Noel Harrison

The Windmills of Your Mind.com 

Television:

Alongside his music career, Noel Harrison was also well known as an actor, appearing in many films and television programmes.

One of his biggest successes was landing a leading part in the television show, The Girl From U.N.C.L.E, in the early 1960s.

Though the show was probably his biggest television role, he continued performing and made his final acting appearance on TV in 1999.

Tracey Takes On  (one episode, 1999)

Noel appeared in one 1999 episode of the Tracey Ullman comedy show.

He played Tracey's dance partner, Johnny, in a sketch about ballroom dancing.

The episode, taken from series four of the show, is available on DVD. 

Justine, Emmanuelle (1994, 1995)

During the 1990s, Noel spent a brief time writing scripts for soft-porn television shows.

Programmes he wrote scripts for included Justine: Crazy Love, Justine: Wild Nights, Emmanuelle: A world of Desire and Emmanuelle, Queen of the Galaxy.

Tagget (TV Movie 1991)

Noel played the character Jerrold Hicks in this television movie.

The film tells the story of former CIA operative John Tagget, played by Daniel J Travanti, who has flashbacks to his last operation in Vietnam.

Playing the part of a failed British spy, Noel makes two appearances in the film before being murdered by one of his contacts.

The film was only released on video.

The Legend of Prince Valiant (Cartoon, two episodes 1991)

In his only known appearance as a cartoon character, Noel played Volarius in the popular children's cartoon based on the legend of King Arthur.

Volarius was the right-hand-man of one of King Arthur's rivals

He made two appearances in the show, which is available on DVD.

Almost 30 years earlier, Noel had played King Arthur in a spoken word recording of the Arthur story.

The Young Riders (one episode 1990)

Playing the evil character Deforest Whitcomb, Noel puts in one of his best acting performances.

His character is the evil owner of a small western town's saloon and mine.

The story revolves around Whitcomb's corrupt method of forcing people to work in his mine by having them arrested under false charges.

The show is available on DVD. It also starred a young Stephen Baldwin and Josh Brolin.

Gideon Oliver (one episode, 1989)

Only five episodes of this short-lived American detective drama were ever made.

The show starred Louis Gossett JR as professor Gideon Oliver, an anthropology professor at Columbia University who used his knowledge of other cultures to solve crimes.

Noel played a fellow professor at the University, but only appeared in one episode called Tongs. The episode, which covered Chinese gang wars in New York, was released as a stand-alone film in the UK under the title Tongs.

Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Murder in Mind (one episode 1989)

A 1980s remake of a series of classic Hitchcock stories saw Noel star as Charles Blanchard in the episode Murder in Mind.

The story sees a writer imagine how Blanchard is planning to murder his wife. It was broadcast in America on January 28, 1989. The series is not yet available on DVD.

Kate and Allie (one episode 1985)

Noel featured in one episode of the long running comedy, playing the author Owen Ives.

He was Kate and Allie's former English teacher who had written a book about being in love with one of his former students, leading both women to assume they were his inspiration.

The episode is available on DVD.

The Love Boat (one episode, 1984)

Noel Harrison was a guest star in a 1984 episode of the long-running American TV series, The Love Boat.

The main star of the episode was Gene Kelly.

Noel played the character, Trevor Staines, the British trade commissioner to Hong Kong, in the episode, which was broadcast on February 4, 1984.

The episode, from season seven of the show, is not yet available on DVD.

Hart to Hart  (one episode, 1981)

In the Hart to Hart episode, Murder in Paradise, Noel played a mysterious detective on the hunt for a killer.

Starring in the episode of the long-running show brought him back together with his Girl From U.N.C.L.E co-star Stefanie Powers and It Takes a Thief co-star Robert Wagner.

The episode is available on the DVD box-set for series two of the TV show.

Call Holme (one episode, 1972)

Noel played only a small part in the 1972 pilot Call Holme. The spoof detective show focused on Arte Johnson, who solved mysteries while wearing a variety of disguises.

Johnson had been successful in Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, and Call Holme was clearly designed to build on his comic characters. But the pilot episode was not picked up for a series.

Noel only really featured in the scene above.

Ironside (one episode, 1972)

Noel played the character Paul Buckler in one episode of the long-running detective show.

He is one of two bored jet-setters who devise a crime 'chess game' in which the final move is murder.

The episode, from season six of the series, was broadcast on November 30, 1972. It is now available on DVD.

The Mod Squad (one episode, 1970)

Noel played Quinn in one episode of the hip, crime-fighting show.

In the episode, The King of Empty Cups, the police commissioner's daughter falls under the spell of rock star Noel. 

The episode is available on DVD.

The Name of the Game (one episode 1970)


Noel starred in one episode of this long running American drama. He played the character Steven Talbot, an English scholar and Shakespeare expert investigating the legend of a lost Shakespeare play written in America.


