Anthony in New York City

Anthony arrived in New York city on September 26, 1965 to begin rehearsing for "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever". Things went almost immediately awry.

During the first week of rehearsal, Michael Billington fell off the stage and broke his leg. He was replaced by John Cullum. The show was running long, and the producers were looking for cuts. The very first casualty was to Anthony's character, Prince Regent, which was trimmed almost entirely out of the play to only a single line of dialogue. The show opened October 17, 1965 at the Mark Hellinger Theatre to overall good reviews. However, Anthony's part went virtually unnoticed other than a few critics mentioning that he was a member of a band that had a "short-lived bubblegum hit" in England.

However, in the audience one night were Barry Dennen and Barbara Streisand (who would eventually play the role of Daisy Gamble in the film version). They were accompanied by Barry's friend Gavin Hurrell, a Hollywood television producer of such shows as Playhouse 90 and the Naked City.  Hurrell didn't really care for the musical, but he was quite taken with Anthony Smithe-Jones' “look.” He thought he'd be perfect for a role in an upcoming television series he had in development, Honey Vicarro.  Hurrell was looking for a good-looking, blond Brit to play the show's bartender, Trevor le Bon.

Hurrell met with Anthony after the show, pitching him the project and offering him a screen test. Disillusioned about the play, and his diminishing role in it, Anthony eagerly agreed, and a meeting was set at NBC Studios at 30 Rockefeller Plaza for the following Monday.

Hurrell happened to be friends with director John Brahm when the two worked on the Playhouse 90 series in the 1950's. Brahm was working as a producer on the NBC series, Wagon Train. He agreed to set aside some studio time for the test. On Monday, November 1, 1965. Hurrell asked Anthony to read sides from one of his working scripts for the Honey Vicarro project with a blonde actress playing the show’s title character..

After the disappointingly brief test, Anthony returned to the play and his three minutes of stage time each night, unaware that Hurrell had already decided he’d discovered the perfect actor to play Trevor le Bon:

Anthony Smithe-Jones.

Shortly after returning from New York, he called Anthony and offered him the part. Anthony was shocked and ecstatic. Twenty-six episodes of network television! He couldn't believe his luck and agreed to the offer. He sent a telegram to the play's director, Ted Saidenberg, saying he was quitting the cast, and made his travel plans for Hollywood.

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