''The Link Men'' was a short lived Australian

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

series shown in 1970 that was axed after 12 weeks.

Synopsis

The series was the first drama series made in-house by the

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...

as part of an attempt to rival the cop shows produced by

Crawford Productions Crawford Productions is an Australian Media (communication), media production company, focused on radio and television production. Founded in Melbourne by Hector Crawford and his sister, actress and voice artist Dorothy Crawford, the company, a ...

such as ''

Homicide Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a Volition (psychology), volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from Accident, accidenta ...

'' and ''

Division 4 ''Division 4'' is an Australian television police drama series broadcast by the Nine Network and created by Crawford Productions airing between 1969 and 1975 for 301 episodes. Synopsis The series was one of the first to follow up on the enor ...

''. ''The Link Men'' starred Kevin Miles,

Bruce Montague Bruce Alexander Montague (24 March 1939 – 16 August 2022) was a British actor, best known for his role as Leonard Dunn in the television sitcom ''Butterflies''. He also acted in over 300 television productions – one of his earliest being in ...

and

Tristan Rogers Tristan Rogers (born 3 June 1946) is an Australian actor. He is best known for playing Robert Scorpio on the ABC soap opera ''General Hospital'' and for voicing Jake in Walt Disney Pictures' '' The Rescuers Down Under''. He is currently starri ...

as three detectives working in the city of

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. The series was devised and produced by Glyn Davies who had created '' The Rat Catchers'' for ITV (Associated-Rediffusion Television). The director (for the pilot episode and for many of the rest of the series) was Australian film director Jonathan Dawson.

Cast

Main/recurring

as Detective Sergeant Harry Sutton *

as Detective Constable Ray Gamble * Kevin Miles as Detective Sergeant John Randall * Max Meldrum as Detective Russell *

John Meillon John Meillon ( ; 1 May 1934 – 11 August 1989) was an Australian character actor known for dramatic as well as comedy roles. He portrayed Walter Reilly in the films '' Crocodile Dundee'' and '' Crocodile Dundee II''. He also voiced advertiseme ...

as Bert Whitman * Frankie Davidson as Frank

Guests

* Alastair Duncan * Barbara Frawley as Carol Johnstone (1 episode) * Carmen Duncan as Carol Crane (1 episode) *

Diana Perryman Diana Perryman (9 November 1924 – 10 January 1979) credited also as Diane Perryman, was an Australian actress, who appeared on stage, and in film and television. Early life Perryman was born in Melbourne in 1924 to father, Melbourne-born musi ...

(2 episodes) *

Elke Neidhardt Elke Cordelia Neidhardt AM (5 July 194125 November 2013) was a West German born actress and opera and theatre director. She spent most of her career after 1967 in Australia and became an Australian citizen in 2007. She appeared in theatre, tele ...

as Caroline Byrnes (1 episode) * Enid Lorimer (1 episode) *

Gerard Maguire Gerard Maguire (born 25 September 1945) also credited as Gerard McGuire, is an Australian actor, producer and screenwriter best known for his role in ''Prisoner'' as Deputy Governor, ''Jim Fletcher''. Often appearing on Australian television p ...

as Terry (1 episode) * James Condon (1 episode) *

Jeanie Drynan Jeanie Drynan is an Australian film and television actress well known for her roles in the television series '' Class of '74'', as Muriel's mother in the 1994 film ''Muriel's Wedding'' and as solicitor Angela Jeffries in the cult classic telev ...

as Marguerita Costello (1 episode) * John Fegan as Max Hilden (1 episode) *

as Bert Whitman (1 episode) * Judi Farr as Anna Seberg (1 episode) *

June Salter June Marie Salter AM (22 June 193215 September 2001) was an Australian actress and author prominent in theatre and television. She is best known for her character roles, in particular as schoolteacher Elizabeth McKenzie in the soap opera ''Th ...

as Judy Raymond (1 episode) * Les Foxcroft as Wilson (1 episode) *

Lionel Long Lionel Joaquin Paul Long OAM (1939 – 1 January 1998) was an Australian country and folk singer, songwriter, guitarist, actor and artist. Long became one of Australia's most successful and popular country and folk artists in the 1960s, rele ...

