In honor of my podcast interview with actress STEFANIE POWERS (Episodes 79 & 80), who is best known for playing the role of the glamorous crime-solving Jennifer Hart on the classic mystery television series "Hart To Hart", I have put together this entertaining trivia list featuring some fun facts about the beloved Aaron Spelling TV series starring Powers and the dashing Robert Wagner for you to enjoy!
“Hart to Hart” premiered on August 25, 1979, on ABC. The series ended after five seasons on May 22, 1984, but was followed by eight made-for-television movies, from 1993 to 1996.
The main title theme for the series was scored by Mark Snow.
The premise of the show is summed up in the opening credits sequence, narrated by Max, the Harts' majordomo (Lionel Stander), as he introduces the characters:
This is my boss — Jonathan Hart, a self-made millionaire. He's quite a guy. This is Mrs. H — she's gorgeous. She's one lady who knows how to take care of herself. By the way, my name is Max. I take care of both of them — which ain't easy; 'cause when they met, it was murder.
Sidney Sheldon had originally written a script for CBS called "Double Twist", about a married couple who were also spies. Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg decided to update the idea for a potential television series. They asked Tom Mankiewicz to update the script, to make it more contemporary, and viable for a potential weekly series. Mankiewicz re-worked Sheldon's original script, and it was renamed "Hart To Hart". Mankiewicz also made his directorial debut with the pilot episode as planned, and remained a Creative Consultant on the series.
Jonathan Hart (Robert Wagner) is the CEO of Hart Industries, a global conglomerate based in Los Angeles. His wife Jennifer (Stefanie Powers) is a freelance journalist.
Fashion and jewelry designer Nolan Miller, who later designed the clothes for “Dynasty”, was the costume designer for the show.
The dog who portrayed Freeway, was found in an animal shelter and was named "Charlie Gray". On the set, he was especially close to Stefanie Powers. His offspring portrayed "Junior" in the later “Hart to Hart” movies.
The initial choice for the role of Jonathan Hart was Cary Grant. However, Grant (who was seventy-five years old at the time) had retired from acting in 1966.
At the time, Robert Wagner was embroiled in a nasty legal battle with Aaron Spelling, which the press dubbed "Angel-gate". Wagner and his wife Natalie Wood were investors in “Charlie's Angels”, but they claimed to have evidence that Spelling took their investment and spent it elsewhere, likely on other shows in his cannon and other places not appropriate to their agreement. The suit wound up being settled. People have speculated that casting Wagner was either an olive branch or a subtle bribe to get Wagner to drop the suit, which he did.
A guest spot Stefanie Powers had done on the TV series “It Takes a Thief” (1968) with Robert Wagner led him to lobby for her to play his wife on “Hart to Hart” (1979) when the series was being cast. Competition for the role of Jennifer Hart included Lindsay Wagner and Suzanne Pleshette, the latter of whom Powers had previously replaced in the film “Palm Springs Weekend” (1963).
Wagner wanted Sugar Ray Robinson to portray Max, but ABC-TV executives were worried about a black man as majordomo for a rich white couple. Eventually they signed Lionel Stander, who had also worked with Wagner in an episode of “It Takes a Thief”.
Lionel Stander (Max) was blacklisted during the 1950s when he was exposed as a Communist Party member during the House Un-American Activities Committee hearings. Marc Lawrence had testified that Stander told him that joining the Party would make him more attractive to women. In his own HUAC testimony, Stander denounced Lawrence as a psychopath and presented a letter that gave Lawrence's mental history and revealed that he had been hospitalized after a mental breakdown just prior to his HUAC testimony.
Critics have long noted that the premise of “Hart to Hart” strongly resembles that of “The Thin Man” series of 1930s and 1940s films, as well as “The Thin Man” television series of the 1950s, which also depict a wealthy and glamorous crime-fighting couple who have a dog and no children.
Stefanie Powers was in the same ballet class as a youngster with Natalie Wood and Jill St. John. The three women all had long-term relationships with Robert Wagner: Wood as Wagner's first and third wife, St. John as Wagner's fourth wife, and Stefanie as long-time co-star and friend.
Natalie Wood made a cameo appearance in the pilot of Hart to Hart, as an actress playing Scarlett O'Hara.
Lionel Stander (Max) played opposite Robert Wagner's Alexander Mundy on “The King of Thieves” (1969). Stander's character in that episode was also named Max.
Robert Wagner (Jonathan Hart) and Sir John Standing (Dickie Longstreet) appeared in “To Catch a King” (1984), “Lime Street” (1985), and “Windmills of the Gods” (1988).
The Harts' ranch-style house originally belonged to Dick Powell, an old friend of Robert Wagner, and was situated in Mandeville Canyon, Los Angeles, California.
Lionel Stander’s character of the train conductor in “The Cassandra Crossing” (1973) and the Hart's trusted assistant in “Hart To Hart” (TV Series, 1979-1984) were both named Max.
The last name of Max (Lionel Stander) was never mentioned throughout the show.
In season 3, episode 12, Jennifer tells Jonathan about the "H" on her cheerleading sweater. Stefanie Powers attended "H"ollywood High and was a cheerleader, but in Season 4, episode 4, Jennifer is attending a reunion at Gresham Hall.
The Harts' dog, Freeway, was a Lowchen breed.
In France's dubbing, the dog (Freeway) is called "Février" (February), just to make it easier to match lips' movement.
In his autobiography, Aaron Spelling said that Natalie Wood was originally considered for the role of Jennifer Hart.
The exterior shots of the Harts' lavish ranch-style house was used as the exterior of Lora Meredith's house in “Imitation of Life” (1959).
In season five, episode twenty-one, "Always, Elizabeth", June Allyson guest starred. She had previously lived in the Hart house with Dick Powell and their children, Pam and Rick.
Deaths of Stefanie Powers partner William Holden and good friend Natalie Wood (wife of her Hart to Hart (1979) co-star, Robert Wagner), occurred within 17 days of each other in November 1981.
The Harts drove a Mercedes-Benz 300 TD diesel wagon, a dark green Rolls-Royce Corniche convertible, and a yellow Mercedes-Benz SL roadster. The cars had personalized California vanity plates that read "3 HARTs", "2 HARTs", and "1 HART".
In the 1982 episode "Harts at High Noon", Stefanie Powers did most of her own horseback riding scenes because she is an accomplished equestrian.
The last "Hart to Hart" movie aired on Aug 25, 1996, exactly 17 years after the pilot aired.
The Harts' dog, Freeway, was so named because he was found by the side of a freeway.
In 1993, almost a decade after the series ended, Wagner and Powers reunited for a series of “Hart to Hart” TV movies. Eight 90-minute telemovies were made in total between 1993 and 1996. The first five aired on NBC; the final three were broadcast on The Family Channel.
Lionel Stander reprised his role as Max in five of the movies before his death from lung cancer on November 30, 1994. His last screen appearance was in “Secrets of the Hart”, which aired in March 1995.
Trivia items from IMDB & Wikipedia
To listen to my fabulous conversation with actress STEFANIE POWERS (Episodes 79 & 80) who played the glamorous crime-solving Jennifer Hart on "Hart To Hart" on my podcast, click the links below. Enjoy!
Episode 79 - HERE
Episode 80 - HERE
