“IT MUST BE TRUE…

We take a look at some of the bizarre, pathetic and downright ridiculous stories that have been published both in the media and online about Peter. So it’s time to settle down for some…

Serial offender, The Daily Mail, has once again been hauled over the coals for their inaccurate reporting. In just one six-line paragraph about Peter, the paper managed to get no fewer than FOUR facts about him wrong. Indeed, apart from the words ‘the’, ‘if’ and ‘but’, the remainder was a masterclass in misreporting.

An email was promptly dispatched to The Mail, which always seems to excel when it comes to inaccurate stories about Peter, highlighting all that was wrong with their article. Within less than 12 hours, we were to receive the following in reply:

Later confirmed…

From Antiques Trades Gazette and The Art Market Weekly

Sense of occasion suits the Peter Wyngarde estate sale perfectly

Peter Wyngarde would surely have appreciated the drama that accompanied the auction of his estate – held with the country in the grip of coronavirus.

The flamboyant actor’s collection was offered at East Bristol Auctions on March 26, with more than 350 lots from his estate, comprised of items from his private residence in Kensington, as well as props and costumes from a long career.

Auctioneer Andy Stowe said: “The rostrum was my dining room table, with the dog asleep at my feet. I was operating the software entirely myself, which was surprisingly easy. I felt more like a Youtuber than an auctioneer, but it was a really great experience – and one I’m sure we’ll be repeating soon. We had lots of new bidders in this auction, and the feedback we’ve had has been completely lovely.

“Both our sales last week were actually fantastic – which is wonderful given the circumstances.”

Wyngarde (1927[1] -2018) appeared in most 1960s-70s ‘cult’ programmes including Doctor Who[2] and The Avengers and took leading roles in his own shows Jason King and Department S.

He later went through difficult times in his life but the fondness with which he must be regarded was obvious from the interest from bidders, with a white-glove sell-out auction resulting. Stowe added: “We had lots of celebrity interest in this sale with several of the buyers being well-known presenters, actors and pop stars. It had an amazing celebrity reaction on social media.”

Highlights included a guitar signed by his good friend Freddie Mercury[3] (which sold for £720), several of his trademark sunglasses and silk handkerchiefs, as well as items he collected and displayed in his apartment. These include several autographs from people he admired[4] – most notably Clark Gable and Tony Hancock – as well as his collection of taxidermy[5] and artwork.

Concert posters for some of the earliest appearances by well-known bands have taken keen interest from bidders in recent months (such as our Pick of the Week in ATG No 2435, a poster advertising an early gig by The Who at the short-lived Blue Moon club in Cheltenham, sold for £11,500 at Gardiner Houlgate’s auction).

Sold at a mid-estimate £2200 to a Beatles collector as part of the Wyngarde auction was an original 1960s Beatles poster, from their concert at the Abergavenny Town Hall Ballroom on June 22, 1963. It measured 2ft 5in x 20in (74 x 50cm) and was printed by Arthurs Press Ltd, Stroud. Wyngarde was an acquaintance of the band[6].

One of the best sellers was an item highly appropriate given Wyngarde’s sartorial elegance: his original John Stephen Fashion Award ‘Best Dressed Personality’ hallmarked silver trophy. The trophy in the form of Beau Brummell, complete with monocle and top hat, has hallmarks for Carrington & Co, London, 1970.

The (39cm) tall award was given to Wyngarde in the summer of 1970 by Miss Radio Luxembourg. The votes for him, cast by listeners of Radio Luxembourg and readers of FAB 208 (a magazine), were far in excess of his rivals Cliff Richard and footballing legend George Best. Photographs of Wyngarde with the award have featured in many publications.

Stowe described it as “probably the best piece of Wyngarde memorabilia in the sale”. Estimated at £300-500, it sold for £2200.

Wyngarde’s love of fashion included an array of 1960s-70s garments which can be viewed as gorgeous or ghastly depending on your viewpoint. The buyer of this snakeskin jacket was certainly delighted. Stowe said: “He is a a huge fan and UK collector – he is very happy with his purchase, and will be proudly displaying it in his living room (he got in touch with me on Twitter!).”

The original screen matched prop/costume snakeskin jacket was worn by Wyngarde for Department S (1969) and Jason King (1971). It had no maker’s label and was probably custom-made for the actor. Included in the lot, estimated at £200-300, was an original vintage publicity photograph showing Wyngarde in this very jacket.It sold for £880.

Another high price came for a pair of screen matched sunglasses, as worn by Peter Wyngarde as Jason King in both Department S and Jason King.

This a pair of Oliver Goldsmith glasses, with lightly tinted lenses and distinctive inlaid stars to each arm, was worn by Wyngarde in several episodes of the series, as well as his personal life. They featured prominently in several episodes including A Deadly Line In Digits (as part of King’s disguise), and are first seen in the Department S episode The Trojan Tanker.

Estimated at £80-120, the glasses sold for £700. Stowe said: “These were the most iconic pair of glasses we had from Wyngarde – they appeared in lots of episodes of Department S and Jason King, as well as loads of publicity photos. I was surprised they went for so much, but not surprised they got that much interest.”

Notes and Corrections: [1]: Peter was born in 1928, NOT 1927. [2]: Peter didn’t appear in ‘Doctor Who’ during the 1960’s. He did, however, play Timanov in the three-part Dr. Who episode, ‘Planet of Fire‘, but that was in 1985. [3]: Peter never so much as met Freddie Mercury, so could hardly be described as a “close friend”. [4]: Peter didn’t collect autographs, and certainly didn’t “admire” Clarke Gable or Tony Hancock! [5]: Peter didn’t collect taxidermy!!! [6]: He wasn’t an acquaintance of The Beatles; never mentioned them. Never met them.

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Warren Manger – Features Writer, The Mirror

How Peter Wyngarde went from a Japanese prison camp to 70s style icon who refused to button his shirt collar. Beyond the sideburns, chest hair, lapels and moustache was the sharp mind of a former inmate of a Japanese prison camp whose life was as eventful as any of the shows he starred in.

Notes and Corrections: It was his shirt cuffs that Peter was known to leave unbuttoned, not his collar!

Taken from the Jewish Chronicle. Witten by Daniel Sugerman.

Evidence suggests that Mr Wyngarde’s original name was Cyril Goldbert. Having apparently spent most of his childhood in the Far East, he arrived in the UK in the 1940s, where his next of kin and UK contact was listed as Mr H Goldbert.

Henry Goldbert was a Russian-Jew who had become a naturalised British citizen while living in Singapore. According to some opinions, Henry Goldbert was Peter Wyngarde’s father.

Response: Another load of trollop cut and pasted from Wikipedia! Peter’s father was actually born in Ukraine, NOT Russia, and was a Roman Catholic, NOT Jewish!

The Daily Mail managed to get it wrong yet AGAIN in this mention of Peter on his birthday. Without bothering to do any kind of genuine research, save for a cursory glance on Wikipedia – that indisputable font of all knowledge (not!) – what was intended to be a small tribute by Etan Smallman and Adam Jacot De Boimod, ended up being just another slap in the face. As ever, the Alan Bates myth was wheeled out for another airing, and God alone knows where they dug up the “groovy baby” phrase, as Jason King never, EVER said any such thing!

Fans Comments:

Chris Eccleston: I doubt the UK public will ever forget how Christopher Jefferies was treated by the press following the murder of Joanna Yeates in 2010. While Peter Wyngarde was never a murder suspect or treated as such by the media, he was a victim of tabloid hysteria and ultimately tried and found by them before ever reaching a courtroom. It was the same old ‘Build ’em up, knock ’em down’ mentality that has pervaded the British Press for decades.

Gary Powell: It’s popular belief that Fake News is a modern phenomenon but it’s not. The national press has been producing fake news for decades.

Iain Ainsworth: As per my comment about the Gavin Gaughan issue [see previous post], there really should be an enquiry into why the printed media are being allowed to peddle such blatant lies to the public. I’m sure that many people will say, “Oh, it’s just a throwaway comment about an actor, where’s the damage” but, for me, it’s just the thin end of the wedge. Tina Wyngarde-Hopkins has identified lists of errors and false information that has been published about Peter Wyngarde that has led to some utterly dreadful myths growing up around him. This is just one example. What purpose does the press serve if it can’t get even the most basic facts right?

Sam Laughlan: If most of us were as bad at our jobs as these journalists are at theirs, we’d all be signing on by now. They’re just lazy b******s who are too bloody idle to find out whether what they’re dredging up from the Internet is actually true.

