BOTD: ANTONY HAMILTON (May 4, 1952)

On November 3, 1984, on a soundstage somewhere in Hollywood (Stage 18 at 20th Century Fox, to be exact), hunky actor Jon-Erik Hexum accidentally shot himself in the head while filming the T.V. show "Cover Up." The show would go on without Hexum's pecs.

Antony Hamilton would be introduced three weeks later as the new model on the team. The premise of "Cover Up" revolved around a fashion photographer and a veteran special forces soldier posing as her model go on intelligence missions around the world. The blue-eyed Hamilton began his career as a ballet dancer with The Australian Ballet but stopped dancing at the age of 20 to pursue a career as a model.

Hamilton worked extensively as a model - a favorite subject of photographers like Richard Avedon and Bruce Weber, working with designers like Gianni Versace and appearing in magazines like Vogue and GQ. At the height of his career, Hamilton was offered the lead in “Cover Up.” He had been friendly with Hexum, but Hamilton initially had misgivings about taking the role. The series struggled with Hamilton as their new lead, and the show was canceled shortly after Hamilton’s debut. There was serious talk of Hamilton replacing Roger Moore as the next James Bond. “Bond" producer Albert R. Broccoli was hesitant to cast Hamilton as the womanizing James Bond because, in real life, Hamilton was gay. Timothy Dalton was ultimately cast as 007. On March 29, 1995, Hamilton died from AIDS-related pneumonia in Los Angeles. His ashes were scattered off the shores of Malibu.

DEATHIVERSARY: MILES DAVIS (September 28, 1991)

𝙰𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚞𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚛𝚎𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚜 𝚘𝚏 "𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚙𝚗𝚎𝚞𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚒𝚊," 𝙳𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚂𝚝. 𝙹𝚘𝚑𝚗'𝚜 𝙷𝚘𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚝𝚊𝚕 (𝟸𝟷𝟸𝟷 𝚂𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚊 𝙼𝚘𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚊 𝙱𝚕𝚟𝚍.) 𝚗𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚑𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚂𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚊 𝙼𝚘𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚊, 𝙲𝙰. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚜 𝚜𝚞𝚐𝚐𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙳𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚊 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚕 𝚝𝚞𝚋𝚎 𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙳𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚜 𝚐𝚘𝚎𝚜 𝚗𝚞𝚝𝚜. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚞𝚐𝚐𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚟𝚘𝚔𝚎𝚜 𝚜𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚊𝚗 𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚋𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚝 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙿𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝙳𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚗 "𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚕 𝚑𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚑𝚊𝚐𝚎," 𝚏𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚢 𝚊 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚊. 𝙾𝚗 𝚂𝚎𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟾, 𝟷𝟿𝟿𝟷, 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚕 𝚍𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎 𝚜𝚞𝚙𝚙𝚘𝚛𝚝, 𝙳𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚜' 𝚖𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚏𝚏. 𝙷𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝟼𝟻 𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚜 𝚘𝚕𝚍. 𝙳𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚜' 𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚋𝚞𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚋𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚎𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚊 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚔𝚎, 𝚙𝚗𝚎𝚞𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚒𝚊, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚏𝚊𝚒𝚕𝚞𝚛𝚎. 𝙸𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙳𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙰𝚉𝚃, 𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚟𝚒𝚛𝚊𝚕 𝚍𝚛𝚞𝚐 𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝 𝙷𝙸𝚅 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙰𝙸𝙳𝚂.

DEATHIVERSARY: ANTHONY PERKINS (Sept. 12, 1992)

𝙵𝙴𝙽𝙲𝙴𝙳 𝙸𝙽: 𝙰𝚗𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚢 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚜 (𝙰𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚕 𝟺, 𝟷𝟿𝟹𝟸 – 𝚂𝚎𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝟸, 𝟷𝟿𝟿𝟸) 𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙽𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝙱𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝙰𝚕𝚏𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝙷𝚒𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚌𝚘𝚌𝚔'𝚜 𝙿𝚜𝚢𝚌𝚑𝚘 (𝟷𝟿𝟼𝟶). 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚊 𝚋𝚘𝚢𝚒𝚜𝚑, 𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚚𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢, 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝙷𝚒𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚌𝚘𝚌𝚔 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚕𝚘𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚞𝚋𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝙿𝚜𝚢𝚌𝚑𝚘. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚕𝚖 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚌𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚜𝚞𝚌𝚌𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚜'𝚜 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝚏𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚌𝚒𝚍𝚊𝚕 𝚘𝚠𝚗𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚜 𝙼𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚕. 𝙸𝚗 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎, 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚜 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚎𝚡𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚑𝚢, 𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚙𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚡. 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚙𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚌𝚕𝚢, 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚎𝚡𝚌𝚕𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚊𝚖𝚎-𝚜𝚎𝚡 𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙𝚜 𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚕 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝟹𝟶𝚜, 𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚕𝚞𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚛 𝚃𝚊𝚋 𝙷𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛, 𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚒𝚜𝚝 𝙲𝚑𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚙𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝙼𝚊𝚔𝚘𝚜, 𝚍𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚛 𝚁𝚞𝚍𝚘𝚕𝚏 𝙽𝚞𝚛𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚟, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚛/𝚕𝚢𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚒𝚜𝚝 𝚂𝚝𝚎𝚙𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚂𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚖. 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚜 𝚛𝚎𝚙𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚍𝚕𝚢 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚜𝚝 𝚑𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚡𝚞𝚊𝚕 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚊𝚝 𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝟹𝟿 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚅𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚊 𝙿𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚒𝚙𝚊𝚕. 𝙷𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚖𝚎𝚝 𝚙𝚑𝚘𝚝𝚘𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚙𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝙱𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚊 "𝙱𝚎𝚛𝚛𝚢" 𝙱𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝟺 𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚑𝚜 𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚛, 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚠𝚘 𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚜. 𝙸𝚗 𝟸𝟶𝟶𝟷, 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚑 𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚊𝚛𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚞𝚜𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚍'𝚜 𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑, 𝙱𝚎𝚛𝚛𝚢 𝚍𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚝 𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝟻𝟹 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚂𝚎𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝟷 𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚜 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝙰𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝙰𝚒𝚛𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚜 𝙵𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝟷𝟷. 𝙸𝚗 𝟷𝟿𝟿𝟶, 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚜 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚍𝚒𝚊𝚐𝚗𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝙷𝙸𝚅 𝚍𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚕𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚏 𝙿𝚜𝚢𝚌𝚑𝚘 𝙸𝚅: 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚎𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚍𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝙻𝚘𝚜 𝙰𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝚑𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚗 𝚂𝚎𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝟸, 𝟷𝟿𝟿𝟸, 𝚊𝚝 𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝟼𝟶. 𝙷𝚒𝚜 𝚞𝚛𝚗, 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚌𝚛𝚒𝚋𝚎𝚍 "𝙳𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝙵𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝙼𝚎 𝙸𝚗," 𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚕𝚝𝚊𝚛 𝚋𝚢 𝚊 𝚋𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚑 𝚘𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚘𝚖𝚎'𝚜 𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙷𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚢𝚠𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝙷𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚜. 𝚂𝚘, 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚗𝚍, 𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚏𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚋𝚢 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚢𝚊𝚛𝚍. 𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚢𝚠𝚘𝚘𝚍.𝚌𝚘𝚖

