| The Link Men | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Glyn Davies |
| Starring | Bruce Montague Tristan Rogers Kevin Miles Max Meldrum |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Producer | George Spenton-Foster |
| Production company | Nine Network |
| Original release | |
| Release | 14 January (1970-1-14) – 7 April 1970 (1970-4-7) |
The Link Men was a short lived Australiantelevision series shown in 1970 that was axed after 12 weeks.[1]
The series was the first drama series made in-house by theNine Network as part of an attempt to rival the cop shows produced byCrawford Productions such asHomicide andDivision 4.The Link Men starredKevin Miles,Bruce Montague andTristan Rogers as three detectives working in the city ofSydney.
The series was devised and produced by Glyn Davies who had createdThe Rat Catchers for ITV(Associated-Rediffusion Television).The director (for the pilot episode and for many of the rest of the series) was Australian film directorJonathan Dawson.
The show, produced by British importGeorge Spenton-Foster, lasted for thirteen episodes. The title sequence focussing on a speeding car's wheel closely followed the template of the BritishRat Catchers opening,[2] which inspiredLink Men.
The aforementionedTristan Rogers would go on to greater fame on the American daytime serialGeneral Hospital, where he has appeared asRobert Scorpio off and on since 1980.
John Fegan's guest starring role in an episode would have been a brief footnote in a short-lived series, but for an incident on set.[3] Two young actors were performing or rehearsing a fight scene whenFrank Packer, the owner of the Nine Network, came in. Packer, who had been a boxer in his younger days but who at the time was in his mid-sixties, declared that they were doing it wrong and demonstrated the correct technique by putting the actor playing the police officer in a headlock. Fegan, also in his sixties, had been watching from behind the camera and suggested that, since the young actor was the one who was supposed to be performing the headlock then perhaps Packer should demonstrate on him (Fegan) so the young actor could watch. Packer got Fegan in the same headlock but Fegan, who had also been a boxer in his younger days and did his own stunts, got the better of him and Packer ended up on the ground.
According to an article about the event in theSydney Morning Herald[citation needed], Packer's hearing aid came flying out and Fegan lashed out and crushed it with his foot. Packer insisted that Fegan be fired on the spot. Upon being advised that Fegan was performing a single episode guest role only, Packer's response was reportedly "Well, sack him when he's finished".
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