Rumpole of the Bailey interest in nineteenth-century anarchists, especially the Russian Peter Kropotkin from whom the title of the play was drawn. The character's name was later changed to Horace Rumpole when it was discovered that there was a real barrister called Horace Rumbold. The title of the play was briefly changed to "Jolly Old Jean Jacques Rousseau" before settling on the less esoteric "Rumpole of the Bailey". Mortimer was keen on Michael Hordern for the role of Rumpole. When Hordern proved unavailable, the part went to Australian-born actor Leo McKern. Mortimer was initially unenthusiastic about McKern's casting but changed his opinion upon seeing
Frank Wilson (Australian actor) Frank in "Travelling North" for Wilson, having admired his interpretation of Jock Riley in "The Club". However, after creating Frank on stage, Wilson was not given the role in the film adaptation — it went to Leo McKern instead. He won a Logie Award for Best Compere in 1972 for "New Faces". His last role, in the short film "The Chess Set" (by Alexander Murawski) won the Best Actor award at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival. Wilson heard this news the day before he died. Wilson and his wife Beryl had 4 children: Amanda, Damien (dec),