Anthony & Tabby

BEHIND THE SIGN: Antony Hamilton

What lies behind the sign?

Deathiversary: Gil Scott-Heron (May 27, 2011)

𝙶𝚒𝚕 𝚂𝚌𝚘𝚝𝚝-𝙷𝚎𝚛𝚘𝚗 (April 1, 1949 – May 27, 2011) 𝚜𝚘𝚞𝚕 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚓𝚊𝚣𝚣 𝚙𝚘𝚎𝚝, 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚗, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚛, 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚢 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔 𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚜𝚙𝚘𝚔𝚎𝚗-𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝟷𝟿𝟽𝟶𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝟷𝟿𝟾𝟶𝚜, 𝚍𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚗𝚘𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝙼𝚊𝚢 𝟸𝟽, 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟷, 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚞𝚙𝚘𝚗 𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚊 𝙴𝚞𝚛𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚗 𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚙. 𝚂𝚌𝚘𝚝𝚝-𝙷𝚎𝚛𝚘𝚗 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚖𝚜 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚞𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚝𝚑 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚌𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝟸𝟶𝟶𝟾 𝙽𝚎𝚠 𝚈𝚘𝚛𝚔 𝙼𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚣𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝙷𝙸𝚅-𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚘𝚕𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚋𝚎 𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚜𝚎𝚍.

Deathiversary Part 3: Rock Hudson

Deathiversary Part 2: Rock Hudson

Throughout his career, numerous magazines declared Rock Hudson "Star of the Year" and “Favorite Leading Man.”  Hudson appeared in nearly 70 films and starred in several television productions during a career that spanned more than four decades. In 1956 he was nominated for an Oscar for his role in "Giant" - alongside James Dean. Hudson died from AIDS-related complications in 1985, becoming the first major celebrity to die from an AIDS-related illness.

Deathiversary: Rock Hudson

Rock Hudson died on this day in 1985. While Hudson’s career developed, Hudson and his agent Henry Willson kept the actor's personal life out of the headlines. In 1955, Confidential magazine threatened to publish an exposé about Hudson's secret homosexuality. Willson stalled this by disclosing information about two of his other clients. Willson provided information about Rory Calhoun's years in prison and the arrest of Tab Hunter at a party in 1950. Hudson's homosexuality was well known in Hollywood throughout his career, and former co-stars Elizabeth Taylor and Susan Saint James claimed that they knew of his homosexuality, as did Carol Burnett 

So Many Perkins

Ever since Tab Hunter’s death, I’ve been obsessing over photos of Anthony Perkins - Hunter’s boyfriend for 3 years. Perkins was so beautiful. 

Antony Hamilton (May 4, 1952 – March 29, 1995)

Speaking of Jon-Erik Hexum… English-born Australian actor, Antony Hamilton, begins his career as a ballet dancer with the Australian Ballet. He stops dancing at 20 to pursue a career as a model. Hamilton later says: "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 modeling agency, he works extensively as a model in Europe, America, Asia and Africa, becoming a favorite subject of world-famous photographers such as Richard Avedon and Bruce Weber, often working with designers such as Gianni Versace, and frequently appearing in magazines such as Vogue and GQ. Hamilton begins taking acting classes in an effort to expand his career. Later that same year, he is offered the lead in the TV show “Cover Up” after the series' previous star, Jon-Erik Hexum, dies 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 also competed for the same roles. Hamilton initially has misgivings about taking the role but ultimately accepts. Hamilton's first episode airs on November 24, 1984. After Hexum's death, the series struggles in the ratings and CBS cancels “Cover Up” the following year. After the cancellation, Hamilton is in talks to replace Roger Moore as the new James Bond in the 007 film series. Bond producer Albert R. Broccoli is reportedly hesitant to cast Hamilton as the womanizing James Bond because, in real life, Hamilton is gay - Timothy Dalton is ultimately cast as 1980’s Bond. In 1988, Hamilton lands a role in the ’88 revival of “Mission: Impossible.” On March 29, 1995, Hamilton dies from AIDS-related pneumonia in Los Angeles. Today would’ve been Hamilton’s 66th birthday.