Pat Davis: The frighting thing is about newspapers is that there are so many people who actually believe everything they’re reading.

Tony Peers: They really are so predictable. Why say something positive when you can stick the knife in just as easily. There’s no Brownie points these days in showing a bit of decency or respect.

and spiteful tittle-tattle himself over the years, that Reverend Cole would apply a little more caution before throwing someone else under the bus.

Update: Since posting the above in August 2022, Reverend Coles has written numerously on his Twitter feed but, sadly, has chosen neither to remove his silly post about Peter, or acknowledge my message. It’s sad that he doesn’t appear willing to practice what he preaches.

Fans Comments…

Susan McFadden: What a horrible person !!!!

Diane Brierly: Bloody MORON!!!

Jane Ramsden: I just met Richard Coles at Bradford Literature Festival and he was such a sensible & sensitive person that I think he must have received this misinformation the same way so many have, as Tina has explained. And if he’s only just learnt this extremely old ‘news,’ he’s hardly scandal mongering. It’s just so tired and, as Tina so succinctly puts it, b******s! Lol.

Billy Casper: So bloody what? Peter was one of the great actors and defied any pigeon holing.

Sharon Kennedy: That’s dreadful not nice at all people should just zip it.

So I continue to regard Peter as a charmer who is good with the ladies. I honestly don’t care about his private life. I care that Peter left my fiancee and I with wonderful memories of a very special moment that we still talk about and laugh over to this day.

Bob Moricz: Ugh!

Ian Kelland: I very much doubt that his friends would have called him anything of the kind!

Paul Mead: Petunia Winegum originated from a comedy sketch, it happened regularly in the 70s to famous TV actors.

Taken from “Britain’s best-loved TV couple’s” column in the Daily Express (the couple being Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan, if you were thinking this was referring to Ant and Dec!)

Fans Comments…

Lee Radnor: I’m stunned that this man is still being paid to appear on TV and to write for a national newspaper. He is a toe-curling embarrassment and well past his sell by date.

Angie Johnson: If Richard Madeley had a brain he’d be dangerous.

Taken from Record Collector magazine

In his retrospective of Peter’s self-titled album, Freek Kinkelaar, tells Record Collector magazine readers the following: “The album is, in some ways, the perfect epitaph for Wyngarde himself, who wasn’t unfamiliar with the dark side. Battling with a life long addiction to alcohol, he was as outrageous, crass, and perversely charming as this album.”

Notes and Corrections: [1]: As with most journo’s that make such comments, they never back up their assertions and, not unsurprisingly, Mr Kinkelaar doesn’t bother to elaborate on what this supposed “dark side” is meant to be. This makes Peter sound as if he was dabbling in Satanism or some such. Another load of drivel to add to the ever-expanding chronicles of crap from the press. [2]: Peter was never known as a ‘heavy drinker’ in his youngers days, and really only began to drink more frequently from the mid-Seventies until 1980 when, apart from a glass of Port on New Year’s Eve, he never touched a drop. How this constitutes having a “life long addition to alcohol” is something that exists only in Mr Kinkelaar’s “crass” mind.

Fans Comments…

Eddie Cunningham: Being a complete idiot obviously comes with the job.

J. Davies: Typical thick journo looking for an angle. You’d think they’d actually do some research before writing an article.

Mike L: Do research? He probably wouldn’t be able to find his own arse with both hands and a map let alone get up off it to actually speak to someone who knew Wyngarde. Probably his idea of research is consulting Wikipedia.

A curious take on Peter’s heritage from Richard von Busak in his review of ‘The Innocents’ in Silicone Valley-based newspaper, Metro.

“The lickerish ghost Quint, played by a conventional Celtic brooder named Peter Wyngarde, floats up behind a window in front of a statue of Pan. It is just like having an actor cast as Satan turn up wearing a cape and a tuxedo.”

“Conventional?”… “CELTIC?!” As my Gaelic-speaking granddad might say, “níor léigh mé amaidí mar sin riamh!”

Despite boasting of being a purveyor of “Quality journalism”, The Daily Mail is yet to get a single thing right about Peter – which includes his name!

In an article entitled ‘Walking on the Wilde side’, that moth-eaten old tale a la Gloucester was wheeled out for yet ANOTHER airing… Zzzzzzzzzzzzz, along with the following: “Bad enough, you might think, but what really caused his fan base to desert him wasn’t his sexual misconduct, but the revelation in court of his real name: Cyril Lovis Goldbert.”

Actually, Peter’s middle-name was LoUis, not LoVis.

Does anyone at this ‘paper do any research before publishing? Evidently not!

Fans Comments…

Irene Cussans: I think a prerequisite of working in journalism these days is that you need to be an absolute moron.

Taken from the ‘Aangirfan’ anonymous blog

It’s not surprising that this blogger has chosen to remain anonymous given the amount of misinformation they’ve posted about Peter. While I thought that I’d read just about every ridiculous myth and outrageous lie about our man over the years, this one really does take the cake.

Peter’s father was NOT Russian, nor Jewish. He was, in fact, a Roman Catholic – born in the Ukraine to British-Ukrainian parents. And he definitely was NOT a spy! He was a Second Engineer in the British Merchant Navy! Where in the name of God do they get this rubbish from?!

Fans Comments…

Sam Laughlan: There really are some sad, laughable people out there.

The Daily Mail – Monday, 23rd August, 2021 by Etan Smallman and Adam Jacot De Boinod

Peter Wyngarde (1927 – 2018). The British actor made his name as sleuth Jason King in the series Department S. The character’s use of the phrase, “groovy, baby” inspired the Austin Powers films. Wyngarde, who had an affair with actor Alan Bates, was interned in a Japanese civilian camp in Word War II.

Response: Looks like the Mail’s journos have been on the brown ale all night! We’ve all heard the Alan Bates claptrap a million times before, but I can’t for the life of me recall Jason King using the phrase, “groovy baby”, can you? Oh… and they got his year of birth wrong too. Not a good showing for a paragraph consisting of just 5 lines…!

In gripping words and photos, the life and crimes of psychopath Peter Sutcliffe:

Taken from an article in The Daily Mail – 13 November 2020. Written by David Jones.

In his article about the notorious ‘Yorkshire Ripper’, Peter Sutcliffe – Jones writes: “With his saturnine good looks, neatly trimmed goatee and the same drooping black moustache as Jason King (Peter Wyngarde), a dashing TV heart-throb of the time, Peter Sutcliffe was just the man to burnish the company’s image, his bosses thought.”

Peter and, er, Peter. Only their respective mothers could tell them apart!

Fans comments…

Eddie Cunningham: Unbelievable how people in these positions are so dim.

Gordon’s Alive: Flash Gordon at 40.

Taken from an article in the Houston Press – 23rd September, 2020. Written by Pete Voder Haar

Flash Gordon really hinges on two great performances besides Von Sydow’s: Brian Blessed (Prince Vultan) and Peter Wyngarde (Klytus). Neither actor was very well-known outside the United Kingdom before 1980, and to most people, Flash is probably the one film featuring either actor most Americans have seen (Wyngarde for sure).

Wyngarde himself was a fascinating individual (he passed in 2018), with a childhood shrouded in mystery (of his own making) and a deeply weird personal life[1]. A star on British TV in the 1970s, Wyngarde’s style inspired both the later versions of the X-Men villain Jason “Mastermind” Wyngarde and the character Austin Powers.

Notes and Corrections: [1]: WHAT? How in the name of f**k would HE know!

Mr. Vonder is another sloppy journo who chooses not to respond when challenged over the claptrap he writes!

Fans Comments…

Richard Padfeld: He looks like a smug ‘I love me, who do you love’ type. Typical up-their-own-backside journo who really hasn’t the faintest.

Remembering when Diana Rigg had mass appeal as Emma Peel

Taken from an article by Scott Begbie in The Press and Journal – 17th September, 2020

Peter Wyngarde once released a song called Rape – and it’s every bit as terrible as that sounds!

Peter Wyngarde’s 1970s music career was as absurdly offensive as it was mercifully brief.

Taken from The International Business Times. Written by Neil Murphy.

Legendary actor and seventies heart-throb Peter Wyngarde passed away at a London hospital on Wednesday (17 January)[1], aged 90.

