occasional mood swings and offered him a big salary and creative control in the series. In 1990, Peppard said, “It's the first time I ever had money in the bank. It was a giant boost to my career, and made me a viable actor for other roles.” Perhaps now his best-known role, it wasn’t without its difficulties. Believing himself to be the bigger star, he was reportedly annoyed at Mr. T upstaging him with his public image and at one point their relationship was so bad he refused to speak to his colleague, sending messages through intermediaries (including Dirk Benedict). In a later interview, Benedict suggested Robert Vaughan was added to the cast in the fifth series because of his long-standing friendship with Peppard, in the hope it would ease worsening tensions between Peppard and Mr. T.
"The A-Team are...the worst shots in the world."
- George Peppard
Lieutenant Templeton “Faceman” Peck, played by Dirk Benedict in the series, was the team’s smooth-talking con-man, who could lay his hands on anything they needed. Effectively the second-in-command (and the team accountant), he was raised in a Christian orphanage and liked the ladies, though feared commitment. In later series, he drove a distinctive white Corvette with orange trim.
Faceman was written with Dirk Benedict - popular from playing Starbuck in Battlestar Galactica - in mind though NBC didn’t want him as they felt he was too old. The role in the pilot was played by Tim Dunigan though he later said “I look even younger on camera than I am, so it was difficult to accept me as a veteran of the Vietnam War.” After watching the pilot, the network executives gave Cannell & Lupo their way and Benedict was cast. His previous role - and the fact the series was produced at Universal and often filmed on the backlot - gave rise to a wonderful little sequence that featured afterwards in the credits, where a Cylon strolls past a puzzled looking Benedict.
"I enjoyed it immensely. By nature I'm terribly serious, so as an actor I tend to want to be silly. It was a comedic show, almost like a cartoon. We just had to hang on to enough reality to make it possible for adults to watch it. The actors I worked with, especially Mr T and Dwight Schultz, were very funny people. It was pretty much four years of laughter."
- Dirk Benedict
Captain H. M. “Howling Mad” Murdock, played by Dwight Schultz, was an ex-US Army pilot who was either mentally unstable or very good at pretending to be. Although he piloted the team on the Hanoi Bank raid, he was never officially a member and so wasn’t tried by the military but interned in a Veteran’s Hospital. Regularly broken out - often by Face - he accompanied the team on their missions, flying all manner of aircraft and often falling foul of BA, who was as annoyed by Murdock as Murdock was frustrated by him. His insanity was never proven, with his symptoms varying from episode to episode, though his imaginary dog Billy was mentioned a few times. The H. M. initials were never explained.
Dwight Schultz was a successful stage actor (he won a Drama-Logue Award in 1980 for a revival of Crucifer Of Blood, starring alongside Glenn Close) who began working on television in bit parts. Cast as Murdock, he was told the role would be written out quickly but the reaction of the preview audience to his character was so strong he was not only written back in but went on to become one of the break-out stars of the show. His wife, actress Wendy Fulton, appeared in the series three episode Bounty, with her character falling in love with Murdock.
“Cannell and Lupo were both writers, and wrote great scripts, but later on, they weren't writing them, others were. The first seasons were the best...”
- Dwight Schultz
Bosco Albert “B. A.” Baracus, played by Mr. T, was the team’s highly skilled mechanic and resident strongman, quick to anger and - according to the novelisation - got his nickname of “Bad Attitude” due to his penchant for hitting officers while serving in Vietnam. He hated to fly, pretended to dislike Murdock (referring to him as a “crazy fool” though often showing great friendship towards him), got on well with kids and didn’t drink. He regularly commented about Hannibal being “on the jazz” and one of his key phrases was “I ain’t getting’ on no plane!” The fantastic A-Team van was his.
According to Cannell, the show was built around the Baracus character which was essentially the public persona of Mr. T. After serving in the US Army (as an MP), Mr. T became a bouncer in the Chicago area (to stop banned customers going back inside the premises after being evicted, he took to wearing their jewellery so they could quickly reclaim it) and then a bodyguard, drawing the attention of Sylvester Stallone who cast him as Clubber Lang in Rocky III (1982). It’s in that film where he says, “I pity the fool” - he never once says it as B. A. His popularity with the public - and his standing with the producers - created a lot of tension with George Peppard over the years and during the fourth series, Mr. T quit and had himself airlifted off-set (they were filming on an ocean liner at the time), only to be talked back into the show later on.