The unusual story, which was first broadcast on February 20, 1970, is not available on DVD.

Mission: Impossible (three episodes 1970)

Noel Harrison features as the character King Nicolai in episodes one, two and three of the story The Falcon.

He stars as a young, clock-obsessed monarch in the only three-part adventure in the history of Mission: Impossible.

The story sees the evil General Ramon Sabattini attempt to steal the throne of an unnamed Eastern European country by murdering King Nicolai and the other heirs to the throne.

The three episodes are available on the DVD box-set for series four of the TV show. 

Love American Style (one episode 1969)


Noel starred alongside English actress Judy Carne in one segment of the comedy sketch show Love American Style.


The story, Love and the Burglar, saw Noel's unnamed burglar attempting to rob Carne's broke young woman.


The show is available on DVD.

It Takes a Thief (one episode 1968)

 

Noel played film director Lester V Griffin in one episode of the drama starring Robert Wagner.

 

Wagner played suave cat burglar Alexander Mundy, who worked for the U.S. Government.

 

In the episode A Case of Red Turnips, it was Mundy's job to retrieve Griffin's latest film, which contained footage of a number of secret agents. The episode was broadcast on November 26, 1968.

The show was released on DVD in 2011.

The Legend of Robin Hood (TV show 1968)

Opposite David Watson's Robin Hood, Noel played Alan-a-Dale in a musical version of the famous story.


Noel's main part in the programme was to perform a series of songs linking the various scenes.

Douglas Fairbanks Jr starred as King Richard while Roddy McDowall played Prince John in the show which was produced by the NBC network in America.

A recording of the programme exists in the Paley Centre for Media in New York and thewindmillsofyourmind.com has an off-air recording from the time.

Speaking about the show in a 1968 interview, Noel seemed somewhat dismissive about it, saying he would have preferred his songs to sound more like the Beatles or Donovan.

He said: "I thought the music lent itself very well to the Robin Hood period. Sammy Cahn listened to my records, said 'Yes, that's very nice', and then sat down and wrote some typical Cahn Van Heusen songs. It's a television extravaganza, good in those terms, but it's more like a pantomime than anything else. The BBC would have done it differently, but I'd have got nothing for it and nothing out of it."

Having listened to the programme, Noel was right, it is not very good. A montage of Noel's songs can be heard here.

Funny You Should Ask  (game show 1968)

 

A game show from America, hosted by Lloyd Thaxton. In this edition, Noel is confused by contestants for his father, Rex Harrison.

Miss Teen International Pageant (1968)


Noel hosted the Miss Teen International Pageant programme in 1968 with Davy Jones from the Monkees and actress Sally Field.

He is pictured here in a publicity picture presenting the award to Alice Alfheim from Norway.


He also hosted Dream Girl of 67 the previous year.

Hollywood Squares (game show 1967-1969)

Between 1967 and 1969, Noel made 12 appearances on the celebrity quiz show alongside the likes of Zsa Zsa Gabor, Maureen O'Hara and William Shatner.

Password (game show 1967)


Noel appeared alongside Hollywood actress Barbara Rush on the May 22, 1967 episode of the long running American television quiz show, Password.

The episode was the last to be broadcast in a prime-time slot.

The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. (Series 1966 - 1967)

 

This spin-off from The Man from U.N.C.L.E. featured Stefanie Powers as the spy April Dancer and Noel as her sidekick Mark Slate.

The series aired for one season, a total of 29 episodes, from September 13, 1966 to April 11, 1967.

 

For more details go to the show's dedicated page.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (one episode, 1966)

 

In the episode, The Galatea Affair, Noel appeared as Mark Slate, the role he also played in The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. The other guest star in the episode was Joan Collins.

All the Man From U.N.C.L.E. episodes are now available on DVD.

 

For more on The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. go to the show's dedicated page

Man of the World (One Episode 1962)

 

Noel made one appearance in the British TV show, Man of the World.


The series followed the adventures of Michael Strait, a freelance photographer and reporter, played by Craig Stevens.


Noel appeared in an episode called The Runaways, which was first shown on October 20, 1962. 


He played the character Lord Allwood. The programme is notable because it contains the oldest surviving footage of Noel singing and playing guitar. In the programme, he plays the traditional folk song, Fare Thee Well (Dink's Song), which dates back to the early 1900s.


The show is available on DVD from www.networkdvd.net.

Tonight (1958 - 1960)

Noel's first big break in television came on the BBC programme Tonight.

In the show, he sung songs based on topical news stories in a calypso style. His appearances on the programme alternated with the West Indian folk singer Cy Grant.

The 40-minute show went out every weekday between 6pm and 7pm until 1965 and was one of the early forerunners of modern, satirical television shows.

He is pictured here in a publicity photograph from the show.

This is just a selection of the television appearances made by Noel, for more go to the Internet Movie Database.