The French-born star played a variety of roles over his long career, but was particularly well-known for his role as author-turned-sleuth Jason King during the 1960s and 1970s and General Klytus in the 1980s science fiction film Flash Gordon.

In later years, his flamboyant style and distinctive voice earned him a cult reputation among younger fans. However, all but his most ardent fans will surprised to learn the actor turned his hand to music in 1970 – with extraordinary results.

In an time where millennials deem even 1990s sitcom Friends, “Problematic”, it should come as no surprise that his work may nowadays be considered rather politically incorrect. Indeed, he became known to millions for his appearance alongside Roger Moore in The Saint[2], where he donned blackface to play the role of a Turkish villain. (In his defence, he said he took the part in the hope he would be chosen to play Othello by a theatre director).

In 1970, Wyngarde attempted to cash in on his fame and recorded an album for label RCA, simply titled ‘Peter Wyngarde’. The spoken-word record sold well, much to the surprise of the record label, but has become a collectable curiosity, largely for its highly questionable content.

One of the tracks titled, Rape or Peter Wyngarde Commits Rape, was released as a promo single for the record. The track starts off dubiously: Wyngarde repeats the word ‘rape’ in his distinctively raspy voice[3] as a cacophony of horns play in the background.

So far, so awful. The casual misogyny (a woman is heard screaming ‘rape’ in the background) is only eclipsed by the ridiculous xenophobia that is heard later in the track (50 seconds in for the curious).

It may come as little surprise that the RCA washed their hands of the resulting music and refused to issue more copies when they ran out. Writing in the liner notes of a third party reissue in 1998, Wyngarde said RCA assumed the record would be a commercial failure and only commissioned it to write off as an accounting tax loss.

Notes and Corrections: Another load of badly-researched claptrap from a typically sanctimonious “journalist” who had probably only heard of Peter Wyngarde for the first when his editor tasked him to write this article. [1]. Peter passed away on 15th January, 2018, not the 17th. I know because I was there! [2]. Peter’s portrayal of Turen in The Saint episode, ‘The Gadic Collection‘, is probably his least known and celebrated performance during the 1960s. By the time that particular story was made, he was already a regular on television and known “to millions”. [3]. It’s clear that Mr Murphy had never heard Peter’s voice, as there’s no way that it could ever be described as “raspy”!

Peter Wyngarde’s Abergavenny Beatles poster sold for thousands: From the South Wales Argus

A poster advertising an appearance by The Beatles at Abergavenny Town Hall in 1963, which was the property of actor Peter Wyngarde, has been sold at auction for £2,200.

The poster, which advertises the performance by the Fab Four on Saturday, June 22, 1963 – just as Beatlemania was about to kick off – was the highest valued item at what was East Bristol Auction’s first virtual sale day.

While Peter Wyngarde, who died in 2018, wasn’t thought to be at the event, he was an acquaintance of the band.[1]

Notes and Corrections: [1]. Peter was not, and never had been, an “acquaintance” of The Beatles.

A Toupee With A Life Of It’s Own. Titter Ye Not: Written by Craig Brown for The Daily Mail

Death has its draw­-backs, particularly for those whose toupees survive them. 

Recently, an auction house in Bristol sold off a number of items that had once belonged to Peter Wyngarde, the smoothie actor who played the moustachioed detective Jason King in the TV series of the same name. 

The lots at the auction included Wyngarde’s snake-skin jacket, his purple-shaded sunglasses, his childhood teddy bear and his silk kaftan smoking gown, as well as his trophy for the ‘Best Dressed Personality of 1970’, which he had won against stiff competition from Cliff Richard and George Best. 

Yet the most memorable item in the auction was Lot 190, sheepishly described by the auctioneer as Wyngarde’s ‘personal toupee… with a fine mesh base . Supplied within its original box, addressed to Wyngarde at his personal residence. A rare item from the Peter Wyngarde estate’. One customer was prepared to buy it for £170, so we must trust that it went to a happy home, or even a happy head. But Wyngarde was a fastidious man and not the sort of person who would have wanted his toupee put under the gavel. 

Response: Isn’t it sad that, with so many wonderful things that could’ve been said about Peter, and the items that came up for sale in this particular auction, the only thing Mr Brown could find to write about was an old toupee? Speaks volumes! “ALL actors will wear a variety of hair pieces during their career,” Thomas Bowington, Peter’sagent said. “Anyone who has even the most rudimentary knowledge of theatre and film would be aware of that. But I doubt this wasn’t the point of Mr Brown’s article. Clearly his only interest was mocking and poking fun at a man who can no longer defend himself. It says all you need to know about the British press.”

Tweeted by Author, broadcaster and former Tory MP, Gyles Brandreth:

Peter Wyngarde’s hair caught fire in Cyrano in Bristol. He was reluctant to pull off his flaming wig lest his audience discover he was bald.”

Above: Peter as Cyrano

Response: At the time that Peter was appearing in ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’ in Bristol, he was just 30-years old, and had a full head of hair. Quite where these ridiculous stories spring from is anyone’s guess. In this instance, however, it’s clear that Mr Brandreth, who is probably best known for his novelty knitwear, was suffering from an acute case of Woolly Brain!

Note: Since this piece was originally posted, Gyles Brandreth has admitted that, “I could find no persuasive authentication for the story, and that, in fact, it appears Wyngarde played Cyrano when he was a lot younger and probably had a perfectly good head of hair”.

Found on the Internet Movie Database website…

Despite erroneous comments made else where, Dorinda Stevens was never married to (or divorced from) actor Peter Wyngarde[1].

His career began winding down, following the series “Jason King.”[2]

Whilst he lived in France during his later years, Peter Wyngarde enjoyed using of guns (sic). He said that he shaved his head as a means of protesting against gun laws in the U.K.[3]

Notes and Corrections: [1] Peter was certainly, absolutely, categorically married to Dorinda Stevens in the early 1950s! [2] His career continued unabated after the ‘Jason King’ series finished. Evidently, the person who wrote this had never heard of the theatre! [3] Peter NEVER, EVER lived in France!

They say that if a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well. If only someone had bothered to reminded Chris Hallam of this old adage when he was handed the assignment of writing an article about Peter Wyngarde . 

What we have here is, more or less, a carbon copy of Gavin Gaughan’s universally-slated ‘Obituary’ (The Guardian – 19th January, 2018), which was hastily replaced by the paper after attracting a record number of complaints.

While Mr. Hallem professes to “uncover the highs and lows of his (Peter’s) remarkable life” – which includes the revelation that our man had once made a guest appearance in ‘Z Cars'(!), he clearly failed to notice the angry mob baying for Gaughan’s blood.   

A strongly-worded letter of complaint was duly sent to the magazine’s editor, Sharon Reid, highlighting the innumerable errors and misinformation contained in Hallem’s article. She duly apologised and promised to have a word with the freelance hack but, as ever, the damage had already been done.

Response from the Editor…

Fans comments…

Linda McNab: Kudos to you, Tina, for challenging rubbish like this as the majority of the public just read and swallow this guff.

‘How Peter Wyngarde’s secret sex life was exposed by police, destroying career of the 1970s pin up who inspired Austin Powers’

By Steve Myall and Robin Turner – The Mirror

For this error-strewn piece of codswallop, click here

The Daily Mail By Christopher Stevens – 23rd July, 2018

Poldark (BBC1) left our saturnine hero last weekend ravishing his wife Demelza on the floor of their London lodgings, with only a bed sheet to protect her from splinters. And a week later, as the opening credits rolled, he was still at it.

Demelza (Eleanor Tomlinson) pleaded that she had to sleep. ‘I have other plans for you,’ growled her husband, before whisking her off to the Pleasure Gardens to enjoy the jugglers and fire-eaters, and dragging her to the Wicked Warleggans’ charity ball.

Long-running serials often run out of steam when they leave familiar surroundings — but a plunge into the wanton self-indulgence of Georgian England’s ‘Sin City’ has revived the Cornish folk.

All the lasciviousness of London was oozing from one character, philandering MP Monk Adderley (Max Bennett). All he needed was a Mexican moustache to be the louche lookalike of that most debauched actor of them all, the late Peter Wyngarde — he of the flowery shirts and open-top Bentley’s [1].

‘Two things I like best,’ purred Monk. ‘To fight and to make love. On the same day… one whets the appetite for the other.’ If Wyngarde never said that line, as insatiable ladies’ man Jason King, he should have.