“It takes a smart guy to play dumb.”
- Mr. T’s response at a press conference when asked if he was as stupid as B. A. Baracus (I assume the reporter left quickly afterwards)
For the first series (and half of the second), the team was assisted by Amy Amanda Allen, a reporter who worked for the LA Courier. She was replaced for the remainder of the second series by fellow reporter Tawnia Baker.
Amy Allen, played by Melinda Culea, drove the plot of the pilot episode, hiring the team to find her colleague Al Massey. Becoming an unofficial fifth member of the team after that, she was often involved on various jobs (sometimes using her newspaper connections) but had little impact on the dynamic. Her later absence was explained away by an overseas assignment in Jakarta - she was occasionally mentioned but never seen again.
Melinda Culea was an actress and model who relished the chance to play a feisty reporter but became increasingly unhappy with the role, feeling she didn’t have enough to do. Peppard apparently considered her character to be a “fifth wheel” but, according to other cast and crew members, he was never less than kind to her on set. An article in People magazine from January 1984 indicates her complaining didn’t go down well with the executive producers or studio heads and she was fired midway during the second series, only realising when she read a script and found she wasn’t included in it. Peppard told the magazine, “We just put up with [her discontent] and said nothing,” but when the producers found out about the tension, “they were furious…. They felt that she was harassing the team.” According to People, Culea told the producers the part wasn’t worthy of her and said, “if you can’t write the role better, you don’t need me.”
Tawnia Baker, played by Marla Heasley, was a reporter who’d heard about The A-Team through Amy and first appeared in the episode The Battle Of Bel Air. Never fully incorporated into the line-up, she was dropped after the third episode of the third series, married off to an explorer.
Having grown up in the entertainment business (her father and uncle were professional ice skaters), Marla Heasley had planned to go into fashion merchandising but became a model instead and moved into commercials (she’d already appeared in The A-Team, as a co-ed briefly involved with Face in the series 2 episode Bad Time On The Border) and was brought in by the producers to try and stem the calls of sexism that surrounded the otherwise all-male cast. During an interview on Bring Back The A-Team in 2006 she said that although she never experienced any difficulties on set with anyone, George Peppard told her, on her first day, “We don't want you on the show. None of the guys want you here. The only reason you're here is because the network and the producers want you. For some reason they think they need a girl.” On her last day, Peppard took her aside again. “I'm sorry that this is your last day,” he said. “This has nothing to do with you, you were very professional, but there’s no reason to have a girl.”
In the first series, the team’s nemesis Colonel Lynch was played by William Lucking. He was replaced in the second, third and part of the fourth series by Colonel Decker, played by Lance LeGault and his aide, Captain Crane (Carl Franklin). During the latter part of the fourth series, the team was hunted by General Fulbright, played by Jack Ging, who later hired the A-Team to find his daughter Tia (Tia Carrere). Carrere was due to join the show as a permanent member but was already under contract to the soap General Hospital so couldn’t and was replaced by Frankie Santana, played by Eddie Velez. In the last series, the A-Team worked with General Hunt Stockwell, played by Robert Vaughn, who was often assisted by Carla, played by Judith Ledford.
As well as sexism, the series also gathered criticism over its violent content, which was shown in a highly sanitised way - people rarely bled or bruised (though they occasionally limped or needed a sling) and the A-Team never killed anyone. Indeed, there were only a few on-screen deaths - General Fullbright was killed in an explosion - and the programme was careful to show that people were seldom seriously hurt (a jeep crashing would cut away to something else, then back to the occupants climbing out and looking dazed). According to Cannell, this element became a running joke for the writers who often tried to test the limits of realism on purpose. At one point, it was estimated that an episode contained up to 46 violent acts to which Cannell responded with “they were determined to make a point, and we were too big a target to resist. Cartoon violence is a scapegoat issue.” It did, however, prove too violent for Germany who bought the rights in 1989 but only chose to broadcast 26 of the 98 episodes available.
