1971, Television: The Persuaders!

On 17 September 1971 “Ouverture” premieres on ITV. It is the first episode of the new British ITC adventure series 'The Persuaders!' At the time it was the most ambitious and most expensive of Sir Lew Grade's international action adventure series. The series was filmed in France, Italy and England between May 1970 and June 1971. The series titles theme was composed by John Barry.

Despite its focus on the British and American markets, the series never gained popularity in the US. It was however immensely popular in the UK and Continental Europe, the series was broadcast in Argentina, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, The Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Venezuela and Yugoslavia.

Roger Moore & Tony Curtis

Tony Curtis & Laurence Naismith

Main stars are Tony Curtis as Danny Wilde, and Roger Moore as Brett Sinclair. Sinclair is an English aristocrat who attended Harrow and Oxford before serving as an officer in a Guards regiment and then becoming a Grand Prix driver and race horse owner. Wilde is an American who grew up in poverty in the Bronx before serving as an ordinary seaman in the U.S. Navy and then making several fortunes on Wall Street.

Roger Moore & Kirsten Lindholm in the episode "Angie... Angie"

Tony Curtis & Joan Collins in the episode "Five Miles to Midnight"

The protagonists cars are as famous as the stars. Danny Wilde drives a red Ferrari Dino 246 GT and Brett Sinclair a yellow Aston Martin DBS. As with Simon Templar (Roger Moore's character from 'The Saint'), Brett's car has personalised number plates of his initials; Templar’s were 'ST 1', Sinclair’s are 'BS 1'.

Annette Andre & Roger Moore with Aston Martin DBS in the episode "Powerswitch"

Main Cast

• Tony Curtis as Danny Wilde
• Roger Moore as Lord Brett Sinclair
• Laurence Naismith as Judge Fulton

The Cars: Ferrari Dino 246 GT & Aston Martin DBS

Awards

• Bambi TV Series International for Roger Moore and Tony Curtis (Bambi Awards, Germany 1973) 
• Logie Best Overseas Drama for the UK (Logie Awards, Australia 1972)
• TP de Oro for Mejor Serie Extranjera (Best Foreign Series) (TP de Oro, Spain 1973)

The Persuaders! Opening Credits