Email to The Daily Mail – 23.08.18:  

To Whom It May Concern: Regarding Christopher Stevens article about Poldark. TV & Showbiz. 23.07.18: The author referred to Mr Peter Wyngarde as “The most debauched actor ever”. What evidence does Mr Stevens have to support this? Does he have any idea what the word ‘Debauched’ actually means? Peter may have passed, but that does not mean that some third-rate hack has the right to abuse his memory. He was a good, kind, decent man, and I will be expecting a printed apology from Stevens for maligning him. Tina Wyngarde-Hopkins

Their Reply: 

Dear Tina Thank you for your email, which Emma at Mail Online has brought to my attention, and apologies for the unintentional delay in our response. At the outset, please accept our sincere sympathies for your loss. We were sorry to read that you were upset by Christopher Stevens’ reference to Mr Wyngarde and would like to assure you that was certainly not the intention. As you may be aware, as our regular TV columnist Mr Stevens sets out his own views on the week’s TV shows. In this instance, the article was light-hearted review of a recent episode of Poldark, in which Mr Stevens made a brief comparison between Mr Wyngarde and the character Monk Adderley, in light of Mr Wyngarde’s former role as ‘ladies’ man’ Jason King. While there was certainly no intention to cause upset, Mr Stevens was entitled to express his views, much as you are entitled to disagree with them. Nevertheless, please be assured that we welcome all feedback – positive or negative – and have made Mr Stevens aware of your concerns for his future reference. Thank you once again for taking the time and trouble to write. With kind regards Corrections – Daily Mail

My Response

Dear Sir or Madam, Thank you for your email, however, I think the point has been missed. I had no complaint about the “lighthearted” comment regarding Jason King. What concerned me was the line that described Peter as: ‘…the most debauched actor of them all.” It seemed that your columnist is incapable of distinguishing fiction from fact. Jason King was a character in a TV series, so is fair game. Peter was a living, breathing human being. It is painful to read something so disrespectful. It’s also sad that these things need to be pointed out by those of us still grieving for him. With Regards, Tina Wyngarde-Hopkins

Any professional journalist who cannot distinguish the difference between a fictitious character in a television series and the actor that plays him, has no business writing about TV.

Notes and Corrections: [1]. Jason King never drove an open-top Bentley.

Found on X (the artist formally known as Twitter)

The actor Peter Wyngarde has died. I well remember him in the late 1970s and early/mid 1980s, sitting at the bar of the Kensington Rifle and Pistol Club, dressed in a black leather catsuit and smoking a cigarillo. A waspish, sardonic and slightly alarming character. #PeterWyngarde

Peter gave up smoking in 1979, so it would’ve been highly unlikely that he’d be puffing away on a “cigarillo” (he only ever smoked cigarettes) in the “early/mid1980s”. Similarly, he didn’t own a “black leather catsuit”. Perhaps the reason for this bizarre memory comes from the fact that Ian Millard had been spending far too much time in the Kensington Rifle and Pistol Club bar!

Taken from The JC: http://www.thejc.com

‘Peter Wyngarde , the actor best known for his role as 1960s TV sleuth Jason King, has died at around the age of 90.

The reason for the uncertainty over his age is due to the mysterious circumstances surrounding Mr Wyngarde’s origins. Everything about his birth – including the date, the year, the place, and even his parentage – have all been disputed’.

Response The only reason that such details are disputed is due to Wikipedia muddying the waters with misinformation. It would seem that the first port of call for today’s lazy journalists is this online encyclopaedia. If they’d take the time to look at Official sources, they’d find that there is no “dispute”!

Taken From ‘Infinity’ magazine – Issue 6 (November 2017)

The magazine (this issue was published in November 2017), boasted an 11-page special, written by Brian J. Robb and Robert Fairclough – the latter being responsible for the following review of the ‘Fall In – The Prisoner at 50’ event at Portmeirion (29th September, 2017).

‘After ‘Checkmate’, there was a buzz of anticipation in the room, as Peter Wyngarde – the camp crusader Jason King himself and the suave Number 2 in the episode just screened – was the next subject for Dick Fiddy’s gentle interrogation. Anticipation turned to an air of concern as the elderly Wyngarde entered in a wheelchair, his distinctive face hidden a baseball cap and shades [1]. He’d been taken seriously ill earlier on, and despite being moved to hospital [2], had insisted on honouring his commitment to ‘Fall In’ – which required him being driven back to Portmeirion in an ambulance [3]. Even though, for health reasons, Wyngarde ’s interview was restricted to just five minutes, he was full of praise both for McGoohan and his singular brainchild: ‘(The Prisoner) was the most extraordinary thought. Patrick should’ve stayed with us, he shouldn’t have gone to Hollywood, (although) he did OK… He was wonderful to work with, tremendously kind, retrospective, helped you if you had a problem of any kind, and also gave you the feeling that you were doing something original, and that for an actor is the most wonderful thing in the world.’ Like McGoohan, Wyngarde has, in the past, had the reputation of being difficult, but his obvious enthusiasm for making ‘Checkmate’, not to mention his bravery in the face of being very unwell, earned him many new admirers.

Notes and Corrections: [1]. This suggests that Peter was skulking about – trying to avoid the gaze of any passerby. Anyone who knows Peter is aware that he rarely ever took off his baseball cap, so it wasn’t something he’d put on just for that interview. The sunglasses were to protect his eyes from the glare of artificial light, due to a condition he contracted as a child in a Japanese prisoner of war camp. [2]. Peter was never at any point “moved to hospital”. He didn’t leave Portmeirion from me driving him there on the evening of Thursday, 28th September, until we left at around 12.20pm on Saturday, 1st October. He only left the hotel once, which was when he took part in the Q&A. [3]. He was not driven ANYWHERE in an ambulance! A formal complaint regarding this article has been made to the magazine’s editor, Allan Bryce, by Peter’s agent.

A formal complaint regarding this article has been made to the magazine’s editor, Allan Bryce, by Peter’s agent.

Click here for ‘Fall In – The Prisoner at 50’ ; to read hat really of Peter’s trip to Portmeirion.

Taken from http://booksteveslibrary.blogspot.co.uk/

The following load of badly-researched bovine excrement – i.e. copied from Donald Spoto’s Alan Bates biography, ‘Otherwise Engaged’, comes from a blog entitled ‘Steve’s Library’:

Peter Wyngarde  has been in the news this week with the rediscovery of ‘South’, a British teleplay from 1959 believed to be the first gay-themed dramatic effort to air on television. If you’re in the US, you may not be familiar with Mr. Wyngarde but he is a performer of some depth and renown in the UK. He sang [1] opposite Lucille Ball in her Lucy in London TV special in 1966. He was the new Number Two in The Prisoner. He appeared memorably in many well-known TV shows The Avengers, The Champions and even Doctor Who, all the while maintaining a presence in the classier productions for which British television is known.

It was Department S, though, that made  Peter Wyngarde a star in 1969. The series dealt with a secret Interpol group brought in to investigate “unique” crimes. Wyngarde’s Jason King character was a mystery author who acted as a consultant to the group. The character stood out from the fairly standard look of the rest of the show by  nature of his poofy hair [2], Sgt Pepper-style mustache [3] and increasingly flamboyant fashion choices. He was a cocky, egomaniacal ladies man who ended up becoming popular enough to merit his own 26 episode spin-off series, Jason King after two series of Department S.

By the time he got his own show, the character, although still played straight, seems increasingly a parody and is often said to be the basis for Mike Myers’ Austin Powers character. At the peak of his success,  Peter Wyngarde  was mobbed in public by fans, had comics characters based on him and put out a bizarre and ultimately controversial record album!

Wyngarde’s career was quickly derailed [4] just a few short years after Jason King left the air when he was arrested on a couple of “public indecency” charges [5] which also served to reveal the star’s homosexuality. Although widely known in the industry [6] Wyngarde had been a companion to fellow actor Alan Bates [7] for a decade at one point–like many stars, he had kept the fact a secret from the public. While such a revelation today might not have hurt his career, at the time it led to two bankruptcies [8].

Notes and Corrections: [1]. Peter never “sang” with Lucille Ball – in ‘Lucy in London‘ or anywhere else. [2]. “Poofy hair”? Quite what this means is anyone’s guess. Peter’s hair is naturally curly. Unnecessary nastiness! [3]. “Sgt Pepper-style mustache (sic)“: Peter’s moustache was actually based on an 19th century Russian style, which he grew for a play entitled, ‘The Duel‘ which was set, strangely enough, in 19th Century Russia! [4] This old chestnut AGAIN! I suggest ‘Steve’ tries reading this… [5]. Unproven.  [6] & [7]. Taken from Donald Spoto’s disputed biography, ‘Otherwise Engaged: The Life of Alan Bates’. Read what Peter said about this particular author and what he wrote about him here. [8]. Incorrect.

