Rosie and the Spy Writer…..Day 62 of Bond 365

Lots going on this week in my world, so I’m happy that I’m almost half way through the week. I’m already thinking of a sleep in late on the weekend – maybe an entire day spent in pajamas. Well, maybe not, but I’m sure not going to say no to some extra sleep.

Yvan Chiffre

Yvan Chiffre

Born this day in 1936

Stunt Coordinator in Thunderball

Yvan Chiffre was a jack-of-all-trades in the industry: acting, writing, directing, producing, art department, and stunts. I took note that he wrote the scenario and directed one particular spy film in 1975 called From Hong Kong with Love that I have come across before and would like to see.

From the synopsis, the Queen has been kidnapped and the British must ask the French for assistance because their secret agent (read: James Bond) is dead. Most of the cast was unfamiliar until I scanned further down the list, finding Mickey Rooney’s name. I kept going down the list and would you believe that there were three Bond alums? Yep, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell and Clifton James! There may have been others, but those names were instantly recognizable!

Gloria Hendry

Gloria Hendry

Born this day in 1949

Rosie in Live and Let Die

According to IMDB, Gloria Hendry is Seminole Indian, Chinese, Creek Indian, Irish, and African, and she was first African-American woman to be romantically involved with James Bond. Her career in acting began in 1968 as a Cocktail Waitress in For Love of Ivy starring Sidney Poitier. Her most recent role was on Freaky Deaky (2012) as Sgt. Maureen Downey. She seems to have a mix of film and guest appearances (one episode) on a number of television series in the intervening years. In all, she has 26 acting credits to her name.

I met Ms. Hendry at the Hollywood Collector’s Show in Los Angeles a couple of years ago in which I was able to have her autograph a lovely still of her and Roger Moore from Live and Let Die. She was friendly, engaging, and elegant – she was a striking beauty. As I recall, we chatted about her role as Rosie and playing opposite Moore.

Post Script – You may have noticed there was no news round up this week. After a very busy weekend and a lengthy post last night, I decided to forego the weekly news list. Not to worry, it will be back next week.

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M

We are up to day 10 and I just cannot shake my cold yet, so I apologize in advance, but this will be a rather brief entry tonight.

Bernard Lee as 'M'

Bernard Lee
Born January 10, 1908
M in 11 Eon Productions' Bond films, 1962 - 1979

Early on in his career, his solid performances led his peers to assess that he excelled in roles of authority and that fact probably lent Lee's memorable role as M. Several critics judged his portrayal favorably and complimented his ability to realize Fleming's fictional profile of the head of MI6 on film. It is curious though that he, Lois Maxwell and a number of other Bond alums chose to star in O.K. Connery (1967) which spotlighted Sean's younger brother Neil as a secret agent. In 1975, Lee and Maxwell again accepted roles as M and Miss Moneypenny respectively in a French James Bond spoof titled From Hong Kong with Love.

Lee's last appearance was Moonraker and although filming had started on For Your Eyes Only, Lee had been unwell and had not shot any of his scenes prior to his death in 1981. No replacement was sought and instead, the franchise re-wrote the storyline to say that M was on leave.


Post Script 01/11/2015 - Thank you to Twitter follower @dbrunningblind for providing me with the following link to one of Bernard Lee's films, Robert Tronson's Ring of Spies (1964). It's out on DVD and was reviewed at Cinema Retro. It sounded fascinating, so I have added it to my list of purchases in the near future. Thanks for the info @dbrunningblind!

George Lazenby, Autograph and Story

James Bond Archives 007 edited by Paul Duncan, published by Taschen

Last November, it so happened that the Taschen release of the book The James Bond Archives coincided with my birthday, hence a very welcomed present from my boyfriend was added to my growing library of James Bond related literature and memorabilia. The oversized hardcover book culminated into a lengthy retrospective of filmic Bond to commemorate the franchise’s 50^th anniversary of Bond on film. Each film was treated with several pages of interviews, production notes, and behind-to-scenes photographs. In addition, the often maligned satirical version of Casino Royale (1967) and Connery’s Never Say Never Again (1983) in which he decided to don the tuxedo just one more time, were situated within the same timeline as the rest of the Eon Productions films. The book even came with a filmstrip – about 12 frames – from Dr. No (1962). It was a magnificent book and well worth the hefty price tag, especially since in a couple of months would be the opportunity to meet several Bond stars at a Hollywood Collector’s Show in Los Angeles.

Since we live within easy driving distance of Los Angeles, one of the other pastimes that my boyfriend and I indulge in is the collection of autographs. Hence, I was quite happy to have said commemorative book, some extra cash, and a collector’s show this past January that brought together nearly twenty celebrities that had starred in the Bond films. Of course there were several Bond Girls from Eunice Gayson (the first Bond Girl) to Maryam d’Abo, some bad guys such as Richard Kiel, Bruce Glover and Robert Davi, and the British agent himself, as represented by second official James Bond, Mr. George Lazenby.

The show in January was the second encounter I have had with Lazenby. The first time was at another collector’s show back in the July, 2009. At that time, my boyfriend got an Emmanuelle box set signed, in which Lazenby’s character reminiscences about the dalliances of his youth. As much as we can recollect, he had indicated it was a paycheck movie for him. This time around, I had my huge 20 lb. book (not an exaggeration, by the way!) that I delicately placed in front of Lazenby. Impressed by the real estate that the book took up on the table, he spent some time thumbing through his Bond section On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969). Although there were a number of memorable movie stills throughout the chapter, I had really liked the photo of him tossing his hat across the room as he gingerly greeted Lois Maxwell’s Miss Moneypenny. I asked if he would sign that photo and while he was signing, Lazenby said that he was the only Bond actor who was able to hook the hat on the coat rack. And sure enough, when I recently rewatched the film, Lazenby’s toss to the coat rack was captured in one fluid shot!

Mr. Lazenby's autography

As with most of the celebrities I’ve been fortunate to meet, Lazenby was one of the more friendly and engaging stars. For all of the Bond actors, both he and Sir Roger Moore (who I have not met, but know of his long-time commitment to Bond Stars and his support of Bond events for the fans) seem to be the most gracious and humbled by their association to such an enduring franchise. Although a lot has been said and written about Lazenby’s Bond over the years, many quite critical of his portrayal, I think that regardless of whether he was a diva on the set or she ate garlic prior to going in front of the cameras, what counts is the performance. And having just revisited OHMSS, I think that a blog post is in order at some not too future date. In the meantime, please look forward to more stories and photos of Bond stars in the coming weeks.