1975, Television: McCoy

On 5 October 1975, the American television series "McCoy" was first broadcast on NBC. The series was preceded by the pilot episode, "The Big Ripoff", which aired on 11 March 1975. Created by Dean Hargrove and Roland Kibbee, the series was produced by Universal Television for the NBC network. The lead roles were played by Tony Curtis, Roscoe Lee Browne, and Philip Chapin. Only five episodes, including the pilot, were produced. Each episode has a runtime of approximately 90 minutes. The theme music was composed by Dick DeBenedictis.

Tony Curtis as McCoy

Roscoe Lee Browne as Gideon Gibbs and Tony Curtis as McCoy

Synopsis
McCoy (Tony Curtis) is a compulsive card player with expensive tastes and a lifestyle to match. As his debts mount, he turns to con artistry, relieving others of their ill-gotten gains with the help of Gideon (Roscoe Lee Browne), a nightclub comedian.

Tony Curtis as McCoy

Bernadette Peters as Brenda Brooks and Tony Curtis as McCoy
in episode 4 "In Again, Out Again"

Main Cast

• Tony Curtis as McCoy
• Roscoe Lee Browne as Gideon Gibbs
• Philip Chapin as Bruce Connor
• Vito Scotti as Papa Leone
• Alan Fudge as Hersh

Tony Curtis as McCoy

Trivia
The series was part of the NBC "Sunday Mystery Movie" as one of several rotating series that would air once a month. Other series included "Columbo", "McCloud", and "McMillan & Wife".

Trailer

1965, Film: “The Great Race”

The American comedy "The Great Race" is released on 1 July 1965. The film, written and directed by Blake Edwards, stars Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, Jack Lemmon and Peter Falk. The music was written by Henry Mancini.

Edwards based the film loosely on the 1908 New York to Paris Race. As an admirer of silent comedy films he dedicated "The Great Race" to the comedians Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). The film included several silent era visual gags, slapstick, double entendres, and absurdities.

Tony Curtis as "The Great Leslie"

Jack Lemmon as Prince Friedrich Hapnick

Natalie Wood as Maggie DuBois

Synopsis

The Great Leslie (Tony Curtis) and Professor Fate (Jack Lemmon) are two daredevils at the turn of the 20th century. Leslie, a classic hero, is always dressed in white. He is handsome, courteous, talented and very successful. Fate, a melodramatic villain, is usually dressed in black with a top hat. His great plans are always doomed to fail. Leslie proposes an automobile race from New York to Paris. The Webber Motor Car Company builds a new car for Leslie named "The Leslie Special". Professor Fate builds his own vehicle, the "Hannibal Twin-8", with several hidden devices of sabotage. Other cars enter the race, including a New York City's newspaper car driven by the beautiful journalist Maggie DuBois (Natalie Wood)...

Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon

Jack Lemmon, Natalie Wood and Tony Curtis

Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis

Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood and Keenan Wynn

Awards

• Academy Awards, USA: Oscar for Best Effects, Sound Effects: Treg Brown (1966)
• Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA: Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing (tie “With Von Ryan's Express” (1966)

Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood and Jack Lemmon

Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis

Keenan Wynn, Natalie Wood and Tony Curtis

Main Cast

• Jack Lemmon as Professor Fate and Prince Friedrich Hapnick
• Tony Curtis as Leslie Gallant III ("The Great Leslie")
• Natalie Wood as Maggie DuBois
• Peter Falk as Maximillian "Max" Meen
• Keenan Wynn as Hezekiah Sturdy
• Arthur O'Connell as Henry Goodbody
• Vivian Vance as Hester Goodbody
• Dorothy Provine as Lily Olay
• Larry Storch as Texas Jack
• Ross Martin as Baron Rolfe von Stuppe
• Hal Smith as Mayor of Boracho
• Denver Pyle as Sheriff of Boracho
• Marvin Kaplan as Frisbee
• George Macready as General Kuhster

Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood

Jack Lemmon, Peter Falk and Hal Smith

Jack Lemmon and Peter Falk

Natalie Wood

Trivia

• The film features the largest pie fight ever staged, with a running gag that The Great Leslie remains clean while everyone else is covered in pie. It was filmed over five days and 4000 real pies were used.
• When Prof. Fate, Max and Maggie DuBois drive into the Russian town, Maggie speaks a full sentence to the townspeople in Russian. Natalie Wood was of Russian descent and spoke fluent Russian. 
• Six "Hannibal Twin-8" were built powered by a Chevrolet Corvair six-cylinder engine. "The Leslie Special" was designed and built by the studio, Warner Brothers, using parts from several cars. Four cars were build

Natalie Wood

Natalie Wood

 
"The Great Race" Trailer (1965)

1967, Cars: Aston Martin DBS

British car maker Aston Martin Lagonda introduced the new DBS at Blenheim Palace on September 25, 1967. Designed by William Towns, the new DBS was intended as a successor to the Aston Martin DB6, although the two ran concurrently for three years.

The new Aston Martin DBS retained the six-cylinder, 3,995 cc from the Aston Martin DB6. The standard L6 engine power output was 210 kW, but an extra engine option offered Italian made Weber carburetors, increasing the power output to 242 kW (DBS Vantage). The car was a larger more "modern" coupé than the DB6, with four full sized seats. Trademark Aston design features, such as a bonnet scoop, wire wheels, and side air vents with stainless steel brightwork were however retained.

Predecessor Aston Martin DB6

Aston Martin DBS (series 1, 1967 - 1969)

Aston Martin DBS (series 1, 1967 - 1969)

Aston Martin DBS (series 1, 1967 - 1969)

From 27 September, 1969 the car was also available with a 5.3 L V8 engine as the Aston Martin DBS V8. The power output was around 235 kW. The DBS V8 could hit 60 mph (97 km/h) in 5.9 seconds and had a top speed of nearly 257 km/h. Besides the engine differences, the DBS V8, used 15'' light weight alloy wheels with ventilated brake discs as opposed to the wire wheels on the DBS. With the introduction of the DBS V8, the DBS received some minor cosmetic changes, the vent in the C-pillar was removed, a deeper front air intake and bigger stainless sill covers.

Aston Martin DBS (series 2, 1969 - 1972)

Aston Martin DBS (series 2, 1969 - 1962)

The Aston Martin DBS and the DBS V8 were produced until May 1972. During the production run 1189 were built, 787 DBSs and 402 DBS V8s.

Aston Martin DBS V8 (1967 - 1969)

Successor Aston Martin V8

Two green DBSs (FBH 207G and GKX 8G) were used as James Bonds car in the 1969 film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" with George Lazenby and Diana Rigg. One DBS (FBH 207G) is now in the Bond museum, Lake District, England, the other (GKX 8G) is privately owned in Australia. Unlike Bond's previous car no gadgets were seen in this car. In the final scenes of the film, Bond's wife, Tracy (Diana Rigg), is shot and killed while sitting in the car.

Green James Bond Aston Martin DBS (1969)

Green James Bond Aston Martin DBS (1969)

In 1971 a "Bahama yellow" Aston Martin DBS, with a personalised license plate "BS 1" (original UK registration number was PPP 6H), was used in the TV series "The Persuaders!" as Lord Brett Sinclairs (played by Roger Moore) car. The car was a 6-cylinder DBS that had been made to look like the DBS V8 model. It was restored to a very high standard in recent years by the Aston Martin factory. Both main stars from "The Persuaders!", Roger Moore and Tony Curtis, have signed the underside of the rear luggage compartment.

Roger Moore (Lord Brett Sinclair) on the hood of
his Aston Martin DBS with original registration number (PPP 6H)

Restored Aston Martin DBS from "The Persuaders!"

Roger Moore (Lord Brett Sinclair) with
his Aston Martin DBS (BS 1)

Tony Curtis and Roger Moore signature in the rear boot of the Aston Martin DBS

Brochure Aston Martin DBS (English, 1967)
Brochure Aston Martin DBS (English, 1969)
Brochure Aston Martin DBS (English, 1970)

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