Review of ‘On Trial: Sir Roger Casement’ – Taken from The Internet Movie Database

This long forgotten B.B.C. series [1] is similar to a series hosted by Joseph Cotton that appeared in the late 1950s (only a handful of years before this one). It only lasted one season and (I would suspect) no longer exists. Pity because the stories look interesting (at least to this legal historian) and the casts have many names in them that developed into full careers. Again, as I never watched an episode, I cannot judge the performances or productions but I suspect it was above average.

To this day the name of Roger Casement is a sore spot between England and the republic of Eire. He was executed (hanged) for high treason in 1917 [2] for his part in the events leading to the Easter Rebellion of the preceding year….

…One last point here is the ironic star of this episode. Not as well known in the U.S. (particularly after his own disaster) Peter Wyngarde was once a popular and handsome leading man in British theatre and television. Occasionally one can see his face on old episodes of programs like The Avengers. Most of his work is forgotten now due to a homosexual scandal that ruined him in the late 1970s. According to his thread on this board his last television performance was in a 1994 episode of Jeremy Brett’s series of Sherlock Holmes’ stories, and it was as a minor character. A sad, and (as I said) ironic fall for the man who played Sir Roger Casement in 1960 [3].

Notes and Corrections: [1]. The series wasn’t produced by the BBC. It was made by the ITV company, Granada. [2] Casement was hanged in 1916, not 1917 as stated. [3] Same old crap about Peter’s career being “ruined” This information was obviously copied from another poorly-researched piece!

This was a reasonably popular [1] TV series filmed between 1968/1969 (with Jason King as its spin-off) and here we have 13 of the original 26 episodes of the first three (individual) Department S releases – starring the one and only Peter Wyngarde .

Department S is a fictitious wing of Interpol and is headed by Sir Curtis Seretse (Dennis Alaba Peters – a bass voiced black actor who only ever appears briefly invariably to de-brief Sullivan). The Department has but three operatives: ex-FBI [2] Stuart Sullivan (Joel Fabiani), systems expert Annabelle Hirst (Rosemary Nicols) and the one and very much only Jason King, about whom there is considerably more to be said. King is played by the ‘outrageous’ and eccentric Peter Wyngarde and it would be fair to say that King’s character is the ‘ideas’ man of the team. He also happens to be a mega best selling novelist (hence ideas), although curiously he does not appear to have succeeded in getting a hard back deal. To call Jason King flamboyant would be a gross understatement and one can’t help wondering how much of Mr. Wyngarde’s own input was reflected as to the character. The high vented waisted jackets, the colorful matching shirts and big-knotted kipper ties and so on. The character is irresistibly charming even though he never seems to stop drinking what looks like the same tumbler of whisky or brandy (it’s a wonder he can still stand up). King chain smokes long yellow-papered cigarettes, has a fondness for quoting Oscar Wilde and is -wait for it – an incorrigible womaniser. That last statement was probably the biggest in-joke of all! [3] 

The cases that Department S are assigned to all appear at the outset to be seemingly totally outré and utterly impossible. In the episode One Of Our Aircraft Is Empty (Vol 2) an airplane arrives at London airport – minus its 128 passengers! In Black Out (Vol 3) a man goes to the Covent Garden Opera House and wakes up on a West Indian Island. In The Trojan Tanker (Vol 1) a woman is seen locked inside a lorry but later mysteriously disappears despite the vehicle still being locked, while in the episode The Pied Piper of Hambledown (Vol 1) an English Village is found completely evacuated overnight, save one. In Who Played The Dummy (Vol 3) a car crashes and in the driving seat is a… dummy. Wyngarde’s shirt keeps changing color [4] from white to yellow and back again in this one as he climbs in and out of same car, the same happens with his straw hat. Talks about bad continuity! That said, the series was probably first seen in monochrome. In conclusion, all the cases are discovered to have logical explanations by our team of experts.

This series was made ‘back to back’ with Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) and was written and directed mainly by the same team: the enterprising Monty Berman (producer) and Dennis Spooner (creator). Some of the Dept S episodes start off really promising but disappointingly run out of steam half way through [?!]. The directors on offer here were mostly seasoned veterans (and some Hammer film men) like John Gilling and Roy Ward Baker. However, none of this stops the absolutely atrocious continuity which is so bad it becomes laughable. In one scene of The Double Death of Charlie Crippen (Vol 3) a vintage Roll Royce is supposed to get blown up but the wreck we see is that of an old Bentley (well alright, who is going to blow up a car like that?). On the whole the show is quite fun, with pick up shots abounding all over the place and the same walls (painted in garish green) appearing in three different consecutive interiors in one episode. One can’t help wondering if there were any locations used other than London (that really was Belgrave Square, alright) and Elstree. Department S is not quite on par with series like The Avengers [5], then again… what was? Truth be told, without Wyngarde’s hilarious OTT kitsch-a-go-go character the series would be far less interesting and as we all know he got his own spin off TV series the next year.

The print of the Blu-ray releases is very crisp indeed and makes King’s suites even more crisp in appearance!

Notes and Corrections: [1]. Department S was one of the most popular series on TV in the late 1960/early 70’s. [2]. At no point in the series does it ever mention that Stewart Sullivan was ex-FBI. [3]. Conjecture… AGAIN! [4]. This was not a continuity error. It was due to a camera fault! [5]. Personal opinion. Many other people think the opposite.

From the ‘Trevor Miller Blog’ (American Screenwriter, Author and Journalist)

Margie and I watched Napoleon Dynamite on pay-per-view last night. For some reason the character of Uncle Rico (played by John Gries) held a bizarre fascination for me. Perhaps it was the fact that Rico reminded me of guys that I’d worked with in Canoga Park – valley dudes with blow dried hair and Tom Selleck moustaches. Back in the day, while working at Metropolis, failed football-jocks with yet another get-rich-quick scheme would pass through the office daily. They all seemed to live in places like Monrovia. They all had a special product for sale. Usually something they’d discovered that would supplement their income, and pay for that blissful two weeks in Cabo or Costa Rica… The schemes verged from the sublime to the ridiculous. Selling stock in a Country Club that hadn’t been built yet. It was somewhere in the high desert… Not exactly the best place to erect a golf course. There was also phony Travel Agent credentials being sold as some pyramid scheme, and a hair restoring product (called Flourish) discovered by someone’s dad in Israel. My favourite was probably the Personal Trainer selling a garish blue aphrodisiac tincture with the dubious name Rock Hard… That was the name of the aphrodisiac, not the trainer… But back to Uncle Rico. I realized, this morning, that he actually reminded me of the British TV character Jason King…

Growing up in England, in the early ’70’s, the Jason King show was the most popular thing on TV. If you were a teenage boy you wanted to be Jason King. If you were a girl, you wanted to be with him. Jason King was like James Bond, only better. He was pure 1970s kitsch – crazy clothes, a bevvy of exotic beauties in tow, and the biggest handlebar moustache ever to grace the small screen. King was a spin-off from the successful espionage series Department ‘S.’ But it was much more bizarre. In the show, Jason was a successful pulp crime novelist – writing the Mark Caine books. Each week he would be called upon by the British Secret Service [1] to unravel some international crime/mystery. This basically consisted of him jumping on private planes, shagging lots of birds in exotic locales, and wearing the most ridiculous menswear that you’ve ever seen. Jason King pioneered the massive collar, the flared slack, and the tie-knot that was bigger than a fist. I actually remember one wide collar shirt being known as ‘The Jason King.’ [2]

Jason King was played by an Australian[3][ heart-throb, Peter Wyngarde. Forget Austin Powers. This guy was the real deal. Not only a gourmet chef, and raconteur [4] – in 1971 – the King show made Wyngarde the most famous man in the U.K. When he arrived once at Heathrow airport, he was mobbed by thousands of female fans. He was voted the sexiest man alive in the British Press. Rumours abound that Wyngarde had been involved with Vivienne (sic) Leigh, and numerous of his female co-stars.

