Martin Benson’s Solo from Goldfinger Features in Day 59 of Bond 365

Martin Benson

Passed away this day in 2010

Solo in Goldfinger

Englishman Martin Benson was originally headed for a career as a pharmacist, however World War II changed his path. While serving with the Royal Artillery, he was eventually station in Cairo. While there, he started a stage company, Mercury Theatre with Arthur Lowe (he would go on to star in Dad’s Army, an English television series). According to The Telegraph obituary for Benson, “King Farouk was a keen attender of its Shakespeare productions.”

After the war, Benson had the acting bug and he got work in the movies. He was often a supporting character or cast as a villain. He made the cross over between British and Hollywood; in all, he had 111 appearances in film and television in a career that spanned over sixty years! 

In Goldfinger, Benson played gangster Mr. Solo who refuses to join Auric Goldfinger. He is shot, stuffed in a car and ultimately crushed by a car-crushing machine in a junkyard. It was a gruesome way to go and apparently, some of Benson’s characters had memorable, albeit violent exits.

Benson, like many others I’ve written about over the intervening days for Bond 365, had creative pursuits away from the camera lens. For Benson, he was a writer and director of documentaries, animated films, and commercials. He wrote an instructional book about acting. And, he was a painter. His portraits of theatrical actors – John Gielgud and Alec Guinness, amongst others – were part of a Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. (I looked around for an image of one or more of his painting, but sadly, I couldn’t find any.)

© Copyright. Michele Brittany. 2011 - 2015. All rights reserved. All text, graphics, and photos are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without written permission.

Stuntman Dick Crockett and Remembering Leonard Nimoy…Day 58 of Bond 365

Dick Crockett (Wikipedia)

Dick Crockett

Born this day in 1915

Crane Operator and Stunts in Diamonds Are Forever

Richard “Dick” Crockett worked for 40 years in the industry as an actor and stunt coordinator, working on several films and television series. His acting, stunt, production, and directing credits (almost 170!) reads like a history of television and film. He had a small uncredited role in Diamonds Are Forever (1971), where he also did stunts. Big budget films seemed to be his niche because he did stunts for some of the ones: Dirty Harry (1971), Earthquake (1974), The Towering Inferno (1974), The Hindenburg (1975), and a couple of the Pink Panther films (1976 and 1978).

Interestingly, Crockett was William Shatner’s double in the episode “Where No Man Has Gone Before” (1966) and he made two appearances: as the Bald Klingon Brawler in “The Trouble with Tribbles” (1967) and as Andorian Thall in “The Gamesters of Triskelion” (1968).

Above is a YouTube clip showing the bar brawl from the original Star Trek series that breaks out. You'll be able to see Crockett in action - he's the bald Klingon that looks to get in a few good swings here and there. 

Leonard Nimoy, 1913 - 2015

 

Please indulge me as I express a heartfelt sadness at the passing of Leonard Nimoy today. 

At an early age, I remember watching Nimoy in Star Trek when it was in syndication and being broadcast each evening prior to my dinnertime. Then it was In Search of….where he hosted the show that explored unexplained phenomena such as the Bermuda Triangle to eventually watching Nimoy and the entire Star Trek cast when they took to the big screen for several outings.

Although Nimoy will be long remembered as Mr. Spock in the Star Trek franchise, he did do a little bit of spy genre work. He was in an episode of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. titled “The Project Strigas Affair” (1964) in which he played Vladeck. In fact, another Trekkie guest starred in that episode: William Shatner. It was their first time working together since that was prior to Kirk and Spock.  In the episode, Shatner is a reluctant U.N.C.L.E. recruit while Nimoy is an agent for the Iron Curtain and apparently, not particularly bright. As a side note, you might recognize His Excellency as Colonel Klink (Werner Klemperer) from a very popular show from the late 1960s, Hogan’s Heroes.

Nimoy was also in “The Dead Spy Scrawls” as the assassin Stryker for another spy show, Get Smart (1966). In the show, he wears large, dark sunglasses for most of the time, but you cannot miss that voice. And for two seasons, he was cast as an IMF agent, Paris, in Mission: Impossible (1969-1971).

He continued to act on the small and big screens, however he was also pursuing other interests. For instance, he went back to school and studied photography at University of California, Los Angeles. It was an interest he had since a teenager and one that he pursued until his death. He also did some directing, including Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986). Both did very well at the box office and with the critics. He wrote two autobiographies, I Am Not Spock (1975) and twenty years later, I Am Spock. And, he released a handful of albums, but I will remember his voice being sampled for the 80s What’s On You Mind (Pure Energy) from Information Society (great song by the way!).

