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Home , George Baker (actor), George Lazenby, Remington Steele, Timothy Dalton, Valentine Fleming

------THE LEGACY OF JAMESJAMES BONDBOND 007 THROUGH THE YEARS

THE PHENOMENON THAT IS DATES BACK TO THE 1950S, STARTING FIRST WITH A BOOK SERIES AND THEN BRANCHING OUT INTO A BLOCKBUSTER FILM FRANCHISE. ACTORS HAVE CREATED SUCCESSFUL CAREERS FOR THEMSELVES AND SONGS HAVE BECOME CLASSIC AFTER THEIR ASSOCIATIONS WITH THE MOVIES. THE BOND HALLMARKS ARE SO WELL KNOWN THAT THEY ARE EASILY IDENTIFIABLE: THE MARTINI—SHAKEN NOT STIRRED—THE GLAMOROUS CLOTHES, WOMEN, GADGETS, CAR, AND ACTION SEQUENCES ARE UNMISTAKABLE. by Elisa Jordan

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6262 // Cigar Cigar & & Spirits Spirits MAY/JUNE MAY/JUNE 2017 2017 WWW.CIGARANDSPIRITS.COM / 63 FLEMING WAS A COMPLICATED MAN

Hulton Archive/Getty Images Archive/Getty Hulton SCARRED BY HIS PAST AND RIDDLED WITH CONTRADICTIONS. FRIENDS NOTED HIS MELANCHOLY TENDENCIES AND DARK SENSE OF HUMOR, BUT HE MIAMI WAS ALSO WITTY AND FUN.

Fleming, for example, worked his way up from lieutenant to commander—a rank he later assigned to James Bond. He also served as assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence, John CIGAR Godfrey. Through his work with the Naval Intelligence Division— called Room 39—Fleming was exposed to top-secret missions and confidential operations. He excelled in his work and thrived.

IAN FLEMING: BIRTH OF A SPY After the war, he returned to journalism. His reputation as a Before Bond became the cultural touchstone it is womanizer was also developing, which resulted in a marriage today, it started out the brainchild of British writer to Ann Charteris after she became pregnant. It proved to be an . Fleming’s life was pretty much what one unhappy marriage, with both partners repeatedly engaging in would expect of an author capable of writing the James extramarital affairs. Bond series. He was born on May 28, 1908, to a father who was part of the Fleming & Co. banking fortune and a Member of Parliament. When Valentine Fleming THE BIRTH OF BOND died in 1917 during , none other than When Fleming began writing James Bond books, the process wrote his obituary for . allowed him to escape into fantasy. In addition to a miserable marriage, he still battled childhood demons. Favored brother Peter, It was the beginning an arduous childhood for Ian a highly successful travel writer, led a glamorous, excitement-filled Fleming. Mother Evelyn favored eldest son Peter, life, much to mother Evelyn’s delight. In contrast, Evelyn dismissed (there were also two younger brothers and younger the James Bond series as an embarrassment. half-sister) and Ian continually felt like the family black sheep. The threat of disinheritance always loomed. Ann similarly remained unimpressed with James Bond, no matter how popular the fictional spy became. Ann surrounded herself Although Fleming’s upbringing could be characterized with intellectuals and reportedly referred to Bond novels as mere as privileged, he was hardly typical of his peers. At “pornography.” Fleming was deeply hurt. various points he attended exclusive schools Eton and Sandhurst only for Evelyn Fleming to remove him due Fleming channeled his frustration into Bond. Observers noted to “fast” behavior associated with lower classes. many similar personality traits between author and character. Fleming was a complicated man scarred by his past and riddled IAN FLEMING WROTE ALL Later, Fleming attended Munich University and with contradictions. Friends noted his melancholy tendencies University of Geneva. He was not an outstanding and dark sense of humor, but he was also witty and fun. He was HIS JAMES BOND NOVELS student, but displayed an aptitude for learning foreign insatiably curious about everything, yet rarely discussed his FROM HIS WINTER HOME languages. He spoke German, Russian and French personal feelings or life. Like Bond, Fleming was a womanizer who fluently. Upon embarking on a professional life, he drank and smoked—often to excess. IN JAMAICA. THE HOUSE worked as a stockbroker before switching to journalism. His talent for languages served him well while working WAS NAMED GOLDENEYE. for international news agency Reuters, which sent A LASTING LEGACY him on assignments to Berlin and Moscow. “I had a Fleming’s lifestyle caused him to struggle with heart disease. ALTHOUGH THE FLEMING wonderful time in Reuters,” Fleming said later. “I learnt Declining health prematurely aged the once handsome author. At there the straightforward writing style that everybody age 56, Ian Fleming died of a heart attack on August 12, 1964—his NEVER USED THAT AS wants to have if they’re going to write books.” son Caspar’s twelfth birthday. Years of stress and hard living had taken their toll. THE TITLE OF A BOOK, When World War II broke out, Fleming served in the GOLDENEYE IS THE NAME Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve. His war record has been Though young when he died, Ian Fleming lived long enough to see exaggerated over the years, but his military service James Bond achieve great success. The books received a huge boost OF ’S provided fertile ground for the stories that would later in credibility when John F. Kennedy listed From Russia with Love as inspire his fiction. one of his 10 favorite books. With the release of the movie Dr. No in DEBUT MOVIE AS BOND. 1962, Fleming’s legacy was firmly in place.

