Antony Hamilton
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Antony Hamilton Smith (4 May 1952 – 29 March 1995) was an English-Australian actor, model and dancer. Hamilton began his career as a ballet dancer with
The Australian Ballet The Australian Ballet (TAB) is the largest classical ballet company in Australia. It was founded by J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1962, with the English-born dancer, teacher, repetiteur a ...
before becoming a model. He later transitioned into acting and won his first notable role in the 1984 television film '' Samson and Delilah''. That same year, he took over the male lead role in the series ''
Cover Up A cover-up is an attempt, whether successful or not, to conceal evidence of wrongdoing, error, incompetence, or other embarrassing information. Research has distinguished personal cover-ups (covering up one's own misdeeds) from relational co ...
'' after the death of the series' former lead actor,
Jon-Erik Hexum Jon-Erik Hexum (; November 5, 1957 – October 18, 1984) was an American actor and model, known for his lead roles in the TV series '' Voyagers!'' and '' Cover Up'', and his supporting role as Pat Trammell in the biopic '' The Bear''. He died by ...
. One of Hamilton's best-known roles was that of Max Harte, an
agent Agent may refer to: Espionage, investigation, and law *, spies or intelligence officers * Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another ** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuran ...
in the 1988 revival of '' Mission: Impossible''. In March 1995, Hamilton died of
AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
-related
pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...
at the age of 42.


Early life

Hamilton was born in
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
, England and was orphaned when he was two weeks old. He was adopted by Donald Smith and his wife Margaret as a baby and named Antony Hamilton Smith. His adoptive father was a highly-decorated Australian former fighter pilot who fought in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and commanded No. 453 Squadron RAAF. His adoptive mother was an English nurse. When he was three years old, his father retired to
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
, where Hamilton grew up on a 640-acre sheep farm. From age 10 he attended Scotch College in
Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
, where he studied dance and ballet and played
Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
,
cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
, basketball and other sports. At the age of 15, he won a scholarship at the
Australian Ballet School The Australian Ballet School is the premier ballet training facility in Australia, located in Melbourne. History The Australian Ballet School was founded in 1964 as the primary training facility for The Australian Ballet by Dame Margaret Scot ...
. After leaving school, he began a career as a professional dancer with
The Australian Ballet The Australian Ballet (TAB) is the largest classical ballet company in Australia. It was founded by J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1962, with the English-born dancer, teacher, repetiteur a ...
Company where he toured Europe and the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
for two years.


Career


Modelling

In 1973, during a dance tour in Europe with The Australian Ballet, he was discovered by Vladimir Bliokh, a world-famous Russian global photojournalist and premier performing-arts photographer. Hamilton stopped dancing at the age of 21 and decided to pursue a career as a model. Hamilton later said, "Dancing was too confining and regimented for me. ..I became a model not because I was interested in fashion or styles, but because I knew it was a good way to see the world. ..It gave me independence. .The money was good too." After signing with a London modelling agency, he worked extensively as a model in Europe, America, Asia and Africa, becoming a favourite subject of world-famous photographers as
Richard Avedon Richard Avedon (May 15, 1923 – October 1, 2004) was an American fashion and portrait photographer. He worked for ''Harper's Bazaar'', '' Vogue'' and '' Elle'' specializing in capturing movement in still pictures of fashion, theater and ...
and Bruce Weber, often working with designers such as
Gianni Versace Giovanni Maria "Gianni" Versace (; 2 December 1946 – 15 July 1997) was an Italian fashion designer, socialite and businessman. He was the founder of Versace, an international luxury-fashion house that produces accessories, fragrances, make-up ...
, and frequently appearing in magazines such as '' Vogue'' and '' GQ.''


