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Robert Wagner "Why I turned down Bond"


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#1 photographer

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Posted 10 December 2011 - 12:53 PM

.

"The famous if-question"

Source: Robert Wagner: "I blamed myself for Natalie Wood's death."




When in these days the media talks about the mysterious death of Nathalie Wood in 1981 her former husband famous actor Robert Wagner had just writen an article in the daily mail.


One small interesting part refers to an offer from Cubby Broccoli in 1970:


"... Why I turned down Bond:

Around the time I got back together with Natalie (Wood) in 1971, the producer Cubby Broccoli did me the great honour of suggesting that I play James Bond.
George Lazenby had replaced Sean Connery, but while his film, "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", had been a good picture, it hadn't done anywhere near the business that the Connery films had.
There was no formal offer but Cubby thought that I was a viable candidate to replace Lazenby. I thought about Cubby's suggestion for about two seconds, but realised it just wasn't a good fit.
'I'm too American,' I told Cubby. 'James Bond has to be English. Roger Moore is your guy.'
I had known Roger ever since I was under contract at Fox and he was with MGM. Roger has always been blithe, charming, hilariously funny. So Roger, if you're reading this, please make the cheque out to cash ..."




Think about one moment about the private life of Robert Wagner in those days and how it possibly would have changed if he had taken the James Bond part in "Diamonds are forever" in 1971:

Lana Wood, who had taken the small part of Plenty O'Toole, was his former sister-in-law, because 'the Brylcreem Kid' had been married to her sister Natalie for the first time in 1957 before this marriage had been divorced in 1962. Not till '72 Wagner married Natalie for a 2nd time, before she had drowned in a freak boating accident at 11-29-81 .

Jill St. John, who got the main female part in the 7th official Bond movie, had met Robert Wagner for her first time in the fifties, began a relationship with the actor shortly after Natalie's death and finally married Wagner in May 1990.



Nobody would know, but if 'RJ' would had been given Jimmy Bond in 1971, he may havn't been engaged to Frank Sinatra's daughter Tina, wouldn't have married Natalie for a 2nd time and may be Jill St. John would had been become Mrs Robert Wagner much earlier, than they would have become the real "Mr. and Mrs. Bond" for the yellow press in the seventies.


#2 Eric Stromberg

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Posted 10 December 2011 - 05:31 PM

Robert Wagner as 007? Showcasing Wagner's haircut and stuffed shirt? I'm going to give Cubby a pass on this one and assume it was the booze talking.

#3 SecretAgentFan

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Posted 10 December 2011 - 05:33 PM

I can imagine that after Lazenby they were pretty nervous and wanted to go for a big star. But it could also very well be that this whole conversation was not meant that seriously. Of course, it became a perfect story for Wagner to tell.

#4 Napoleon Solo

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Posted 10 December 2011 - 05:43 PM

Remember: 1) They were looking at Americans to play Bond circa 1970 and even signed one (John Gavin) before David Picker at United Artists wanted to make another run at Sean Connery.

2) Robert Wagner was a one-time client of Albert R. Broccoli's when the latter was an agent.

It is plausible? Sure. How serious was it? Hard to tell.

#5 Dustin

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Posted 10 December 2011 - 05:52 PM

Actually I consider Wagner one of the less unlikely candidates that supposedly had such conversation with Broccoli or Saltzman. IT TAKES A THIEF was one of those shows that already played on a lighter note, not so far from DAF and the Moore era.

#6 PrinceKamalKhan

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Posted 11 December 2011 - 03:54 AM

Actually I consider Wagner one of the less unlikely candidates that supposedly had such conversation with Broccoli or Saltzman. IT TAKES A THIEF was one of those shows that already played on a lighter note, not so far from DAF and the Moore era.


Indeed. For those living in the USA, "It Takes A Thief" airs on Saturday nights on the Antenna TV network:

http://tvlistings.za...0?aid=antennatv

The opening titles are clearly Bond-inspired:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ma9Nyq6AmlQ&feature=related

#7 Napoleon Solo

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Posted 11 December 2011 - 04:23 AM


Actually I consider Wagner one of the less unlikely candidates that supposedly had such conversation with Broccoli or Saltzman. IT TAKES A THIEF was one of those shows that already played on a lighter note, not so far from DAF and the Moore era.


Indeed. For those living in the USA, "It Takes A Thief" airs on Saturday nights on the Antenna TV network:

http://tvlistings.za...0?aid=antennatv

The opening titles are clearly Bond-inspired:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ma9Nyq6AmlQ&feature=related


It Takes a Thief also recruited writers from The Man From UNCLE, including Dean Hargrove and Norman Hudis.

