Nightfly
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Post by Nightfly on Jan 20, 2022 21:45:24 GMT
TV Times feature & listing for Hazell from 1978- Love the swipe Nicholas has at Patrick Mower for selling out and doing a TV commercial. Shock and horror - actor does a TV commercial ! Around this time, our school started a book club where you could buy new paperbacks with school discount prices. There were the usual Lord of The Flies, Billy Liar etc, In the centre was a big promo display card for the PB Yuill novels, rebranded as television tie-ins which said Hazel - The Biggest Bast*rd To Ever Ring Your Doorbell, a word that could get you detention if you used it at our school at the time. Interesting to see the artist interpretation of Hazell pre TV serialisation before Nicholas Ball. The original looks more like a bank manager.
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Post by Arthur Pringle on Jan 21, 2022 16:56:53 GMT
While searching those Hazell novels I came across a tweet with a link to an Arena documentary called 'Hazell Meets His Makers', the cameraman who worked on it, Mike Southon, has put it & other films he's worked on in full on Vimeo ( see link below ). First shown on BBC2 on Sat Jan 10th 1981 - "Arena eavesdrops on the writing of a new adventure for James Hazell , popular cockney private eye. He is the creation of Terry Venables , manager of Queen's Park Rangers, and Gordon Williams, author of Straw Dogs. Now the TV series has ended, who, after NICHOLAS BALL , could possibly take over the part? Both authors have definite ideas about how their hero should be portrayed." I wonder if Nick Ball saw this documentary, he'd have a right to feel offended as both Williams & Venables dismiss Ball as wrong for the role & instead in this part dramatisation they imagine two different actors they would've prefered in the part, both of them were in episodes of the show & both died in their 50's after abusing themselves for years. I won't spoil it by saying who they are. www.mikesouthon.biz/portfolio/hazel-meets-his-makers
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Nightfly
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Post by Nightfly on Jan 21, 2022 20:52:29 GMT
While searching those Hazell novels I came across a tweet with a link to an Arena documentary called 'Hazell Meets His Makers', the cameraman who worked on it, Mike Southon, has put it & other films he's worked on in full on Vimeo ( see link below ). I'm glad you found this, Arthur. I think I've seen bits of this before but was convinced it was from The South Bank Show. It's a fascinating look at the writing process. Williams in particular is such a cynical git and you can see this come out in the writing. As for the two actors, either would have made a good Hazell, probably even better than Nicholas Ball. In my opinion the plus points are the voice of the first and the look/charisma of the second. I might seek out the novels now. The writing style in the extracts shown looks interesting.
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Post by Arthur Pringle on Jan 21, 2022 22:17:39 GMT
Williams reminds me of Duncan Bannatyne & Jock Stewart from 'Prisoner', he might've made a good Choc Minty. Not sure about John Bindon in a lead role, he was acceptable in bit parts but I was surprised when Venables suggested him for the part of Hazell.
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Nightfly
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Post by Nightfly on Jan 21, 2022 22:52:09 GMT
Not sure about John Bindon in a lead role, he was acceptable in bit parts but I was surprised when Venables suggested him for the part of Hazell. I think you're right. Good as support but not a lead, despite him looking the part. The only fault with the "other actor" was that he always looked older than he was. He had the perfect voice for the character though. I would have been tempted to think Gordon Williams was putting on a bit of a show for the camera if I hadn't seen that discussion show he featured in you posted earlier in the thread.
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Cartman
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Post by Cartman on Jan 22, 2022 6:43:40 GMT
Bindon was in Get Carter, playing a London gangster, which wasn't really acting as he supposedly was one, he had close links to either the Krays or Richardsons. He eventually got into a fight in 1978 which resulted in a death and was tried for murder but acquitted. However this damaged his reputation in the entertainment industry and his career effectively ended.
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Three Litre
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Post by Three Litre on Jan 22, 2022 10:24:36 GMT
Bindon was in Get Carter, playing a London gangster, which wasn't really acting as he supposedly was one, he had close links to either the Krays or Richardsons. He eventually got into a fight in 1978 which resulted in a death and was tried for murder but acquitted. However this damaged his reputation in the entertainment industry and his career effectively ended. Yeah, I think probably a deeply unpleasant man. Was dead at 50.
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Nightfly
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Post by Nightfly on Jan 22, 2022 12:28:08 GMT
Bindon was in Get Carter, playing a London gangster, which wasn't really acting as he supposedly was one, he had close links to either the Krays or Richardsons. He eventually got into a fight in 1978 which resulted in a death and was tried for murder but acquitted. However this damaged his reputation in the entertainment industry and his career effectively ended. I heard he was difficult to work with. He apparently had a reputation for deliberately messing up lines in scenes etc to try and get another days work. I think Franc Roddam mentioned this in an interview about his initial reluctance to use him in Quadrophenia.
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Post by Dirty Epic on Jan 22, 2022 18:02:04 GMT
Some good posts here. I didn't mind and think that Nicholas Ball was fairly good as Hazell and did bring something good to the part in the two series. Not really sure who else could have been Hazell if the writers weren't keen on Nicholas Ball? Had the Minder thing not happened perhaps it might have been a good vehicle for Dennis Waterman but obviously Series 1 would have crossed over with S4 of The Sweeney so the typecasting and comparisons would be there. George Sewell is a good shout and more in line with the image of Hazell in the early novel, although I'm not sure he'd be able to pull off the narrative and Jack the Lad aspects of the show in the same way as successfully as Nicholas did and also Ball's vision of Hazell is more in tune with the late '70's times too. A mix between the two and Nicholas Ball is James Booth who for me night have been quite successful in the role and I feel could have pulled off some of the aspects of the character more like Ball than anyone else could. James did do a lot of film and theatre work around this time so whether he was offered or interested in a role like Hazell is debatable. Forget John Bindon as much as I like his bit parts in Get Carter, Special Branch and the final Hazell episode he would have been a nightmare too many problems, lose cannon (temper) and too much of a real life gangster to have made it in film/TV, shame really as he very easily could have! All in I think they got it right with Nicholas Ball in the role and I've enjoyed his portrayal of the character along with some good rapport with supporting cast like Des McNamara as Cousin Tel too and again not too sure anyone else could have done that better and/or the show may have become a bit more pithy/stuffy/wooden in others hands.
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Post by Dirty Epic on Jan 22, 2022 18:07:13 GMT
Bindon was in Get Carter, playing a London gangster, which wasn't really acting as he supposedly was one, he had close links to either the Krays or Richardsons. He eventually got into a fight in 1978 which resulted in a death and was tried for murder but acquitted. However this damaged his reputation in the entertainment industry and his career effectively ended. Yeah, I think probably a deeply unpleasant man. Was dead at 50. This ITV documentary Real Crime was quite a good insight into John Bindon.
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