As it happens, Dean Martin would have been an excellent choice to play Helm if the series had been done straight. He’d showed he could do a good job in dramatic roles, and some aspects of his own personality can be found in the character as written by Donald Hamilton.
Yes , he would have done a terrific job. Was a little old to play it straight by then though.
I watch a lot of ‘40s and ‘50s ‘cinema’ these days and I was thinking which of those actors would fit the role of Reacher- and nearly ALL of them would!