The tough, gritty American Danny Wilde was raised on the mean streets before making his fortune (played by Tony Curtis, the third choice after Glenn Ford and gay actor Rock Hudson).
His boyfriend was Lord Brett Sinclair, an Oxford-educated British aristocrat (Roger Moore, previously The Saint, soon to become the quintessential 1970s James Bond).
Few American Boomers remember the series; only 24 episodes were made, far fewer than American audiences expected, and it aired on Saturday nights opposite the similarly-themed Mission: Impossible, a veritable death sentence. However, it was very popular in Europe, where the titles hinted at homoromance: Amicably Yours, The Partners, The Two.
With all that pulchritude around, it's amazing that any homoromance managed to shine through, but in Danny and Brett were one of the most physically affectionate of the swinger bachelor couples, always hugging, walking arm in arm, reclining against each other. One would be kissing a girl, and the other would be lying expectantly at his feet. It almost made up for the almost complete lack of my-hero rescues.
I loved the theme tune to The Persuaders .
ReplyDeleteJeffery,
ReplyDeleteThanks for including "The Persuaders" in your harem of gay shows. I managed to bypass the obligatory damsel-in-distress meme each and every time (after all, it did star Roger Moore, who had a hand in this show in terms of directing and wardrobe), realizing that Danny and Brett were more than just girl-chasing adversaries (on the surface).