# The Man Who Never Was (TV series)

The Man Who Never Was is a 1966 ABC-TV 20th Century Fox Television television series starring Robert Lansing and Dana Wynter. It has no connection with the better-known book and film of the same name, and ran for only one season of 17 episodes between September 7, 1966, and January 4, 1967. It was produced by 20th Century Fox Television, was filmed in Europe with the pilot episode being filmed in Berlin and Munich. John Newland produced and directed most of the episodes. The original television pilot starred Canadian actor Don Harron as Mark Wainwright but a change in sponsor led to the new sponsor requesting Robert Lansing in the role.

## Plot

Lansing initially plays the dual role of Peter Murphy, an American spy, and Mark Wainwright, an influential playboy millionaire who is his exact double. One evening, as the spy is being chased through the streets, he sees Wainwright drunkenly stumbling out of a bar. Stunned at the physical resemblance, Murphy unwittingly allows enemy agents to kill Wainwright, after which he assumes his identity. Although Wainwright's wife, Eva, realises immediately that Murphy is not her husband, she allows him to continue the impersonation, partly because it is financially convenient, and partly because she is moved by his kind treatment of her, in comparison to her abusive husband. Murphy and Eva eventually fall in love. In the final episode, "I Take This Woman", which aired on January 4, 1967, Murphy decides to quit being a secret agent. He proposes marriage to Eva, who accepts, which ended the series, making this one of the few TV shows to have a definite ending. Two movies were later made by editing episodes together, "The Spy with the Perfect Cover" and "Danger Has Two Faces"; both have the final scene from the last episode, but one version of it was re-filmed with the same dialogue.

## Cast

* Robert Lansing as Peter Murphy/Mark Wainwright
* Dana Wynter as Eva Wainwright
* Murray Hamilton as Col. Jack Forbes
* Alexander Davion as Roger Barry
* Paul Stewart as Paul Grant

## Episode list

| Nº | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code |
| 1 | "One Plus One - Equals One" | John Newland | Story by : Merwin Gerard Teleplay by : Teddi Sherman & Judith Plowden | September 7, 1966 (1966-09-07) | 1201 |
| 2 | "The Last of Peter Murphy" | John Newland | Merwin Gerard | September 14, 1966 (1966-09-14) | 1202 |
| 3 | "Search for a Bent Twig" | John Newland | Judith & Robert Guy Barrows | September 21, 1966 (1966-09-21) | 1203 |
| 4 | "All That Lia Ever Wanted" | John Newland | William Bast | September 28, 1966 (1966-09-28) | 1208 |
| 5 | "Escape" | John Newland | Robert C. Dennis | October 5, 1966 (1966-10-05) | 1204 |
| 6 | "Death in Vienna" | John Newland | Frank Moss | October 12, 1966 (1966-10-12) | 1205 |
| 7 | "A Little Ignorance" | John Newland | Merwin Gerard | October 19, 1966 (1966-10-19) | 1209 |
| 8 | "Target: Eva" | Walter Doniger | Story by : Edmund Morris Teleplay by : William Bast & Edmund Morris | October 26, 1966 (1966-10-26) | 1210 |
| 9 | "The Big Fish" | John Newland | Donald James | November 2, 1966 (1966-11-02) | 1206 |
| 10 | "Pay Now, Pray Later" | John Newland | Dick Carr | November 9, 1966 (1966-11-09) | 1211 |
| 11 | "Games of Death" | John Newland | Story by : Lewis Pine Teleplay by : Robert C. Dennis | November 16, 1966 (1966-11-16) | 1212 |
| 12 | "If This Be Treason" | John Newland | Judith & Robert Guy Barrows | November 23, 1966 (1966-11-23) | 1207 |
| 13 | "To Kill an Albatross" | John Newland | Story by : Donald James Teleplay by : Judith & Robert Guy Barrows | November 30, 1966 (1966-11-30) | 1213 |
| 14 | "Things Dead and Done" | John Newland | Frank Moss | December 7, 1966 (1966-12-07) | 1214 |
| 15 | "The Perfect Crime" | John Newland | Cliff Todd | December 14, 1966 (1966-12-14) | 1215 |
| 16 | "In Memory of Davos" | John Newland | Judith & Robert Guy Barrows | December 21, 1966 (1966-12-21) | 1216 |
| 17 | "I Take This Woman" | John Newland | Patricia Falken Smith | January 4, 1967 (1967-01-04) | 1218 |