I do happen to have one Nimoy story. I was at the Emerald City Comic Con (Seattle) in 2010 and there was an extremely long queue waiting to meet him. I was in another line, I think for Wil Wheaton actually, and if you can imagine, the entire convention floor burst out in applause when Mr. Nimoy came out to the floor and headed to his signing table. From afar, I did peek over to his table and watch him as he was talking with fans – he was all smiles. What an enduring legacy of an amazing talented and respected person.

“A life is a like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP.”

Nimoy’s final tweet in which he shared some of his poetry

© Copyright. Michele Brittany. 2011 - 2015. All rights reserved. All text, graphics, and photos are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without written permission.

Saida, Thursday’s Temptress…Day 57 of Bond 365

 It’s Friday-eve and this week has been busy! And, a busy weekend will follow with the Long Beach Comic Expo being held Saturday and Sunday at the Long Beach Convention Center here in Southern California. I’ll be moderating a panel on the film She Makes Comics, a Kickstarter-funded documentary that came out a few months ago. Several women in the comic book industry are featured, covering the historical and contemporary ramifications of women’s contribution to the industry as creator and consumer. It should be a fascinating panel.

Carmen du Sautoy charms Bond (Roger Moore)

Carmen du Sautoy

Born this day in 1950

Saida in The Man with the Golden Gun

Carmen du Sautoy got her start as a character named ‘Child’ in the television series Play for Today (1970). It would be four years until she was cast as the Lebanese belly dancer Saida in The Man with the Golden Gun. From there, de Sautoy went on to work on quite a few tv series that included Astronauts, Chessgame and Lost Empires as well guest appearances on show favorites, Absolutely Fabulous, Agatha Christie: Poirot and Kavanagh QC.

In between shows and films, du Sautoy was acting in productions presented by the Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal National Theatre and West End (London). In 1979, she won Best Supporting Actress from the London Theatre Critics’ Award for her role in Once in a Lifetime.

© Copyright. Michele Brittany. 2011 - 2015. All rights reserved. All text, graphics, and photos are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without written permission.

Early Bond Alums: Frobe and Mather…..Day 56 of Bond 365

Berkely Mather

Born this day in 1909

Screenwriter of Dr. No and From Russia With Love; Uncredited as “Man” in From Russia With Love

At first, I thought, here is another person who had one acting credit (uncredited at that) to their name and no other information. Berkely Mather does have one uncredited role, however, he was better known for his writing. In fact, he had 30 writing credits according to IMDB. He wrote for film and television. For instance, he was the writer for one episode of The Avengers (1961) and two episodes of I Spy (1967) as well as two Bond film screenplays.

Mather, a pseudonym for John Even Weston-Davies, penned 15 published novels and an anthology of short stories. The Achilles Affair (1959) was his first novel and did rather well. His follow up novel, The Pass Beyond Kashmir (1960), received high praise from Ian Fleming. In fact, Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman purchased the film rights to the novel and had planned to have Sean Connery and Honor Blackman star. Under Columbia Pictures, production began in 1964 in Britain and in the Far East. Sadly, it was not completed.

I found a thorough discussion over at Pretty Sinister Books about The Pass Beyond Kashmir that is worth a read.

Sean Connery and Gert Frobe from Goldfinger

Gert Frobe

Born this day in 1913

Auric Goldfinger in Goldfinger

Gert Frobe will always be immortalized as the gold lusting arch-villain Auric Goldfinger in the 1964 Bond film Goldfinger. At IMDB, he is quoted as having said, “I am a big man [he was 6’ 1 ¼” ], and I have a laugh to match my size. The ridiculous thing is that since I played ‘Goldfinger’ in the James Bond film there are some people who still insist on seeing me as a cold, ruthless villain – a man without laughs.” It’s often been the case when an actor does such a fantastic job embodying a character that they become forever remembered and typecast in similar roles. Looking a bit deeper though and one will discover that Frobe’s was a multi-faceted, intriguing individual.

Here are some interesting facts about Frobe that has been overshadowed by the Goldfinger personae:

Frobe’s was an accomplished violinist who decided to go into the theatre and acting.

Frobe’s was a member of the Nazi Party from 1929-1937. He used his membership to Jews from the Gestapo so they get out of the Germany. Because of his wartime past, Goldfinger was banned in Israel until a Jewish family publicly thanked him for his help.