#8 jaguar007

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Posted 11 December 2011 - 06:42 AM

Robert Wagner as 007? Showcasing Wagner's haircut and stuffed shirt? I'm going to give Cubby a pass on this one and assume it was the booze talking.


Did you ever see Roger Moore's haircut just before he did Bond in The Persuaders????

#9 Eric Stromberg

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Posted 11 December 2011 - 05:09 PM


Robert Wagner as 007? Showcasing Wagner's haircut and stuffed shirt? I'm going to give Cubby a pass on this one and assume it was the booze talking.


Did you ever see Roger Moore's haircut just before he did Bond in The Persuaders????


In spite of the poor sentence structure you are making my point for me. When a haircut is hired, say Moore and Brosnan, a cheesecake 007 ensues. When you hire a man, say Connery and Craig, you get a badass 007. Questions?

I'm sure glad Wagner turned down Bond!

#10 Dustin

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Posted 11 December 2011 - 05:20 PM



Robert Wagner as 007? Showcasing Wagner's haircut and stuffed shirt? I'm going to give Cubby a pass on this one and assume it was the booze talking.


Did you ever see Roger Moore's haircut just before he did Bond in The Persuaders????


In spite of the poor sentence structure you are making my point for me. When a haircut is hired, say Moore and Brosnan, a cheesecake 007 ensues. When you hire a man, say Connery and Craig, you get a badass 007. Questions?



I do:

According to whose idea of English do you detect a poor sentence structure there?
Where do you 'hire' a haircut? And what would be cheesecake 007?

Just asking, am apparently somewhat out of my league...

#11 DR76

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Posted 12 December 2011 - 07:47 PM

What exactly is a cheesecake 007?

#12 Aries Walker

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Posted 03 January 2012 - 11:38 AM

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say he probably would have been a good fit for the role. Connery more or less phoned in Diamonds are Forever, and I've never liked Roger Moore's cheesy, pun-dripping take on the character. Wagner couldn't have been much worse.

Also, Robert: Bond isn't English, and only recently has a second English actor played him in a serious role.

#13 SecretAgentFan

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Posted 03 January 2012 - 03:43 PM

When a haircut is hired, say Moore and Brosnan, a cheesecake 007 ensues. When you hire a man, say Connery and Craig, you get a badass 007. Questions?


Why do men not require haircuts? I mean, okay, Connery had not much hair to cut even back then. And Craig is on his way to equal him, so... maybe that´s the answer?

#14 Miles Miservy

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Posted 03 January 2012 - 06:40 PM

Robert Wagner as 007? Showcasing Wagner's haircut and stuffed shirt? I'm going to give Cubby a pass on this one and assume it was the booze talking.


I always thought it was Cubby's mandate that 007 could NEVER be played by an American?

What exactly is a cheesecake 007?


Cheesecake 007 is the kind of agent that makes a joke when it's inappropriate; like saying, "There's a fly in his soup." just seconds after his contact is assassinated; or "She always did enjoy a good squeeze." after Xenia Onnatop has hre back broken.

#15 Dustin

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Posted 03 January 2012 - 06:50 PM

That was a decree that only came into play with the years; and then more or less by accident, not by design. Apparently various American actors were considered at times, their appeal and box office potential with the American audiences always an aspect of such plans. Much as this may seem naive from today's point of view, between the 60s and the 80s it supposedly was a realistic idea that it would not be a question of much consequence whether Bond was depicted by an American or a Briton. Sometimes I wonder what people's opinion was about Craig if he had been born in New York, Boston or Chicago.

#16 David Schofield

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Posted 04 January 2012 - 08:07 AM

That was a decree that only came into play with the years; and then more or less by accident, not by design. Apparently various American actors were considered at times, their appeal and box office potential with the American audiences always an aspect of such plans. Much as this may seem naive from today's point of view, between the 60s and the 80s it supposedly was a realistic idea that it would not be a question of much consequence whether Bond was depicted by an American or a Briton. Sometimes I wonder what people's opinion was about Craig if he had been born in New York, Boston or Chicago.


Not quite sure of that: wasn't one of Cubby's original edicts that they would not make the Fleming character a Canadian so he could be palyed by an Amerian?

On Craig: if he'd been an American, more people would have said he was like Steve McQueen as James Bond. (Of course, he's nothing like Steve McQueen at all).

