Searching for a new Bash, Pryce tirelessly held auditions for up and coming actors day and night in the back of his limousine. The part eventually went to Dale Montgomery, who ironically was not an actor but had only turned up to wash the car.Montgomery recalls the day in his autobiography, Filling the Helmet:
“I was aware of a very tall, smartly dressed gentleman standing behind me, staring as I lathered up my sponge.
He smelt heavily of cigarettes and I could see butts scattered around him. I had just begun to wash the car windscreen when he approached me and gently took hold of my squeegee.
He told me who he was and that he had a big part for me if I wanted it. I explained that I wasn’t a professional actor but he replied that he wanted a fresh newcomer.
He instructed me to carry on washing the car but, as I did, to try and feel Bash Helmet enter my body and fill me up from inside.
The technique really worked - by the time I was waxing his exhaust pipe, I could feel myself slipping into another person.”
On July 31st 1969, Bash Helmet burst into living rooms in glorious colour. The TV show told a slightly different origin from the comics (mainly due to budget constrictions) as Justin Nicely discovers the mystical helmet in the back of an old closet bequeathed to him by his uncle, Jack.
With it is a cryptic note that simply says,
“Use the helmet wisely for it shall take you up many dark paths! ”
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| Dale Montgomery as Justin, cradling his helmet as he ponders the meaning of the note left by Jack Nicely |
Click here to go on a journey through the history of Bash Helmet, the openly gay comic book superhero who debuted in 1941.
Here we get a brief glimpse of his origin, his foes and his faithful sidekicks - all set to a revamped version of the theme tune to his 60s TV show.
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