20 Things You Didn’t Know About Goldfinger (1964)

19. “Well, I Can See This Is Really My Day!”

Goldfinger, James Bond
MGM/UA

When Jack Lord was approached to reprise his role as CIA agent, Felix Leiter in Goldfinger, he was not only filming Western television series, Stoney Burke (1962-1963), but screenwriter, Richard Maibaum also reported that Lord requested a higher salary, greater screen time, and co-star billing with Sean Connery, which the producers could not agree to.

Instead, they cast Canadian actor, Austin Wallis as a replacement. Even though Wallis did not resemble Lord and seemed significantly older than the future Hawaii Five-O (1968-1980) star, he was only three years older than Lord.

However, at the last minute, the filmmakers switched Wallis’s role with that of Polish-born Canadian actor, Cec Linder, who had been cast as Mr Simmons, whom Goldfinger repeatedly swindles during their regular games of gin rummy at the Fountainbleau Hotel in Miami, allowing Linder to go down in history as the second official Felix Leiter.

Contributor

I started writing for WhatCulture in July 2020. I have always enjoyed reading and writing. I have contributed to several short story competitions and I have occasionally been fortunate enough to have my work published. During the COVID-19 lockdown, I also started reviewing films on my Facebook page. Numerous friends and contacts suggested that I should start my own website for reviewing films, but I wanted something a bit more diverse - and so here I am! My interests focus on film and television mainly, but I also occasionally produce articles that venture into other areas as well. In particular, I am a fan of the under appreciated sequel (of which there are many), but I also like the classics and the mainstream too.