I met Richard Harris. He was my mother's favorite actor. When I was about 12 or 13 she took me to The Muny in Forest Park ( where a young guy named Archie Leach was "Discovered") to see Camelot. Richard Harris played King Arthur. After the show I went up to the gate where he was signing autographs to get one for my mother. He was so moved he followed me to where she was sitting and chatted with her for a few minutes.Many, many moons ago I had an L1A1 and really liked it. I started to do the upgrades he talks about, but circumstances at the time dictated I sell it. Remember, the FAL was the Right Arm of the Free World. If you want to see a movie which shows FAL/L1s in every possible configuration, I highly recommend The Wild Geese (1978) with Richard Burton, Roger Moore, Richard Harris, and Hardy Kruger. The proxy wars in Africa were a significant part of the Cold War and the movie's depiction of East German and Cuban advisors, and the brutality of the combat could have only been produced in Great Britain. Even at that early date I think Hollywood would have shied away from it. Which leads me to ...
His concerns of being charged as a white supremacist for having the rifle is over the top. I think back to a friend of mine who deployed with the French Foreign Legion during what I call the 2d Mau Mau uprising also in 1978. He was to simply coordinate airlift support at a specific airfield but ended up staying with them as they went from town to town attempting to rescue missionaries. From what he saw in these towns, anyone who threw the white supremacist label at him would have a fight on his hands. Most are completely ignorant about the battles fought there under the radar and their import and the players.
Great story. According to IMDB, the producer of Wild Geese made Harris deposit half of his salary in escrow as a finaincial leverage because he had a reputation of drinking and carousing on set, especially when Richard Burton was around. Reportedly, he stayed dry excepting for one relapse.I met Richard Harris. He was my mother's favorite actor. When I was about 12 or 13 she took me to The Muny in Forest Park ( where a young guy named Archie Leach was "Discovered") to see Camelot. Richard Harris played King Arthur. After the show I went up to the gate where he was signing autographs to get one for my mother. He was so moved he followed me to where she was sitting and chatted with her for a few minutes.
Richard Burton was also known for playing King Arthur in Camelot on stage no ?Great story. According to IMDB, the producer of Wild Geese made Harris deposit half of his salary in escrow as a finaincial leverage because he had a reputation of drinking and carousing on set, especially when Richard Burton was around. Reportedly, he stayed dry excepting for one relapse.
Worked with a captain in the AF who was from Durban, SA. She said it was a beautiful place with beautiful beaches and a clean city. Once the Communist African National Congress took over it all turned to poop.I used to work with a guy that had fought in the Rhodesian bush war. He talked about how sad it was that such a beautiful country that he was born into turned to a total crap whole in such a short period of time.
He passed away a few years ago due to cancer.