Antony Hamilton

Though born in England in May of 1952, Antony Hamilton was adopted by an Australian military man and his wife and grew up in Adelaide, Australia. A classically trained dancer, he danced with the Australian ballet before his outstanding good looks led him into a modeling career. He modeled in Europe and, while studying acting, in the U.S. After being "introduced" (according to the film credits) in _Samson and Delilah (1984)_ he was offered the co-starring role in the TV series Cover Up (1984) as a replacement for the late Jon-Erik Hexum. As Hexum was an acting school classmate of Hamilton's, the actor hesitated to profit by Hexum's death, but eventually agreed to take the role. Around that same time, Cubby Broccoli tested him as the new James Bond when Pierce Brosnan was at first unable to get out of his "Remington Steele" contract to play the role. According to some reports, Broccoli decided against a blond Bond; in other reports, it was agreed by both Hamilton and Broccoli that Hamilton's known homosexuality would work against him in the role. Whatever the reason, Hamilton continued in television and films until his death from complications due to the AIDS virus in March of 1995.