He is commemorated on a German stamp.

He was married five times.

He was known for reciting lyric poetry, in particular Christian Morgenstern and Joachim Ringelnatz.

He was in another film based on Fleming’s writing: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968).

He was nominated for 10 awards and won 7. In all, he had 111 acting credits in a career that spanned from 1948 – 1989.

And, he played the recurring role of Kommissar Lohmann in three Dr. Mabuse films. Here’s the trailer for the 1960 The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse starring Frobe.

© Copyright. Michele Brittany. 2011 - 2015. All rights reserved. All text, graphics, and photos are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without written permission.

Chess and Secret Agents….Day 55 of Bond 365

Hasan Ceylan as a Foreign Agent in From Russia With Love

Hasan Ceylan

Born this day in 1922

Foreign Agent in From Russia With Love

Hasan Ceylan was born in Istanbul and had a robust acting career that began in 1952 and continued up until his death in 1980. He had 172 acting roles and as far as I can tell, his role in From Russia With Love may have been his only English speaking film. Well, if you are only going to do one, what better production group and franchise is there?

Peter Madden ponders his next move as McAdams

Peter Madden

Passed away this day in 1976

McAdams in From Russia With Love

“I’m generally cast as a baddie because I’ve got such a miserable bloody face. Thank God I never wanted to be a star,” Peter Madden is quoted as saying about his roles as villains and bureaucratic types (IMDB). He also had a gravelly voice, so that may have been another casting reason. Regardless, he had a prolific career as an actor that started way, way back in 1937 when he played Lawrence Vail in a television film, Once in a Lifetime.

He did a lot of television series over the intervening years. Highlights include: as Dr. Jim Harrison in The Flying Doctor (1959), Admiral Hobbs in Secret Agent (1964-1965), various roles in Z Cars (1962-1968), Inspector Lestrade/Bill McCarthy in Sherlock Holmes (1965-1968), and Doctor Mouraille in Clochemerle (1972). He also made guest appearances in The Saint and The Avengers where he would have bumped into Bond alums Roger Moore and Diana Rigg.

Below is a video clip of Peter Madden as McAdams and Vladek Sheybal as Kronsteen during the Chess match scene. I liked the mise-en-scene and the tension surrounding the match. Sheybal steals the scene when he slowly looks up to the waiter when he set the glass of water down. Kronsteen's meticulous eye gaze to the waiter and the water glass accentuates the tense situation of the game. Given how quickly Sheybal’s character forces McAdams to concede the match leads me to believe that Kronsteen was toying with his opponent instead of quickly winning the game.

 © Copyright. Michele Brittany. 2011 - 2015. All rights reserved. All text, graphics, and photos are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without written permission.

All About Dr. No….Day 54 of Bond 365

John Kitzmiller (Wikipedia)

John Kitzmiller

Passed away this day in 1965

Quarrel in Dr. No

John Kitzmiller was born in Battle Creek, Michigan in 1913. He earned a degree in engineering before serving in the U.S. Army during World War II. He was part of the troops that liberated Italy at the end of the war. He received the Victory Medal as a result of his service in the armed forces.

After the war, he stayed in Italy and began a career in acting. His first role came in 1947 as Joe in the film To Live in Peace. His last role before his death was Uncle Tom in Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1965) and he had 50+ credits to his name. In 1957, he won a Cannes Festival Acting Award for his role in Dolina miru (trans. Valley of Peace).

Unfortunately, he passed away at the young age of 51 because of a liver ailment. He was married to Dusia Bejic at the time of his death.

Don Wortham

Passed away this day in 2007

Boom Operator for Dr. No

Don Wortham’s IMDB profile lists 39 sound credits to his name. He had a lengthy career that started in 1948’s When You Come Home (UK) and concluded in 1989 on the television series The Endless Game (UK). In addition to his work on Dr. No (1962), he worked with Stanley Kubrick on Lolita (1962) and 2001: A Space Odyssey, with David Lean on Lawrence of Arabia (1962), with Irvin Kershner on Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and with Tim Burton on Batman (1989). He also worked with Jim Henson on three of his films: The Great Muppet Caper (1981), The Dark Crystal (1982), and Labyrinth (1986).

Since I could not find any pictures of Wortham, let’s take a look at one of the films he worked on, Lawrence of Arabia, which had an all-star cast and a Bond alum or two to boot.

© Copyright. Michele Brittany. 2011 - 2015. All rights reserved. All text, graphics, and photos are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without written permission.