#17 Dustin

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Posted 04 January 2012 - 11:40 AM


That was a decree that only came into play with the years; and then more or less by accident, not by design. Apparently various American actors were considered at times, their appeal and box office potential with the American audiences always an aspect of such plans. Much as this may seem naive from today's point of view, between the 60s and the 80s it supposedly was a realistic idea that it would not be a question of much consequence whether Bond was depicted by an American or a Briton. Sometimes I wonder what people's opinion was about Craig if he had been born in New York, Boston or Chicago.


Not quite sure of that: wasn't one of Cubby's original edicts that they would not make the Fleming character a Canadian so he could be palyed by an Amerian?


But that's mixing cause and effect, isn't it? Not changing the character to fit the lead is not the same as the later sentiment - from the 70s/80s I think - that a British character should be depicted by a Briton. When starting out with their series there were apparently numerous ideas about who could/should/would get the role. A certain degree of publicity and name recognition would often have been behind the suggestions by Fleming himself, who didn't share these same reservations that later became the set-in-stone commandment of EON. I doubt he liked what was done to the tv version of CR but the real disappointment to him would have been the lack of success, not that his character was turned into Jimmy Bond.

That Bond wasn't played by an American up to now happend not for lack of trying, as Gavin's contract for DAF attests to. Also the screen test of James Brolin and the alleged approaching of Clint Eastwood, Adam West and here now Robert Wagner indicate that the series easily could have seen an American Bond if things had played out differently. It's of course debatable how many of these approaches were serious attempts to get the actor, and how many were just due to the American partners of EON trying to throw their weight around a bit. But Gavin having a signed contract shows how close he was to become EON's first American in the role.

EON's considerations of that question are probably quite understandable. By Hollywood standards their first few outings were B films in terms of budget. Not the Roger-Corman brand that was shot in two and a half days, but a whole league away from what Hollywood already could blow for a single film with big names and a big budget. In contrast by UK standards the budget was huge and not to be underestimated. In the early 60s hiring an American for the lead could ideally mean a potentially better box office. But it certainly meant a huge chunk of their budget going right into the pocket of that bigger, more prominent American name. Without stopping by on the screen. And the screen was where Broccoli and Salzman wanted their budget to show up. So they probably just decided the extra money for an American actor in 1961/62 wasn't worth the uncertain extra return their film would make. Especially as they thought there was British talent available for much less.


On Craig: if he'd been an American, more people would have said he was like Steve McQueen as James Bond. (Of course, he's nothing like Steve McQueen at all).


Actually today I think Craig would not have gotten the role if he was American. It's indeed a bit odd, but I think Bond played by an American isn't an option any more. These days to me it seems less realistic than 20 or 30 years ago.

Edited by Dustin, 04 January 2012 - 11:45 AM.


#18 Pussfeller

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Posted 04 January 2012 - 01:58 PM

The current producers are far more conservative than Cubby ever was, particularly with regard to casting. It's impossible to imagine Barbara Broccoli hauling off and casting John Hamm just because he's hot and looks the part, whereas my impression of Cubby is that he wouldn't have blushed at the thought. He was comfortable with big, showbizzy gambles like that. "I'm telling you, this Hamm cat will bring in the women! And he can throw a punch, not like these goddam limey finocchios!"

For better or worse, I don't see the current producers taking such risks. Even if an American Bond would ultimately be accepted, simply by virtue of his official recognition, in the meantime it would be Craignotbond times a thousand. The UK would be the hardest sell, but a lot of the skepticism would come from Americans, who have largely internalized the idea that American actors cannot play British, whereas the opposite is the most natural thing in the world. Considering that Bond is not merely a character who happens to be British, but an icon of Britishosity, it would be very difficult for an American actor to assert his dominion over the role. On the one hand he would require a hefty and durable ego, without which he would never dare to undertake the project in the first place. On the other hand he would require sufficient self-awareness and humor to win the audience's sympathy, and not make a big swaggering Tom Cruisey fool of himself.

Another problem is that the actor would need to be relatively unknown, or else everyone would know his American voice, and people would laugh to hear him speaking with a British accent, even if it were impeccable, which it wouldn't be.

These days, the only kind of American who stands a fair chance of winning the role is a Gillian Anderson type who has spent many years in Britain, perhaps formative years, and can convincingly "switch" nationalities in real life. Once signed to the role, the actor would be contractually obligated to use a British accent for all Bond-related publicity events, etc.