The Jason King show only ran for two years. But it bought Wyngarde a jet-set lifestyle much the same as the character he played – a vast country estate, apartments in London and Rome… Still in 1975 disaster struck. Peter Wyngarde was arrested for performing ‘Lewd Acts’ [5] with a Truck Driver in a Men’s Toilet at Gloucester Bus Station. At the time, this scandal was far more explosive than Kevin Spacey being ‘caught in the park,’ or George Michael entrapped in a Beverly Hills Bathroom. There were no ‘Gay TV-Stars’ [6] back then. And Wyngarde had been a hetero-heart-throb. He was trashed in the press. The female fans felt disgusted and betrayed…[7] In short Wyngarde’s popularity plummeted. Apart from a few B-Movies [8], and a brief return as a villain in Sherlock Holmes, Wyngarde was never seen again…

It seems strange how times have changed. If Wyngarde was ‘outed’ more recently, he may well have survived. You probably would’ve heard of him. Still, I’m guessing that you’ve neither heard of him or Jason King. [9] As far as I’m aware, the Jason King show is rarely played on U.K. TV – even in re-runs. I’m certain it’s never played on U.S. TV (unlike The Avengers, The Prisoner – et al). However, some say Jason King paved the way for The X-Files [10], with a series of unexplainable and supernatural-tinged crimes… I can’t help but think that the ‘burying’ of Jason King is due, in some part, to the Wyngarde Scandal… [11] All that being said, I’m trying to buy Jason King DVDs on ebay.co.uk… It’s extremely rare, and was only released once in 1993… [12] For those of you who do remember Jason King, I’ve found a few Wyngarde/Jason King websites… If you’re my age, you probably had the shirt, maybe even a King-Style Cravat. I hope you can share a moment sometime this week, and raise a glass to the long lamented Peter Wyngarde… As they say, from the days of Empire… Long live the King… Long live the Jason King…

I realise that this isn’t exactly a roasting, but it’s still error-strewn nonetheless. So let’s start the autopsy…

Notes and Corrections: [1] In the ‘Jason King’ series, King wasn’t called up by the British Secret Service “each week”. Not sure where THAT one came from! [2] Wide-collared shirts might have been known as ‘A Jason King’ in some places, but there was nothing widely or ‘officially’ known as a ‘J.K.’. [3] Peter Wyngarde is NOT Australian!!! (Lazy journalism). [4] A raconteur, yes, but a “gourmet chef”? Eh, nah! [5] ‘Lewd Acts’? An assumption based on inaccurate newspaper reporting. [6] What about Danny La Rue… Larry Grayson… John Inman…? [7] No evidence of that; just supposition. The original Official Peter Wyngarde Fan Club, which had a 99.9% female membership, was thriving until 1985. Peter still has a huge female following. [8] ‘Flash Gordon’ wasn’t a “B movie”. [9] Really? [10] That was ‘Department S’, NOT ‘Jason King’. [11] WHAT? [12] Selected episodes of ‘Jason King’ were released on video in 1993, but the complete series has been issued in a DVD box-set format, TWICE!

‘New Jensen, no ’tache required’ – Article taken from The Times

Orders are now being taken for the new version of the Jensen Interceptor[1], the favourite car of 1970s TV detective Jason King:

Someone get Jason King on the Trimphone — a new version of the 1970s TV detective’s favourite car, the Jensen Interceptor, is here. First deliveries of the Interceptor R began this month, with the Oxfordshire restorer Jensen International Automative (JIA) hoping to build a further 18 this year. The company has no links to the original Jensen Motors, which went bust in 1976.

JIA describes its new vehicle as a “modern interpretation” of the British supercar. Each Interceptor R is rebuilt from a stripped-down donor car, with new suspension, transmission, brakes and interior, plus a Chevrolet Corvette 6.2-litre V8 producing 429bhp — enough for a top speed of 160mph and a decidedly modern 0-60mph time of less than 4.5 seconds.

Notes and Corrections: [1]: I’m afraid Jason never drove a Jensen Interceptor. His car of choice was a Bentley Continental! Oh, dear!

‘Take note, Tony Blair: why jewellery looks so bad on men’ – Article taken from The Spectator

They think it makes them more youthful. In fact, it shows us they’re desperate.

The real rot probably started back in the 1970s, when Jason King, the fictional TV detective, first draped three pounds of bling around his neck and prowled the fleshpots of Europe. As played by Peter Wyngarde, he became the maharajah of the medallion men; he was the randy dandy, the lady-killer with a Zapata moustache who could never quite be trusted with the sherry bottle or your daughter. Since then, men who heavily invest in gold necklaces always have a whiff of the lothario about them, a hint of gangland, a whisper of try-too-hard, no matter how undeserved that might be.

"I only ever wore a medallion just ONCE in an episode of Department S entitled 'The Man From X'. That was when Jason went undercover in a nightclub". Peter Wyngarde 

The above nonsense was written by Jan Moir of the Daily Mail(!), which speaks volumes!!! 

Euro Weekly (1st October 2016) Caption: Peter Wyngarde : Always had a babe on his arm or in his Bentley Continental.

There is always one member in any group of blokes, who stands out in the crowd through his style and personality.  ‘Flash’ is a common adjective used to describe such individuals.

I am talking here of young men, and a time gone by when trouser waistlines got as low as the hips and that was it. Not shapeless strides that look as if they have an urgent appointment with your ankles.  

The only builder’s bums you saw then, were um, well builder’s bums.  The resident ‘Jack the Lad’ in our group was Alan.

Alan had Italian antecedents and although he was brought up in England, he still retained a very slight but alluring accent. Alluring to the girls that is.

He took for granted his popularity with women, and whilst the rest of us had to work hard to attract the opposite sex and continuously come up with new and corny chat-up lines, Alan would simply swagger over to his target, lift his eyebrows suggestively, and he was in.  

Even his swagger and eyebrow actions were delivered with a Mediterranean accent. A television series of the time was called ‘Department S’ and the main character, Jason King, was played by the actor Peter Wyngarde .

This oily devil wore sharp suits and sported fashionable long hair and a Zapata moustache.  And he always had a babe on his arm or in his Bentley Continental. Alan and Mr Wyngarde could have been brothers and attended the same school for smooth operators.

I stayed with my old friend in England recently, and nothing has changed. Whilst age has been a bitter enemy of mine, it seems to have simply ignored Alan and moved on to richer pickings.  

During my stay he would swan around wearing a granddad shirt, faded blue jeans held up with braces, and scuffed desert boots.  And dammit, he looked great.

When I returned home it inspired me to buy a pair of braces on Playa Flamenca market and try to emulate the look. The result was a fair photo-fit of what the father of Worzel Gummidge must have looked like. The Princess thought I had finally flipped.

But that’s the way it is with blokes like Alan.  When you’re hot you’re hot, and if you’re not you’re not.

AT LAST – SOMEONE ACTUALLY GOT IT RIGHT!

Written by James Tapper for The Daily Mail

Once he was an international sex symbol, regularly mobbed by screaming girls and boasting a clutch of ‘best-dressed man’ awards.

But when Seventies television star Peter Wyngarde  was spotted out shopping near his West London home last week – clad in knitted hat, camouflage jacket, wrinkly leather trousers and scruffy trainers – it was clear his fashion sense had deserted him a long time ago.

Wyngarde – now 76 – made his name playing a suave crime author and investigator with a penchant for groovy chicks in the cult adventure shows Department S and Jason King. With his flamboyant suits, bouffant hair and lush moustache he soon became one of the best-known characters on television.

Peter Wyngarde’s heart-throb status once led to him being mobbed by 30,000 hysterical women at Sydney airport, and he even had his own fashion column for women in a daily newspaper.

His adventures as Jason King were a send-up of spy and detective dramas such as The Saint and The Avengers – a typical plot would see King drive his Bentley to a country mansion where he would drink champagne with the owner and flirt with his attractive daughter before arresting everybody.

Peter responded a to this gutter snipe himself (see below). The letter was published in the 4th April, 2010 edition of The Mail on Sunday. He was probably wasting his time in putting pen to paper, since the idiotic columnist probably wouldn’t have the intelligence to comprehend what was being said to him.

Fans Comments

Andrew Humphries: Famously from the Daily Mail, one of their regular stupid stories about someone who is “unrecognisable”. It’s their special word for someone who has the apparent bad judgement to get older, fatter, thinner or just be out shopping in normal clothes. Jokes on them because for an 80-something he looks amazing.

