billyfromConsett wrote:Hi Aitch
Good to have you with us. It's nice when people who have been on the big screen, working with the famous and talented, still find time to even talk to us hobbyists and non-commercial movie makers.
You sound like just the kind of bloke who would be a superb subject in documentaries about British film-making.
My questions are - have you made some of your own movies, and put them on Vimeo or Youtube? And are there any celebs taking part in your own work?
Hello Billy,
I used to be a stand/in on many shows in my early days in the biz which means you're on the show for weeks/months and you work with the Artist and the director. The artist would go through the scene with the director and I would watch the every move. When Artist and director are happy with the moves they step down and I would then do all the moves so the scene can be lit and cameras placed in the right position..It could take an hour or more...Today it is much quicker to light.
This was Randall and Hopkirk...1968...1969.....
Directors…Roy Ward Baker…Ray Austin…
Jeremy Summers…Les Norman………………..
Cast Inc…Mike Pratt…Kenneth Cope…Annette Andre…
Central Casting sent me to A.B.P.C. Studios to do some tests on a series they were about to make. It was tests for special affects to be tried out such as walking through walls etc.
I was to be Randall and a chap called Doug Lockyer was to be Hopkirk.
We did the tests over a period of a week and the following Monday the series got going for real..
I was asked ‘’Would you be a stand/in for Mike Pratt if he gets on with you..’’
Now I’m going to say no to a years work. (Not)
We got on like a house on fire from the first day. Mike told me that he and Lionel Bart wrote all of Tommy Steel’s early songs, (Handful Of Songs, Rock With The Caveman and many more)
With all the years I spent with the bands we had something in common.
We used to have a sing a long in the dressing rooms or where ever we could.
Douglas stood/in for Ken…
We did twenty six episodes over the next year and Mike, Ken and I became good friends.
I would read the other actors lines in the script so Mike could learn his.
Every two weeks we would get a new guest cast and I really wish I had saved all the call sheets with all the cast names on. I wonder how many went on to greater things.
One I do remember was a wild looking man called Dudley Sutton.
He went on to play Tinker in Lovejoy and we still send cards at Christmas time.
(Merry Christmas Dudley, it saves a card.)
Every episode I would have to double for Mike for his driving shots or walking in and out of London buildings. We used a second unit camera team (small crew) for this as it was better for Mike to be in the studio saying the words.
Although I appeared in a few crowd scenes during the series my claim to fame are those immortal words I say to the onlookers as Hopkirk is run down by the bad guys car.. I compose myself and utter ‘’He’s dead’’
I had a few fan letters in after that scene was shown on TV suggesting I go back in the timber game.. (It wasn’t even my voice, it was dubbed..)
When Mike had days off I had to find other film jobs to do.
We was only paid £5 a day and you only got paid if you worked
Lucky for me they were making other series in the studio and I would go in the bar and find an A.D. from Department S. or the Avengers and see if they could use me for a couple of days till Mike was back. So look out for me in other series playing a French/German/Spanish/American cop/waiter/soldier/sailor/crook etc…
I’ve been all around the world but I’ve never left English shores.
We finished shooting the series in 1969 and had a huge party to celebrate.
(It took me a week to get over it)
I’d like to say hello to the three main Stuntmen on the show, Rocky Taylor, Les Crawford and Frank ( Elstree Cowboy ) Maher.
Also my best regards to all the crew for making it a wonderful year.
MIKE…AITCH…KEN…1969.
MIKE PRATT DIED IN 1976…LONG LIVE MIKE PRATT…
Aitch,
I still love to talk about the biz and have many happy memories....If you film it someone will watch it.