It takes a great actor to share the spotlight, and an even greater actor to see promise in another performer. Robert Wagner was already a well-known name in television by the time he began starring in Hart to Hart. The actor had previously appeared in popular shows like It Takes a Thief and Switch.

In Hart to Hart, Wagner played Jonathan Hart, one half of a married couple/detective team. His better half was Jennifer Hart, played by Stefanie Powers. At the time of the series, Powers’ career was experiencing a dry spell. During an interview with The Kingston Whig-Standard, Powers revealed that Wagner actually fought the network to keep her in the cast.

“Without R.J.’s insistence, I probably would not have been in the show,” said the actor. “ABC didn’t want me. They didn’t care for me. They wanted someone else. Well, I was not the most in-demand actress in town at the time. My last television series was less than a smash hit, and after all the films I’d done, it got to a point where there were no parts for me. But when it came to Hart to Hart, R.J. was very much my champion. Without him, I would never have been Jennifer Hart.”

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The series didn’t just offer Powers an opportunity to star in a hit series; it also gave her more control over her own career.

“I really had no credibility before the success of the series,” said Powers. “My position was that of a working actress, which was very nice. Everybody thought I could do a job. But doing anything else, or expanding my horizons, was out of the question because I didn’t have the financial viability. Having a hit TV series opened all doors...So now, well, it’s just the best of all possible worlds.”