Deepinder Singh Cheema: This just seems to me an elderly gent in robust health at ease with his style wearing excellent trousers well prepared for the climate.

Taken from ‘Shapers of the 80’s: British Youth Culture At It’s Finest’

Emma Peelpants is a keen-eyed blogger who plunders magazine and retail archives in search of 60s clothes and the whole vulgar, vibrant style of that swinging decade. Once in a while, she has a mensday and today she exhumes that male stereotype, “the heel” — the overbearing, amoral lothario who 40 years ago fancied himself rotten and treated women as playthings. Miss Peelpants publishes a hideously recognisable illustration of a heel from a copy of the teenage magazine 19, dated 1972, where one such sophisticate is grinding his heel into a bevvy of scantily clad girls. 19’s Guide to Recognising a Heel shows the just-got-out-of-bed coiffed hair, the bandito moustache, the whisky-and-cigarette in one hand, plus total absence of a smile, which he would have deemed too uncool.

To anybody of a certain age, the dandy in the illustration is all too visibly based on the actor Peter Wyngarde who shot to fame playing exactly this kind of international playboy in two late-night[1] TV espionage series at the dawn of the 70s, Department S and Jason King. These expressed notions of contemporary glamour by being set in airports and beside Riviera pools. Their action-hero won awards as the “Best Dressed Man In Britain” while Sun readers voted him the “Man With the Sexiest Voice on Television”.

What Emma links us to is possibly the most offensive song ever recorded by a star considered suave in his day. The one-off “comedy” album for RCA in 1970 was titled Peter Wyngarde and billed as dwelling on “the darker side of human behaviour”. It was said to have been withdrawn from sale after four days. Unbelievably it was re-released on RPM in 1998 retitled When Sex Leers Its Inquisitive Head with a “Don’t buy this”[2] warning on the sleeve. As a model of appalling bad taste it not only leaves no innuendo unturned, but contains one track actively celebrating rape.

Right: The article from 19 magazine

Lest we doubt that political correctness has delivered a few benefits over the years, the Lipstick Thespians have posted this number on YouTube. For those who wish to avoid hearing Wyngarde’s ripe spoken-word rendition, the Thespians have posted the full wince-making lyrics (words and music by Hubert Valverde and Peter Wyngarde). Many people feel that the actor met his just desserts when he wrecked his career[3] in what politicians euphemistically call a moment of madness in 1975. He’s still alive and kicking and signing autographs, now aged 75.

This unholy mess of an article is typical of the kind of nonsense churned out by those who know little or nothing about the subject they’re writing about. 

Notes and Corrections: [1]: Neither Department S nor Jason King were “late-night TV espionage series”. They were originally broadcast around 8pm and, latterly, repeated in the afternoon.  [2]: The re-issue of Peter’s album on CD – released under the title ‘When Sex Leers It’s Inquisitive Head’ never, EVER carried a “Don’t buy this” warning on the sleeve. [3]: Peter’s career was not “wrecked”, as suggested. He actually worked almost continually after the so-called “moment of madness in 1975”, and received many of his most enthusiastic plaudits from critics during that time.

Perhaps it would’ve been more appropriate to affix a “Do not bother reading” sticker to this laughable article!

‘Damn You, Scarlett O’Hara, The Private Lives of Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier’ By Darwin Porter and Roy Moseley (Blood Moon Productions)

Notes and Corrections: [1]: This “brief sexual fling” actually lasted for almost 4 years; longer than most Hollywood marriages!

By Martin Buckley – Motoring Journalist

Jason King: Bentley Continental This was a follow-on series for Peter Wyngarde, the Australian [1] actor who played the hunky, spunky Jason King. King was a thriller writer who solved crimes as if he was writing the plot of one of his books. As usual the scripts took the character all over the world but when the action moved to swinging London King would be seen swishing around in his Bentley Continental. With his flamboyant clothes and trendy moustache Wyngarde was quite a heartthrob [2] yet cut such a slender, effete figure that the fight scenes always seemed rather unlikely. Jason King wasn’t the success Department S had been and in any case Wyngarde’s career was cut short [4] by an incident in a gentleman’s lavatory. The character was parodied by The Comic Strip in the late eighties as ‘Jason Bentley.

Notes and Corrections: [1]. Peter isn’t Australian! [2]. ‘With his flamboyant clothes and trendy moustache Wyngarde was quite a heartthrob yet cut such a slender, effete figure that the fight scenes always seemed rather unlikely’. Peter actually had a black belt in Karate and could knock almost anyone out if he meant to. As for Peter being “effete”: As a child, he managed to survive four years in a Japanese P.O.W., and was a black belt in Karate which, I would suggest, made him far tougher than Mr Buckley would have his readers believe! [3]. His career wasn’t cut short for any reason.

From ‘The Billen Interview’ – The Guardian 7th August, 1997

Andrew Billen visits author JG Ballard in his peeling semi to discuss class, feminism and the material world.

Ballard is not being pious and he is, anyway, in little danger of being damned as politically correct. In 1973, when he was still thought of as a science fiction writer, he published Crash, a novel celebrating the eroticism of car smashes. The kinkiness of Crash, and of some of his other works (one, featuring the Kennedy assassinations, is called The Atrocity Exhibition), reminds me of a fairly weird interview I once conducted with the actor Peter Wyngarde. The one-time Jason King had talked about his preference for ‘sadistic’ sex[1]. I am reminded because Wyngarde and Ballard were in the same internment camp. . The one-time Jason King had talked about his preference for ‘sadistic’ sex. I am reminded because Wyngarde and Ballard were in the same internment camp.

‘Oh,’ Ballard says when I mention it, ‘I don’t think that sort of thing affects your sex life. I’d have thought it needed to be much more personal than that, but then I don’t have any strain of S&M in me, so I wouldn’t know.’ Is it true, as Lynn Barber wrote, that he used to show off photographs of his girlfriend’s car-crash injuries at dinner parties? ‘Of course it isn’t,’ he says.

Notes and Corrections: [1]: Peter did NOT say “sadistic sex”. He actually said “Sophisticated sex.”

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Below is a veritable cornucopia of sub-articles from the early to mid-1990’s, which were written around the time that Department S and Jason King were either about to be released on video, or were featured on one of the terrestrial TV channels Sixties/Seventies day-long marathons. So here we look back at those in the Nineties who were looking back at the Sixties….

TV Zone – 1993

The tape sleeve sums up it up: ‘ Peter Wyngarde IS Jason King’, because Wyngarde’s smooth, sardonic, eccentric portrayal of the dandified ‘Crimewriter! Adventurer Lover!’ gives this series a distinctly watchable charm.

The character Jason King left Departments S to “struggle along” (as King puts it) without him. Wyngarde’s colourful characterization presumably proved the most popular element of the Department S series, so here we are presented with a succession of totally unlikely adventures which befall a novelist (writing the adventures of the indefatigable Mark Caine) who travels the world.

Needless to say, the world consists or reel upon reel of stock footage – of alarmingly variable picture quality, and bits of exotic shrubbery glimpsed through set windows.

The plots are of little note, mostly being concerned with political intrigue, theft and murder – all dreadfully contrived.

In 1971, Wyngarde was a big hit with the ladies. In 1993, this dapper chappy with the huge moustache, flapping collars, fat ties and turned-up cuffs (reportedly adopted because Wyngarde lost his cuff links during filming!) now looks a bit daft [1]. Still, he’s worth checking out.

Notes and Corrections: [1]: I suspect that the person who wrote this was probably sat at his typewriter (remember them?), in a flame-resistant Shell Suit and jellies. He looks a bit daft now, doesn’t it?!

TV Zone – 1994

In the 1970’s, Jason King has obviously left Department S and merited a series in his own right. The episode ‘Toki’ has Felicity Kendall falling in love with Jase (who wouldn’t?), and is set in Paris, France. Jason has now acquired a nice collection of kaftans. How those baddies must have been shaking in their shoes; high drama or high farce? Take your pick.

The Lancashire Evening Post – 1994

The sixties were clearly a funny old time. Why else would 35,000 Australian women [1] claim in a survey that they wanted to lose their virginity to TV tec, Jason King?

Here was a man with the most ridiculous moustache and hairdo in the history of telly, a man with a fondness for crushed velvet [2] and ties with knots so big they were a danger to shipping. And yet ‘Department S’ and seemingly in real life too, women loved him. Perhaps he was just ahead of his time. Watching King, alias Shakespearean actor, Peter Wyngarde, wandering through this wildly funny piece of 1969 kitsch, I was often reminded of Nineties pop icons Prince and Lenny Kravitz, who also have tendencies to mince.