Acting

While modelling, Hamilton began taking acting classes in an effort to expand his career. His first major role was as
Samson SAMSON (Software for Adaptive Modeling and Simulation Of Nanosystems) is a computer software platform for molecular design being developed bOneAngstromand previously by the NANO-D group at the French Institute for Research in Computer Science an ...
in the 1984 television film '' Samson and Delilah''. Later that year, producers of the crime drama series ''
Cover Up A cover-up is an attempt, whether successful or not, to conceal evidence of wrongdoing, error, incompetence, or other embarrassing information. Research has distinguished personal cover-ups (covering up one's own misdeeds) from relational co ...
'' offered Hamilton the leading role after the series' previous star,
Jon-Erik Hexum Jon-Erik Hexum (; November 5, 1957 – October 18, 1984) was an American actor and model, known for his lead roles in the TV series '' Voyagers!'' and '' Cover Up'', and his supporting role as Pat Trammell in the biopic '' The Bear''. He died by ...
, died after an on-set accident in October 1984. Hamilton had known Hexum, having previously met him at an acting class when they both lived in New York. They shared the same acting coach and competed for the same roles. Both were up for the role in ''Samson and Delilah'', which Hamilton won. Hamilton initially had misgivings about taking the role, but ultimately accepted it. Producers also had misgivings about having the lead be found out to be a gay man, still taboo in the 1980s. Hamilton's first episode aired on 24 November 1984. After Hexum's death, the series struggled in the ratings. CBS cancelled ''Cover Up'' the following year. After the cancellation of ''Cover Up'', Hamilton was in talks to replace
Roger Moore Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 192723 May 2017) was an English actor. He was the actor to portray Ian Fleming's fictional secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in the Eon Productions/MGM Studios film series, playing the ...
as the new
James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
in the 007 film series. ''Bond'' producer Albert R. Broccoli was reportedly hesitant to cast Hamilton as the womanising James Bond because, in real life, Hamilton was gay.
Timothy Dalton Timothy Leonard Dalton Leggett (; born 21 March 1946) is a British actor. He gained international prominence as the fourth actor to portray fictional secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions film series, starring in '' The Living Dayli ...
was ultimately cast as James Bond. In 1986, Hamilton had a small role in the comedy film '' Jumpin' Jack Flash'' starring
Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ...
. He guest-starred on several television series including '' The Hitchhiker'', ''
The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...
'', '' The Charmings'' and ''
L.A. Law ''L.A. Law'' is an American legal drama television series created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher for NBC. It ran for eight seasons and List of L.A. Law episodes, 172 episodes from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. The series cente ...
''. In 1988, Hamilton landed the role of Impossible Missions Force
agent Agent may refer to: Espionage, investigation, and law *, spies or intelligence officers * Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another ** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuran ...
Max Harte, a former
ANZAC The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was originally a First World War army corps of the British Empire under the command of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the ...
commando, in the 1988 revival of '' Mission: Impossible''. The series aired for two seasons before being canceled due to low ratings in 1990. In 1991, he guest-starred on two episodes of crime drama series '' P.S. I Luv U''. Hamilton's final role was in the 1992 thriller ''Fatal Instinct''.


Death

On 29 March 1995, Hamilton died from
AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
-related
pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...
in Los Angeles. His family requested that contributions be made in his name to AIDS Project Los Angeles. Hamilton was cremated and his ashes were scattered off the coast of Malibu.


Filmography


References


External links

* *
Galleries of ''Mission: Impossible''
at
Thaao Penghlis Thaao Penghlis (; born 15 December 1945) is an Australian actor. He is best known for roles in United States daytime soap operas such as ''Days of Our Lives'', ''Santa Barbara (TV series), Santa Barbara'', and ''General Hospital'', but has also g ...
's official website
Biography of Antony Hamilton
at Jon-Erik Hexum Uncovered

at Lypsinka.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Antony 1952 births 1995 deaths 20th-century Australian LGBTQ people 20th-century Australian male actors 20th-century English LGBTQ people 20th-century English male actors AIDS-related deaths in California Australian expatriate male actors in the United States Australian gay actors Australian LGBTQ dancers Australian LGBTQ models Australian male ballet dancers Australian male film actors Australian male models Australian male television actors Australian people of English descent Dancers of the Australian Ballet Deaths from pneumonia in California English adoptees English expatriate male actors in the United States English gay actors English LGBTQ dancers English LGBTQ models English male ballet dancers English male film actors English male models English male television actors Gay dancers Gay models Male actors from Liverpool Male actors from South Australia Models from Liverpool People educated at Scotch College, Adelaide