Karin Dor and Weekly Bond News....Day 53 of Bond 365

It’s Sunday afternoon and I’m thinking about the busy week I have ahead of me. No rest for wicked I presume. Regardless, I hope you have a spectacular week!

Karin Dor

Karin Dor

Born this day in 1938

Helga Brandt in You Only Live Twice

Originally from Germany, Karin Dor started her acting career in Europe in 1955. The bulk of her acting credits are European films and television shows, however she did a handful of English-language films that included You Only Live Twice (1967) and Alfred Hitchcock’s Topaz (1969).

As Helga Brandt, she was the first German woman to play a Bond Girl, well a villainous SPECTRE agent (#11) who decided to sleep with Bond and kill him later. Of course Bond did not die in the plane crash that Helga arranged and consequently she failed her directive. When later confronted by Blofeld in his lair, her “boss” tells Blofeld he had given her strict orders to kill Bond. She thought she had killed him anyway. As she walks away from Blofeld’s desk, he triggers the release on the bridge she is walking across, dropping her into a tank of piranha. What an awful way to go!

And, now, what news came up about Bond this past week?

02/17 – Listen up ladies! 007 fragrances has created a perfume for the modern Bond Girl. The beautiful Caterina Murino, Solange in Casino Royale (2006), is the face of the new scent, which combines spicy black pepper and rose milk in a multi-faceted cut black bottle simply titled 007 for Women. For the lucky UK ladies, you can nip around to your local Boots, The Fragrance Shop, The Perfume Shop, Debenhams for this new eau de parfum. The fragrance will eventually be available elsewhere.

02/17 – The Hollywood Reporter’s Rebecca Ford reported that another injury has plagued Spectre. This time it was Terry Madden, second unit assistant director, who was injured when a camera truck crashed into a barn. Madden has been part of the Bond crew for every film since For Your Eyes Only (1981).

02/17 – AutoBlog posted a video of the new Aston Martin DB10 in action on the set of Spectre at the gorgeous Blenheim Palace. While I love the sleek, smooth lines of the DB10 from the side shoots, I am just not sold on the front with a single blocky bummer/grill section nor the blunted rear end, which are too modern for my taste.

The second video shows the Range Rover Sport SVR and Land Rover Defender. The location is stunning, but give me a sweet sports car any day! Red or silver please!

Bond Girl Monica Bellucci and Daniel Craig at the Forum

02/19 – Daniel Craig and Monica Bellucci were photographed overlooking the ruins of the Forum in Rome this past week.

02/21 – BBC News reported James Bond production designer Anna Pinnock has been given a few days off from Spectre so she can attend the Academy Awards this evening. Pinnock has been nominated twice in the same category for The Grand Budapest Hotel and Into the Woods.

It is not the first time Pinnock has been in this situation. In 2013, her work on Life of Pi and Skyfall were nominated for a BAFTA, however she went home without an award. This is her fourth and fifth nomination in her 30-year career.

© Copyright. Michele Brittany. 2011 - 2015. All rights reserved. All text, graphics, and photos are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without written permission.

Bill Nagy Returns....Day 52 of Bond 365

Welcome back for another day of Bond 365. Bill Nagy makes a return today….

Bill Nagy

Born this day in 1921

Midnight in Goldfinger; USAF General at Pentagon in You Only Live Twice

About a month ago Bill Nagy was featured on Day 19 (January 19) and Nagy is back again today, in celebration of his birthday. Although he was born in Hungary, he was raised in Canada and attended a drama school in New York. His first job was a ballroom dancer and his first role was as an Italian pedlar in the television series Anne of Green Gables in 1952. Of the 112 acting credits, he appeared to have steady work straight through to his death in 1973. His last role as a pet shop owner in Scorpio was uncredited.

It just so happens that there is another Bill Nagy who was a professional football player (American) for the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions. However, he was plagued with ankle injuries and spent much of his time on the injured reserved list, and he was released in 2013. 

© Copyright. Michele Brittany. 2011 - 2015. All rights reserved. All text, graphics, and photos are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without written permission.

Bond. James Bond....Jr.....Day 51 of Bond 365

Today’s Bond 365 comes from the animated world of James Bond Jr. I don't know about you, but I find the theme very catchy and it pops right into my mind when I see "James Bond Jr". What about you? 

Kath Soucie

Kath Soucie

Born this day in 1967

Voices of Barbella, Goldie Finger and Tiara Hotstones from James Bond Jr.