In keeping with a lot of TV shows of the era (see any other Cannell-created programme or The Fall Guy, which I wrote about here), the A-Team had an eye-catching vehicle, a 1983 black and metallic grey GMC Vandura can (with a red stripe and rooftop spoiler). The van was kitted out to assist the team in their various adventures, with some items (like Hannibal’s disguise kit and the gun locker) appearing often, others only when they were needed (like a mini printing press and audio surveillance kit).
At the 1984 launch for the Galoob action figures
As befits such a popular show with children, there was plenty of merchandise available including action figures produced by Galoob, the A-Team van by ERTL and Hot Wheels, trading cards, toy guns and a View Master set based around the episode When You Comin’ Back, Range Rider? Marvel Comics produced a three-issue A-Team series and a comic strip also appeared in Look-In magazine (which I wrote about here) that ran from 1984 to 1987.
The A-Team was also perfectly placed to be novelised (which happened a lot in the early 80s) and Dell in the US and W H Allen (through their Star and Target imprints) in the UK took up the challenge. The first paperback, The A-Team, wasn’t numbered (perhaps the publishers wanted to wait and see if it was successful before launching a series) but adapted the pilot episode, Mexican Slayride. I thoroughly enjoyed it back in the day and recently re-read it, chuffed to discover it was a lot of fun.
There were ten books in the series (the last four of which were only published in the UK), the first six of which were written by Charles Heath.
The A-Team (adapted from the pilot by Frank Lupo and Stephen J. Cannell) Small But Deadly Wars (adapted from the episodes A Small and Deadly War written by Frank Lupo and Black Day at Bad Rock written by Patrick Hasburgh) When You Comin' Back, Range Rider? (adapted from the eponymous episode written by Frank Lupo) Old Scores to Settle (adapted from the episodes The Only Church in Town written by Babs Greyhosky and Recipe for Heavy Bread written by Stephen J. Cannell) Ten Percent of Trouble (adapted from the episodes Steel written by Frank Lupo and The Maltese Cow written by Thomas Szollosi and Richard Christian Matheson) Operation Desert Sun: The Untold Story (apparently original, though the title page credits the novelisation to Louis Chunovic) Bullets, Bikinis and Bells by Ron Renauld (adapted from the episodes Bullets and Bikinis written by Mark Jones and The Bells of St. Mary's written by Stephen J. Cannell) Backwoods Menaceby Ron Renauld (adapted from the episodes Timber! written by Jeff Ray and Children of Jamestown written by Stephen J. Cannell) The Bend in the River by David George Deutsch (adapted from the eponymous episode written by Stephen J. Cannell and Frank Lupo) Death Vows by Max Hart (adapted from the episode Till Death Us Do Part written by Babs Greyhosky)
cover scan of my copy
There were also two “plot it yourself” books (basically Choose Your Own Adventure titles, so beloved of kids in the 70s and 80s), both written by William Rotsler and published by Simon & Schuster (in the US) and W H Allen (in the UK).
A film version was released in 2010, featuring Dirk Benedict and Dwight Schultz in blink-and-you’ll-miss-them cameos (only in the extended version on DVD, they were cut from the cinema release). I thought, as a film, it was enjoyable nonsense but it could have been any group and didn’t feel like they’d captured anything of the old A-Team spirit. Mr. T, interviewed at the time by WENN, agreed - "People die in the film and there’s plenty of sex but when we did it no one got hurt and it was all played for fun and family entertainment. It was too graphic for me, it’s nothing like the show we turned out every week.”
Stephen J(oseph) Cannell was born on 5th February 1941 and created and produced several hit TV shows, as well as being an accomplished novelist. He died on 30th September 2010 from complications of melanoma.
George Peppard (jnr) was born on 1st October 1928 . He quit a three-pack-a-day cigarette habit after being diagnosed with lung cancer in 1992 and died on 8th May 1994, from pneumonia.
Dirk Benedict (Dirk Niewoehner) was born on 1st March 1945. He continued to act after The A-Team and has also written several books.
