Cinema Retro recently caught up with Dr. Wesley Britton, author of numerous books about spy movies and TV series, including his latest work, The Encyclopedia of TV Spies.
Britton, who runs the highly entertaining web site www.spywise.net, shared his thoughts on his love of the spy movie genre.
Q:
For those who haven’t heard about The
Encyclopedia of TV Spies, what can readers expect to find in it?
A:
Most of this book describes over 200 TV series from the U.K., the U.S, and even
Canada from 1951 to the present. This isn’t an episode guide or a directory of
cast and crew, but rather each alphabetical entry provides basic facts about
the shows along with behind-the-scenes information to hopefully give readers
some flavor of what each show was all about. It covers a wide range of series
from Adam Adamant Lives to They Young Rebels, so the scope is very
inclusive. It includes miniseries like Robert
Ludlum’s Hades Factor, “reality†shows like Spymaster, cartoons, children’s shows, and docu-dramas based on
historical events. There are also appendices discussing soundtracks and tie-in
novels. The book is 520 pages long, if that gives you any idea how detailed it
is.
Q:
Why would readers want a book like this when so much information is on the
internet?
A:
My first answer to that is, because so many obscure and short-running series
are included, readers will discover tons of shows they wouldn’t have known to
look for. Doomwatch? The Piglet Files? Frederick Forsythe Presents? I think that’s one great pleasure from
the book. I’ve already heard some readers are now seeking out DVDs of series
they never knew existed because the descriptions intrigued them. I’d also say
to be careful about what you find on the net. Interviewing some of the
participants, I picked up a number of errors repeated all over the place. In
addition, I’ve already done that research for you—along with interviews, books,
rare articles, you name it. For many series, all you can really find are
episode titles and lists of cast and crew. I wanted to go beyond that, Again,
trying to provide some flavor of each series thinking those who like certain
types of shows will get interested in seeing programs new to them.
I’ll
admit that if you’re looking for information about major series like I Spy or The Avengers, there’s no lack of other sources you can explore. In
an encyclopedia, my discussions of these series have to be limited because of
space. But I do have my own spin on things. For example, I include shows like The Adventures of Zorro and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and
explain how they do, believe it or not, connect to the spy genre.
Most porn stars fade into obscurity and their passing rarely makes the mainstream news. However, the death of Jack Wrangler from cancer at age 62 is an exception. For some, Wrangler was perhaps the first iconic star of gay movies of the 1970s. Even us straight guy horny teenagers had heard of him. With his rugged Marlboro Man looks, Wrangler (real name John Stillman) became an immediate sensation in the era in which porn was seen in squalid movie houses. What sets his story apart, however, is his offbeat personal life. Wrangler fell in love with big band singer Margaret Whiting, who was 22 years his senior. The odd couple ended up marrying, despite Wrangler's insistence that he remained gay. It was the ultimate Hollywood "marriage of convenience", with the refreshing caveat that Wrangler wasn't trying to hide his sexuality. In fact, he always insisted that he never felt ashamed of anything he had done onscreen or off and made no apologies for his career in X rated movies. He wrote an autobiography and was the subject of a recent documentary. Through his relationship with Whiting, Wrangler quit the porn business and concentrated on musical productions. He even launched several shows in tribute of songwriter Johnny Mercer. Margaret Whiting survives him. For more on his life click here. To see Wrangler letting it all hang out, continue reading. (We don't want to offend any of our more sensitive readers!)