Kath Soucie has had a “who’s who” type of career as an actor and as a voice actor. She started in 1979 as Becca from The Incredible Journey of Doctor Meg Laurel and currently has a whooping 321 acting credits on her IMDB profile! This year so far she’s working on two television series, Star Wars Rebels as Maketh Tua and Mira Bridger and in Lalaloopsy as Tiny Might.

For this blog, it was in 1991-1992 that she lent her voice to three major characters and numerous uncredited “additional voices” as children followed the adventures of James Bond Jr. Sourcie is listed as having worked in 18 of the 65 series episodes. However, if you have a few minutes, take a look at all the projects she has been involved with over the years. I should not have been surprised, but she has worked on several video games, not just animated shows.

Since YouTube isn't letting me share the video, I've done a link so you can "see" Soucie in action as Barbella from  James Bond Jr.

© Copyright. Michele Brittany. 2011 - 2015. All rights reserved. All text, graphics, and photos are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without written permission.

Three Men: Veevers, Celi & Watkins....Day 50 of Bond 365

Fifty days into Bond 365! I feel as though every day is an opportunity to “meet” someone new that I had not known about before. Today is no different. I continue to be amazed and in awe of the experience that each person associated with the Bond franchise brought to the table or alternatively, learned from the film that they carried with them throughout the rest of their career. Let’s have a look at three truly talented men that passed away this day.

Wally Veevers at work

Wally Veevers

Passed away on this day in 1983

Visual Effects for Diamonds Are Forever

Wally Veevers worked in visual and special effects from 1939 up to his death in 1983. He worked on several well-known films over his lengthy career. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Superman (1978), Excalibur (1981), and The Keep (1983) were a few examples of his visual effects projects. In fact, he was part of the visual effects team that won a BAFTA in 1979 for Superman. 

Richard III (1955), The Guns of Navarone (1961), Sodom and Gormorrah (1962), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), Battle of Britain (1969), and The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) were some of the special effects movies he completed.

Adolfo Celi, scene from Thunderball

Adolfo Celi

Passed away on this day in 1986

Largo in Thunderball

Adolfo Celi (pronounced Chell-lee) was born in Sicily in 1922 and had over 100 acting credits to his name. He began acting at the age of 24 and had a larger supporting role in Un Americano in vacanza (1946) as Tom. He often played villains but occasionally he did play a protagonist. Celi was fluent in several languages in addition to his native tongue (Italian): English, Spanish, French, German, and Portuguese, however he was usually dubbed because of his thick Sicilian accent. In his best known role as Emilio Largo in Thunderball, Robert Rietty (see February 8). Two years later, he joined Bernard Lee and Lois Maxwell in the Bond knock-off, Operation Kid Brother, that starred Sean Connery’s brother, Neil (I really want to see this film!).

I want to mention that Celi also starred in Mario Bava’s Danger: Diabolik in 1968 and is definitely worth a watch. It starred the handsome John Phillip Law and gorgeous Marisa Mell and the story was based on the Italian comic character Diabolik, an anti-hero who steals from criminals.

David Watkins (r)

David Watkins

Passed away on this day in 2008

Cinematographer: Title Sequence for Goldfinger

David Watkins was a pioneer when it came to experimenting with light in his cinematography. For instance, he would hide light sources from a distance so there was a consistency in the level of light on the subject that was being filmed instead of an intense light source that would wash out the subject. The technique was called “Wendy-Light” after Watkins who used the name Wendy. His abilities to work with light have been compared with the Dutch artist Vermeer and I think his work compares with Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon, another film that has “painting” like qualities.

In his 30+ year career, he created many memorable scenes in cinematic history. For example, the running sequence from Chariots of Fire to the music of Vangelis (1981) and the opening title sequence for Goldfinger, which was one of his credits, and I think still one of the most beautiful and competently done sequences of the Bond films.

His peers have acknowledged Watkins for his mastery on multiple occasions. He won an Academy Award, a BAFTA, British Society of Cinematographers’ Best Cinematography Award and several others for Out of Africa (1985) that included challenging night and interior shots. He also won Best Technical/Artistic Achievement for Memphis Belle (1990) from Evening Standard British Film Awards, and Watkins received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Camerimage in 2004. And, he has had just as many nominations for some of his other work including Chariots of Fire, The Three Musketeers (1973), and Help! (1965).

In case it has been awhile, here’s another chance to have a look at Watkins’ open title sequence for Goldfinger:

© Copyright. Michele Brittany. 2011 - 2015. All rights reserved. All text, graphics, and photos are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without written permission.