(William) Dwight Schultz was born on 24th November 1947 and remains an in-demand voice artist. He and Dirk Benedict have remained good friends and are often seen together guesting at conventions.
Mr. T (Lawrence Tureaud) was born on 21st May 1952 and still appears on TV.
Melinda Culea was born on 5th May 1955 and now works as an artist and writer.
Marla Heasley was born on 4th September 1959 and hasn’t been seen on-screen since 1993.
Back in 1983, I was the perfect audience for The A-Team and loved it, though I drifted away during the third series.
Although you could argue that nostalgia was clouding my judgement, catching the show much later I still found a lot to enjoy; yes it’s formulaic, yes it’s silly, but that first series especially has a certain something about it - the construction and writing, the interplay of the characters, the moments of humour - that still shines through. The quality clearly drops in the second (let alone third) series (though both are very enjoyable) and I’ve still never seen the fourth or fifth series, nor do I particularly want to. Having said that, I do like how they ended the last episode, Without Reservations, broadcast on 8th March, 1987.
Hannibal: Chasing thugs through the park...it's got a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Face: It has a terrible ring to it. Murdock: Just think, if we get a pardon, we may never have to eat a knuckle sandwich again. B.A.: I wouldn't bet on it, Crazy Man. Looks like Hannibal's on the jazz again. Face: What, what, wha- Murdock: No, you - you tell me right now, you tell me right to my face, you tell me that you don't have a plan. Hannibal: Well I - I was thinking, what are we gonna do when this thing's over? I mean, what are we really qualified to do? Face: Go after...thugs in the park? Hannibal: And...outlaw motorcycle gangs, organized crime figures...why, there's a world of slimeballs out there. Murdock: I knew it. I just knew you had a plan. Hannibal: Comforting, isn't it? B.A.: I'll get the van.
Live And Let Die, the eighth James Bond film in the official EON series (and the first to feature Roger Moore in the lead role), opened in the UK on 6th July 1973 (following its premiere on 5th July). It was directed by Guy Hamilton, produced by Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli & Harry Saltzman and written by Tom Mankiewicz. Ted Moore was the director of photography, Syd Cain was the production designer, Derek Meddings supervised the visual effects and George Martin wrote the score (Paul McCartney & Wings supplied the theme song). On a budget of $7m, the film has made almost $162m to date.
As regular readers of this blog will know, I was (and remain) a huge fan of the late, great Sir Roger Moore. I picked this book up in 2003 at a Toy Fair, read it then and loved it. Last year, on hearing of his passing, I decided to read it again and what a treat it was.
This is Roger Moore’s diary of his time making Live And Let Die - we don’t get anything from before production began and we don’t get anything after production ended, but we get absolutely everything between those two points. Where now a lot of behind the scenes material (which I love to read) is either tactful or adheres to the company line, this takes no notice of that. Moore discusses race relations (both on set and with the locations), needles his producer for being cheap, gets on well with the crew and his fellow actors (most appeared to have worked with him in the past) and yet isn’t afraid to portray himself honestly - he loses his temper on occasion (sometimes at the production, more often at himself) and argues with his wife. Remarkably candid and told with the wit he showed in his autobiography and his live shows (two of which I was lucky enough to catch), this presents a man who enjoys what he does (and realises how lucky he is), wants the best for people (he’s often aghast at how Harry Saltzman treats people in restaurants), clearly loves his kids and takes great pride in his charity work for the Stars Organisation For Spastics (of which he was patron). Being a diary, we also get a glimpse into his social life as he entertains (or is entertained by) various famous people and even gets star-struck himself (such as meeting Deborah Kerr in a restaurant).
The book also features 8 pages of colour photographs, some of which are production stills, some of which are candid ones by Luisa Moore.
Funny, insightful, smart and informative, this is a fantastic read and if you can get hold of a copy, I’d very much recommend it.
Roger Moore, with Cubby Broccoli (centre) and Harry Saltzman, is announced to the world as James Bond in August 1972.