Shown as part of another tedious telly marathon on the ‘Swinging Sixties’, that could hardly have been as wonderful as everyone tells us, Department S was like The Avengers meets Batman; a relic of an age which laid itself open to satire almost before it was over. The plot is so daft to recount here – suffice to say the chief baddie bought it after King, wearing a spacesuit, whacked him with a side of beef in a meat locker… But, hey, 35,000 Australian women can’t be wrong.

Notes and Corrections: [1]. The survey referred to in this article was taken in 1971, not in the 1960’s as stated here. The 35,000 women named Peter Wyngarde as ‘The Man We’d Most Like To Lose Our Virginity To’, NOT Jason King. The author of this article was obviously unable to distinguish between a fictional character and the actor who played him! [2]. Peter never wore “crushed velvet”. The author, who had probably never seen an episode of either Department S OR Jason King prior to writing this article, obviously so believed that the Comic Strip episode, ‘The Detectives’, was a true representation of the character. P*** poor at best!

Video World – 1994

Dedicated followers of fashion will be delighted to discover that they can return to the psychedelic 1970’s this month in the company of old smoothie-chops himself, Jason King. There’s nothing like a good thriller, and these are nothing like a good thriller either, but they’re groovy entertainment nevertheless.

Evening Telegraph – 1994

Great television programmes never die, they just go to TV Heaven, where those nice people at ITC Home Video re-issue them for our viewing pleasure.

All that’s best in 60’s and 70’s cult TV can be found on ITC. Out this month are four new episodes from the excellent ‘Man In A Suitcase’. Also out is a new ‘Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) collection, and a wide range of ‘Department S’ videos, if the recent episode on BBC2 has whetted your appetite for more Jason King.

Video Trade Weekly – 1994

Get your velvet jacket out of mothballs, shake out your flares and watch out for those wide lapels!

Jason King is back. Just in time to cash in on the 70’s revival the flamboyant writer/detective who first appeared in the hit 60’s series, ‘Department S’ is back. As played by Peter Wyngarde, the ultimate smoothie who won the Best Dressed Personality Award in 1970 [1], Jason King is back on two video’s released by ITC. Each features two episodes and will be available for £10.99.

Notes and Corrections: [1]. He won it in 1971 as well.

The Daily Star – 1994

BBC2 dusts of the joss-sticks, fumigates the Afghan coat and celebrates a host of classic comedies, dramas and great sporting moments in an unashamed day of nostalgia on Monday. ‘One Day In The 60s’, from 11.45am to midnight, unearths ‘Adam Adament Lives!’ with Gerald Harper as the Edwardian detective, dripping from an icy tomb to fight crime in the 20th century with only a swordstick for company, and Sixties sex symbol, Peter Wyngarde, polishes up his medallion [1] as flamboyant thriller writer-turned-super-sleuth, Jason King.

Notes and Corrections: [1]. In the name of all that’s holy, not this old chestnut A-GAIN! I’m getting weary of saying this… Peter only wore a medallion in one episode of Department S (The Man From X), when he went undercover at a nightclub. Clearly, one this author’s Scrunchies was too tight, and she couldn’t think straight!

The Radio Times – 1994

Peter Wyngarde starred as Jason King, the flamboyant thriller-writer who doubled as an investigator for Department S, in this and the early-70’s spin-off, ‘Jason King’. No job is too dangerous, no gadget too complicated, no Paisley shirt too loud for Interpol’s most secret weapon in the battle against crime.

Editors Note: What looks more dignified – a 1970s Paisley Shirt or a 90s hemp necklace and dungarees with one strap left undone down? Mmmm – difficult one this….

Sky TV Guide – June 1995

Peter Wyngarde ’s outrageously trendy clothes and even more outrageous hairstyle, are the real stars of this Sixties classic (Department S). Wyngarde plays Jason King, best-selling crime novelist and member of a secret crime-fighting trio. His co-stars, Joel Fabiani and Rosemary Nichols. But Wyngarde stole the show to such an extent that he was given his own spin-off series, ‘Jason King’.

The Radio Times – June 12th 1995

In March, the Radio Times asked which cult programmes you, the reader, would like to see repeated; the letters flooded in. Even the postman entered into the spirit, delivering the mail with a witty one-liner before scaling the walls of the building. It was if Simon Templar, Jason King, Adam Adament, the suave Persuaders – Danny Wilde and Lord Brett Sinclair, and their gallant, if shamelessly chauvinistic ilk, had never disappeared into the television history books.

You laughed, you cried, you eulogised… you fell in love: “I was 5 or 6 when I first saw Peter Wyngarde as Jason King, and I had a huge crush on him even at that tender age,” admits reader, Amanda Long of Bristol. “I saw a one-off episode of Department S recently and, though it’s dated, Peter was ludicrously charming and witty. Watching him you wished there were more men like him”.

The Times – 10th June, 1995

One of the top ten ‘Cult’ series , according to a poll in the Radio Times last week, Department S, was first seen on ITV at the end of the 1960’s and was chiefly popular because of Peter Wyngarde, who played a dandified character called Jason King, who was apparently able to solve impossibly baffling mysteries by growing his sideburns, and wearing ever more appalling suits and shirts.

Tonight’s adventure (Six Days), a planeload of passengers is hijacked en route from Rome to London and whisked off to… but to say more might spoil the surprise. You can ignore the plot and sit back to enjoy the extraordinary acting and clothes and the absence of logic. Wyngarde’s impact was such that he was liberated from the Interpol sub-contractors Department S and given his own show: ‘Jason King’.

Editors Note: “Appalling shirts and suits”, exclaimed the man in the embellished jeans and Bum-Bag!

Satellite Times – June 1995

The title, Department S, describes a little-known, specialist division on Interpol which was brought into action when the most baffling of crimes or events occurred. The programme made a star of Peter Wyngarde, who played the debonair author and sleuth, Jason King – a character which eventually got him his own series. At the time the programme was aired, Mr. King was just the sort of man that women would die for, and there’s evidence to prove it: Jason was the most popular name for male babies in the early 70’s! The character, wearing sharp, velvet suits and frilly shirts, would examine the latest mystery to confront the team, and use the information and use the information and background material for his next Mark Caine adventure novel.

Although he acted as though there were a 1001 other places he’d rather be, you always knew he really enjoyed detective work, and Mr Wyngarde is still as enigmatic today – he stole the show with a cameo appearance in a recent Sherlock Holmes TV adventure. Jason’s fellow employees were Stewart Sullivan (played by Joel Fabiani), and American who was always getting knocked unconscious after a particularly vigorous fight, and Annabelle Hurst (Rosemary Nicols), a computer genius with an analytical brain. Rumour has it that script editor, Dennis Spooner, would write the bizarre two-minute pre-credit opening teasers, before giving them to his team of writers to do with them what they could.

Radio Times 1996

Jason King – author, private investigator and offshoot of ‘Department S’, was the personification of the Seventies man. Sporting a ludicrous moustache, flamboyant shirts, velvet catsuits [1] and the largest medallions [2], he leapt from bed to bed, purring catchphrases like, “Whenever I feel the urge to exercise, I lie down until it passes”. It’s now the most popular show on Bravo, so turn on, tune in and dust off those flares.

Notes and Corrections: [1]. I’d give real money to the first person who can show me evidence of Peter wearing a “velvet catsuit” in either ‘Department S’ or ‘Jason King’! [2]. The old ‘Medallion’ chestnut again (Yawn!). Pathetic!

The Daily Mirror – 1996

Any man who can conduct a criminal investigation in a full-length mink coat, a flared Prince of Wales check suit [1] and a bright mauve cravat deserves a second look.

Yes, Peter Wyngarde is stepping out again as super-suave novelist-cum-detective, Jason King. The only thing criminal here are the plots while the fights are laughable, while some of the acting is so wooden it’s unreal. But that all counts for nothing because, boy, does Jason have style.

From his carefully clipped moustache to his often alarmingly-loud shoes [2], the man oozes class. This week’s episode involves a typically unlikely jaunt behind the Iron Curtain. It was entitled ‘To Russia With… Panache’. Need I say more?

Notes and Corrections: [1]. Eh, nope! Never seen Jason in a Prince of Wales check suit. [2]. “…alarmingly-loud shoes”? Nor them either.

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