Sadanoyama the Wrestler....Day 49 of Bond 365

It’s been a longer day and I got home a little late, so I’m keeping this a short post today.

Sadanoyama, during tournament

Sadanoyama Shinmatsu

Born this day in 1938

Japanese Sumo Wrestler in You Only Live Twice

Sadanoyama Shimatsu made one appearance and that was as himself in You Only Live Twice. He was a professional wrestler, having made his debut in January 1956. I’ll be honest, I’m not familiar with the sport, but from what I read, he did very well up until a surprise loss to a Hawaiian wrestler named Takamiyama. Sadanoyama announced his retirement thereafter in March 1968 and became a coach and an elder until he reached the mandatory retirement age of 65 in 2003. 

I was hoping I could find a video of Sadanoyama against Takamiyama, but there wasn’t one posted on YouTube. However, as I was watching some of the wrestling videos, it started to make sense about the various fighting styles. According to Wiki, Sadanoyama was apparently known for pushing and thrusting but he was also good with a grip technique and a throw. 

Below is a short National Geographic video on sumo wrestling that I think provides an introduction and shows examples of the various techniques.

© Copyright. Michele Brittany. 2011 - 2015. All rights reserved. All text, graphics, and photos are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without written permission.

Spyfi & Superspies Hits 100 Posts! Today in Bond 365

I hit my 100^th post on Spyfi & Superspies with this blog entry! At the rate I was going last year, I seriously figured it would take me three years to reach 100! And with my Bond 365 in high gear, I’m on course to get to over 400 this year! Okay, now that I’m beaming, let’s get to it…..

Marc Lawrence

Marc Lawrence

Born this day in 1910

Slumber Inc. Attendant in Diamonds Are Forever; Rodney in The Man with the Golden Gun

Marc Lawrence had an amazing long career with 220 acting credits to his name. He started back in 1932 in If I had a Million as the henchman for Mike the Gangster and finished with Looney Tunes: Back in Action in 2003. Born as Max Goldsmith, he was often cast as gangster types throughout his acting career, in part due to his appearance.

Lawrence was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee. He admitted he had once been a Communist Party member and he provided names of other members. He was blacklisted and moved to Europe. He continued making films and when the committee was disassembled, Lawrence returned to the States and resumed his career.

Denise Richards

Denise Richards

Born this day in 1971

Christmas Jones in The World is Not Enough

Denise Richards was born and raised in the Chicago area then relocated with her family to Oceanside, California when she was 15. At 19, she was cast in her first role as Camille in Life Goes On in 1990. From there, she guest-starred in several television shows through most of the decade. She had a breakout role as Lt. Carmen Ibanez in Starship Troopers in 1997. She followed it up, for better or worse, as Dr. Christmas Jones in The World Is Not Enough two years later. In all, she has 64 acting credits to her name.

Richards won a Golden Raspberry for Worst Supporting Actress at the Razzie Awards in 1999. It was the first time that a Bond series had been nominated for the awards. In addition, Richards and Brosnan was nominated for Worst Screen Couple. Entertainment Weekly “criticized as not being credible in the role of a nuclear scientist” (Wiki: The World Is Not Enough) and Richards was ranked as one of the worst Bond girls. Personally, I do not think she was the worst or even one of the worst, but I think the casting could have been better.

Ian Fleming began writing Casino Royale

This day in 1952

The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning. Then the soul-erosion produced by high gambling – a compost of greed and fear and nervous tension – becomes unbearable and the sense awake and revolt from it.

James Bond suddenly knew that he was tired. He always knew when his body or his mind had had enough and he always acted on the knowledge. This helped him to avoid staleness and the sensual bluntness that breeds mistakes.

Fleming had been telling friends that he wanted to write a spy story and today in 1952, he sat down at his desk at his Goldeneye estate in Jamaica. With his nuptials pending, Fleming’s internal muse was probably aroused and pushed into action. He wrote 2,000 words a day, not looking back, not editing what he had already written. About a month later, he had completed he first novel. It was a pattern he would follow in his subsequent novels each year.

Like all writers, Fleming was not enamored by his effort, however William Plomer, his friend and later editor, shared the story with the publishing company, Jonathan Cape. Fleming’s older brother, Peter, was influential in getting the publisher to take a chance with Casino Royale. And, the rest is history.

© Copyright. Michele Brittany. 2011 - 2015. All rights reserved. All text, graphics, and photos are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without written permission.