Oliver Reed MacDonald Fraser. Reed had an uncredited bit-part in Russell's "Mahler" (1974), was the lead in "Blue Blood" (1973) and "And Then There Were None" (1974), produced by Harry Alan Towers. His next project with Ken Russell was "Tommy", based on The Who's 1969 concept album "Tommy" and starring its lead singer Roger Daltrey. "Royal Flash" (1975) reunited him with Richard Lester and George MacDonald Fraser, playing Otto von Bismarck. He had a cameo in Russell's "Lisztomania" (1975). Reed appeared in "The New Spartans" (1975) then acted alongside Karen Black, Bette Davis, and Burgess Meredith in the Dan Curtis horror film
Oliver Reed in the controversial film "The Devils" (1971), directed by Russell with Vanessa Redgrave. An anecdote holds that Reed could have been chosen to play James Bond. In 1969, Bond franchise producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman were looking for a replacement for Sean Connery and Reed (who had recently played a resourceful killer in "The Assassination Bureau") was mentioned as a possible choice for the role. Whatever the reason, Reed was never to play Bond. After Reed's death, the "Guardian Unlimited" called the casting decision, "One of the great missed opportunities of post-war British movie history." He made a