In his autobiography, Moore writes about signing for the role:
A little later my phone rang, with a message for me from Broccoli’s co-producer, Harry Saltzman: "Cubby thinks you need to lose a little weight." Well, I’d been filming the TV series The Persuaders with Tony Curtis, whose love of the good life had rubbed off on me. ‘OK,’ I said, and started a strict diet. The phone rang again: "Cubby thinks you’re a little out of shape." So I started a tough fitness regimen. Again the phone rang, and this time it was Cubby: "Harry thinks your hair is a little too long." "Why didn’t you just cast a thin, fit, bald fellow in the first place and avoid putting me through this hell?" I replied.
Roger Moore with Gloria Hendry (left) and Jane Seymour
“As Bond," he writes in the diary, "I make love to Rosie Carver, played by beautiful black actress, Gloria Hendry, and Luisa [Moore’s then-wife] has learned from certain Louisiana ladies that if there is a scene like that they won’t go to see the picture. I personally don’t give a damn and it makes me all the more determined to play the scene.”
The cast, while filming at Lake Front Airport near New Orleans - Yaphet Kotto had just joined the production and was there to meet his fellow actors. Moore was suffering badly at the time with kidney stones. from left - Moore, Tommy Lane, Seymour, Arnold Williams, Kotto
From left: Julius Harris (as Tee Hee), Jane Seymour (as Solitaire), Geoffrey Holder (as Baron Samedi - he also choreographed the film and the fight between Kananga & Bond), Roger Moore, Yaphet Kotto (as Kananga/Mr. Big) and Earl Jolly Brown (as Whisper)
Moore outside Ross Kananga's farm - the sign wasn't created for the production and spotting it led an intrigued Guy Hamilton to find out what was there.
Moore with old friend Madeline Smith, who plays Miss Caruso, the Italian agent in the opening sequence.
Moore writes; “It may seem like money for jam pressed close to the beautiful Madeline Smith and taking her clothes off into the bargain, but on the twentieth take your arm is aching, you've got cramp in your left foot and your right knee is going to sleep. When I got home the children asked me what I did today and I wasn't quite sure what to tell them.”
Posing on the Pinewood set of Kananga's lair
Moore with Ross Kananga at the crocodile farm (it's Ross who performs the stunt where he runs across their backs). Tom Mankiewicz was so taken with the name, he used it for the villain.
Production began in New Orleans on Friday 13th October 1972. Two days before, rehearsing in a speedboat on the Irish Bayou, the engine cut out on Moore as he went around a corner and he crashed, fracturing a front tooth and bashing his leg badly.
Moore writes; "I wound up in a heap on the floor, clutching my mouth, my knee throbbing, my shoulder numb and what felt like fifty-four thousand teeth in my mouth all at once being slowly mangled up into little bits of gravel. The only thing flashing before my eyes was that here I was just about to start playing Bond with no teeth. How on earth did I get myself into this situation?"
Taking it steadier on the Bayou
The now iconic photo op, suggested by unit publicist Dan Slater, taken at the Slidell Boatyard in Louisiana. Nobody told Moore how much explosive was going to be used and his chair was set up 300 yards away.
Moore writes; "I agreed but an hour later saw that the film camera crew had built a hide to protect themselves from the blast and flying debris. 'Why are you hiding behind there, fellows?' I asked foolishly. 'Well Rarge,' said one of the American crew, 'they say there's gonna be a little blast.' I sat there, through the countdown, clutching a glass of chilled white port with the photographers on my right and all hell to be let loose on my left. The bang came and I don't know if it blew me or I jumped four feet in the air, somehow without spilling one drop of wine. As a cool-in-a-crisis Bond shot it could have been a disaster, but most of the photographers leapt a bit higher than I did."
The children arrive tomorrow and I wonder if Geoffrey will realise that I am Bond when he sees me in action. Just before we left England he asked: "Can you beat anybody, including a robber?" "Oh yes," I replied, confidently. "Supposing James Bond came in," he persisted. "Daddy is going to play James Bond," I explained. "I know that," he sighed, impatiently. "I mean the real James Bond, Sean Connery."
The book has been re-released (after being 'out of print for over forty years') by The History Press as The 007 Diaries: Filming Live and Let Die with a new introduction by David Hedison (Moore's friend who plays Felix Leiter in the film).
