Michael Billington

bainesy1us · June 2017

I was just reading Michael Billington did photo shoots to cast him as Bond for OHMSS. I wondered if these were ever made public and if anyone has them?

Barbel · June 2017

This what you're after?

bainesy1us · June 2017

Barbel wrote:

This what you're after?

Thanks Barbel.

I presume they are from the shoot. He looks rather Bondian lol

IanFryer · July 2017

bainesy1us wrote:

Barbel wrote:

This what you're after?

Thanks Barbel.

I presume they are from the shoot. He looks rather Bondian lol

He certainly does, but those pictures are rather later than OHMSS, more likely from the 1980s when Billington was in line for Bond if Moore failed to sign up for FYEO/Octopussy.

In 1969 Michel Billington looked more like this:

always shaken · July 2017

For those of you not old enough to remember ,Michael played the part of Colonel Paul Foster in the hit 1980s TV show UFO ,l

IanFryer · July 2017

Well it was set in the 1980s but actually filmed in 1969/70

always shaken · July 2017

IanFryer wrote:

Well it was set in the 1980s but actually filmed in 1969/70

no way , I didn't realise it was that old , but a good show all the same

IanFryer · July 2017

One of my favourites, and I've written an entire book about the Anderson shows. There was even an excellent convention about the show in Derby last month with guests including Shane Rimmer and Alan Harris. The latter was the man who fired Qs ghetto blaster in The Living Daylights!

Dirty Punker · July 2017

IanFryer wrote:

One of my favourites, and I've written an entire book about the Anderson shows. There was even an excellent convention about the show in Derby last month with guests including Shane Rimmer and Alan Harris. The latter was the man who fired Qs ghetto blaster in The Living Daylights!

Wasn't Shane Rimmer in Twice and Diamonds?

Thunderbird 2 · July 2017

He was indeed, and a certain Mr Ed Bishop is in YOLT too.
There are a few names associated with Gerry & Sylvia Anderson's work peppered through Bond.

IanFryer · July 2017

Even Gerry himself was associated with the franchise at one point in the 1979s. He co-wrote with Tony Barwick a treatment of Moonraker for Harry Saltzman that he felt The Spy Who Loved Me took too many ideas from. The matter was eventually settled out of court, which unfortunately meant that Eon got to keep all copies of the script.

Thunderbird 2 · July 2017

You say that as if it were a bad thing Ian!
Its bad enough how the Kevin McClory situation complicated matters. By a clean resolution, it prevented any legal battles or bad publicity for either party.

To be fair I was thinking of credited associations, actors like Jeremy Wilkin, David Healy, Vladek Shybel and of course, special effects wizard, Derek Meddings.

Barbel · July 2017

Dirty Punker wrote:

Wasn't Shane Rimmer in Twice and Diamonds?

And Spy, too. It's also possible that he dubbed the voice for Hamilton in LALD ("Whose funeral is it?").

YOLT:

DAF:

TSWLM:

Thunderpussy · July 2017

He even showed up in Batman Begins as a water plant controller, nice to see him
still busy -{

IanFryer · July 2017

Barbel wrote:

Dirty Punker wrote:

Wasn't Shane Rimmer in Twice and Diamonds?

And Spy, too. It's also possible that he dubbed the voice for Hamilton in LALD ("Whose funeral is it?").

YOLT:

DAF:

TSWLM:

I did a long interview with Shane once and played him the LALD clip. He didn't remember doing it but agreed that it sounded like him. It sure isn't Robert Dix, the actor seen on screen.

Barbel · July 2017

Yes, it definitely sounds like Mr Rimmer! We had some debate here on whether or not it was him some years ago- I think it is.

IanFryer · July 2017

Thunderpussy wrote:

He even showed up in Batman Begins as a water plant controller, nice to see him
still busy -{

Shane's son worked on Batman Begins (location manager, I think), and Chris Nolan, a big Thunderbirds fan, asked if they were related. On learning they were father and son he cast Shane on the spot in the only role still available. That explains why Shane gets so many close-ups in the film!

The last thing I saw him in was Tim Burton's Dark Shadows.

superado · July 2017

IanFryer wrote:

One of my favourites, and I've written an entire book about the Anderson shows. There was even an excellent convention about the show in Derby last month with guests including Shane Rimmer and Alan Harris. The latter was the man who fired Qs ghetto blaster in The Living Daylights!

Shane Rimmer also made an appearance last month in Paris for a Bond event commemorating TSWLM:
http://007travelers.blogspot.com/2017/06/007-event-club-james-bond-007-france-20.html

IanFryer · July 2017

Wow, that sure beats where I last saw him, in Derby!

Gassy Man · July 2017

IanFryer wrote:

Even Gerry himself was associated with the franchise at one point in the 1979s. He co-wrote with Tony Barwick a treatment of Moonraker for Harry Saltzman that he felt The Spy Who Loved Me took too many ideas from. The matter was eventually settled out of court, which unfortunately meant that Eon got to keep all copies of the script.

Excellent! I'm going to look for it on Amazon.

ml94 · September 2017

I think he was too "lightweight" to carry a Bond film.

Michael Billington

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