as Tony Amarato (1 episode) *

Lois Ramsey Lois June Ramsey (; 18 June 1922 – 22 January 2016) also billed as Lois Ramsay, was an Australian actress, best known for her regular roles on television series '' The Box'' and ''Prisoner''. She often played quirky, eccentric old ladies on ...

as Mother (1 episode) * Lorraine Bayly (1 episode) *

Lyndall Barbour Lyndall Harvey Barbour (19 May 1916 – 10 October 1986) was an Australian actress, primarily of radio, although she also added stage and television work (both series and made-for-television movies) to her repertoire. Born in Egypt to Australian ...

as Mrs Amarato (1 episode) * Maggie Dence as Edie Whitman (1 episode) *

Max Cullen Maxwell Phillip Cullen (born 29 April 1940) is an Australian stage and screen actor. He has appeared in many Australian films and television series but is best known for his role in the film '' Spider and Rose'' and the television series '' The ...

as Mario Costello (1 episode) *

Owen Weingott Owen Ash Weingott (21 June 1921 – 12 October 2002) was an Australian actor, director and drama teacher. Although primarily working in theatre, he appeared on radio and television in serials and made for television films and voice overs. Weing ...

as Josef Vogelsang (1 episode) *

Pat Bishop Patricia Mary Bishop (13 June 1946 – 28 March 2000) was an Australian actress, born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, noted for her performances in theatre, film and television series. Personal Life She was married to the renowned Australian a ...

(1 episode) * Peter Sumner (1 episode) * Peter Whitford as Seaman (1 episode) *

Reg Livermore Reginald Dawson Livermore (born 11 December 1938) is an Australian actor, singer, theatrical performer, designer, director, lyricist and writer and former television presenter. Biography Early life From a young age, Livermore demonstrated an ...

(1 episode) * Sandy Gore as Dale (1 episode)

Production

The show, produced by British import George Spenton-Foster, lasted for thirteen episodes. The title sequence focussing on a speeding car's wheel closely followed the template of the British ''Rat Catchers'' opening,''The Rat Catchers'', ep. "The Unwitting Courier" (1966) – Opening
which inspired ''Link Men''. The aforementioned

would go on to greater fame on the American daytime serial ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...

'', where he has appeared as Robert Scorpio off and on since 1980.

Packer-Fegan fight incident

John Fegan's guest starring role in an episode would have been a brief footnote in a short-lived series, but for an incident on set.The Link Men
a
Classic Australian Television
/ref> Two young actors were performing or rehearsing a fight scene when

Frank Packer Sir Douglas Frank Hewson Packer (3 December 19061 May 1974), was an Australian media proprietor who controlled Australian Consolidated Press and the Nine Network. He was a patriarch of the Packer family. Early life Frank Packer was born in ...

, the owner of the Nine Network, came in. Packer, who had been a boxer in his younger days but who at the time was in his mid-sixties, declared that they were doing it wrong and demonstrated the correct technique by putting the actor playing the police officer in a headlock. Fegan, also in his sixties, had been watching from behind the camera and suggested that, since the young actor was the one who was supposed to be performing the headlock then perhaps Packer should demonstrate on him (Fegan) so the young actor could watch. Packer got Fegan in the same headlock but Fegan, who had also been a boxer in his younger days and did his own stunts, got the better of him and Packer ended up on the ground. According to an article about the event in the ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...

'', Packer's hearing aid came flying out and Fegan lashed out and crushed it with his foot. Packer insisted that Fegan be fired on the spot. Upon being advised that Fegan was performing a single episode guest role only, Packer's response was reportedly "Well, sack him when he's finished".

References

External links

*
''The Link Men'' episode guide
at ''Memorable TV''

at ''Classic Australian Television''
''The Link Men''
at the

National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting, and providing access to a national c ...

1970s Australian drama television series Nine Network original programming 1970s Australian crime television series 1970 Australian television series debuts 1970 Australian television series endings Black-and-white Australian television shows {{Australia-tv-prog-stub