Ian Ogilvy profile
When TV execs decided Simon Templar had been missing in action for far too long they turned to Ian Ogilvy to don the halo and set about righting wrongs with panache. But there's a lot more than crime solving to this saintly star.
You could say Ian Ogilvy was always destined for the bright lights. His mother had once been married to film legend Sir John Mills, and some of the great man's stardust clearly rubbed off on the household. Ian got his TV break in 60s crime drama The Hidden Truth at the age of 21 and his career continued to blossom throughout the 60s, with Ian popping up in a number of long running dramas and even rubbing shoulders with The Avengers.
Ian's mix of talent, sophistication and good looks were much sought after. Roles in I, Claudius and Upstairs Downstairs turned him into a familiar face on telly, while a part in the epic film Waterloo showed that he could handle himself in battle. He also bagged the much coveted role in the pilot of Ripping Yarns, Michael Palin and Terry Jones' post Python romp. Mixing action, drama and comedy certainly proved to be the perfect apprenticeship for Ian and, with the role of Simon Templar set to be reprised in 1978, ITC Entertainment decided that Ian was the only man for the part. It's not every day you get made a saint, especially in showbusiness.
With the success of Return of the Saint, Ian's star was very much on the ascent, and the decision to cast him as Templar was a masterstroke. With his pin-up good looks and natural flair, Ian made the role his own and was soon dishing out his own brand of justice whilst delighting his female co-stars and millions of viewers. When he hung up his halo in 1979 he left behind a lot of disappointed fans, but had done a lot to boost his own leading man credentials.
After the show, Ian stayed in the limelight and, bitten by the crime-solving bug, appeared in long-running sleuth show Murder She Wrote. Never a man to be typecast, Ian's post-Saint life has also seen him on American Soap Malibu Shores, in Space with Babylon 5 and in print, with a very successful string of children's books, one of which is set to follow in its authors footsteps onto the big screen.
Ian's mix of talent, sophistication and good looks were much sought after. Roles in I, Claudius and Upstairs Downstairs turned him into a familiar face on telly, while a part in the epic film Waterloo showed that he could handle himself in battle. He also bagged the much coveted role in the pilot of Ripping Yarns, Michael Palin and Terry Jones' post Python romp. Mixing action, drama and comedy certainly proved to be the perfect apprenticeship for Ian and, with the role of Simon Templar set to be reprised in 1978, ITC Entertainment decided that Ian was the only man for the part. It's not every day you get made a saint, especially in showbusiness.
With the success of Return of the Saint, Ian's star was very much on the ascent, and the decision to cast him as Templar was a masterstroke. With his pin-up good looks and natural flair, Ian made the role his own and was soon dishing out his own brand of justice whilst delighting his female co-stars and millions of viewers. When he hung up his halo in 1979 he left behind a lot of disappointed fans, but had done a lot to boost his own leading man credentials.
After the show, Ian stayed in the limelight and, bitten by the crime-solving bug, appeared in long-running sleuth show Murder She Wrote. Never a man to be typecast, Ian's post-Saint life has also seen him on American Soap Malibu Shores, in Space with Babylon 5 and in print, with a very successful string of children's books, one of which is set to follow in its authors footsteps onto the big screen.
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