- George Lazenby, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, 1969.
- William Devane, Family Plot, 1975. The first time Alfred Hitchcock ever sacked an actor – and on his final movie!Fame of a kind for the TV star of The Invaders, 1967-1968, for not being “strong enough.” Hitch calling him Roy Scheider didn’t help! As per tradition, Thinnes is still seen in long-shots. Hitch had wanted Devane but he was unavailable. Both actors wore moustaches in the role. “First timeHitchsaw me,” said Bill, “he said: William Powell.” And Hitch kept tellingBruce Dern:“Bruce, this is all very boring – wake me up when it’s over.” Only Hitch knew it was two films in one and, as far as he was concerned, both were called Deceit.
- Patrick Stewart, Star Trek: The Next Generation, TV, 1987-1994. Creator blowhard Gene Roddenberry, hanging to to any power he might still have at a studio that hated him, said a bald Englishman could not be his new Kirk. OK, Paramount suits came up with a Top Three: Thinnes, Yaphet Kotto, Mitch Ryan. Then Roddenberry – power again! – said Stewart should test. In a wig. He had his own toupee Fed-exed from London. A bad rug, said one suit. Bad test, too. Too British. Then, Roddenberry, as if misunderstanding who it was, said: Let’s test Stewart. They did. He nailed it – with his wig in his pocket. Gene loved him. Now the suits were wary. “But, Gene – he’s bald!” Hah! spake Roddenberry, hair doesn’t mean anything in the 25th century. The PS is from PS: “My agent said there was no way in hell that Star Trek would survive the first season.” It ran seven seasons!
- Steven Hill, Law & Order, TV, 1990. Thinnes was the DA (called Alfred Wentworth) in Dick Wolf’s pilot episode, Everybody’sFavouriteBagman – not seen until the sixth week. During the two-year wait for NBC to agree to a series, Thinnes lost all interest in the law and had joined Dark Shadows. He was replaced (as DA Adam Schiff) by Hill, the first Mission: Impossible boss . He appeared in the first show on-air. Prescription For Death, September 13, 1990 and for 228 more episodes until 2000.
Birth year: Death year: Other name: Casting Calls: 4