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6464 // Cigar Cigar & & Spirits Spirits MAY/JUNE MAY/JUNE 2017 2017 WWW.CIGARANDSPIRITS.COM / 65 Movie Poster Image Art/Getty Images IAN FLEMING, ONCE CONVINCED PRODUCERS DECIDED ON THAT WASN’T A RELATIVELY UNKNOWN AUSTRALIAN MODEL NAMED RIGHT FOR JAMES BOND, , WHOSE ACTUALLY ADJUSTED BOND’S BIGGEST CLAIM TO FAME WAS A HERITAGE IN THE BOOKS TO CHOCOLATE COMMERCIAL. MAKE HIM PART SCOTTISH. GEORGE LAZENBY: ONE-TIME ONLY When Sean Connery decided not to return afterYou Only Live Moviepix/Getty Images Twice, was placed in the unenviable position LOOKING FOR BOND of trying to fill Sean Connery’s now-iconic tuxedo. The search When EON Productions, founded by Cubby Broccoli and Harry for Bond was of such interest to the public that Life magazine Saltzman, acquired the film rights to Ian Fleming’s books in the documented the entire process. early 1960s, the search for the perfect James Bond was on. SEAN CONNERY: SETTING THE STANDARD Producers decided on a relatively unknown Australian model named George Lazenby, whose biggest claim to fame was a THE QUINTESSENTIAL JAMES BOND It was no easy task. A number of actors were discussed, including Richard Burton, , Patrick Allen, Michael Redgrave, chocolate commercial. As Terence Young had once done with The man who created James Bond and the man who Trevor Howard and Richard Johnson. Cary Grant was seriously Sean Connery, director Peter Hunt believed he could mold first embodied him had something very significant in considered. Lazenby into the perfect 007. “We wanted someone who oozed common. Like Ian Fleming, actor Sean Connery was a sexual assurance, and we think this fellow has just that,” Hunt Royal Navy veteran. Their service allowed both men to Finally, the name Sean Connery was thrown around. Connery said at the time. bring their military experience to the Bond character, was physically fit enough to play 007, but producers didn’t believe but the similarities end there. he possessed raw sexuality. Ian Fleming had similar doubts and CONNERY FORMS THE TEMPLATE Efforts were made to make the Connery-to-Lazenby transition dismissed Connery as “an overgrown stuntman.” He suggested Though more gentlemanly than in the books, cinema Bond as smooth as possible for both actor and audience. For On While Fleming was born into an upper class English a young actor named instead. There was another is not without flaws. He makes occasional mistakes and Her Majesty’s Secret Service, many of the familiar James Bond banking family, Thomas Sean Connery was born in problem: Sean Connery is Scottish. James Bond is English. although he smokes and drinks with a debonair ease, he also elements returned: the shaken martini, the cigarettes (Lazenby 1930 to working class parents in Scotland. Life for the does so to excess. In You Only Live Twice, for instance, Bond’s uses the same cigarette case seen in Dr. No), the acerbic Connery family was modest. In addition to his military Fortunately, Cubby Broccoli listened to someone with a better X-ray shows damage from smoking, as noted by Tanaka. It relationship with , flirting service, Connery worked a variety of jobs, including eye for men’s sexual allure—his wife. “Cubby,” Dana Broccoli was a balance of elegance, intelligence and anti-hero. Those with Miss Moneypenny. There lifeguard, milkman, truck driver and coffin polisher. exclaimed, “he’s fabulous!” nuances made Connery a star and propelled James Bond to a are also references alluding to cultural phenomenon. Ian Fleming, once convinced that Sean earlier plots, signaling that this As a teen, Connery developed a keen interest in weight Connery wasn’t right for James Bond, actually adjusted Bond’s is the same character and man. training, a habit that eventually led to modeling and Mr. FLESH AND BLOOD BOND heritage in the books to make him part Scottish. Universe competitions. But Lazenby was not to last. Director Terence Young was certain he could mold Sean Connery After 1962’sDr. No, Connery returned as Bond for From Russia He accused producers of not into the perfect secret agent. with Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), (1965) and You showing him enough respect; PIVOTAL MOMENT Only Live Twice (1967). in turn, he was accused of Like Fleming and Connery, Young had served in the military. arrogance. Co-star Diana At 23, Connery’s athleticism led to an offer to play Unlike them, he had seen combat and experienced true danger— Rigg called him “bloody professional football. After weighing his options, he like Bond. He had also developed tastes for beautiful women, fine impossible” and Desmond realized a football career would never last past the age of wine, good food and tailored clothes. BIDDING FAREWELL

30. “I decided to become an actor and it turned out to be James Bond became box office gold, but Sean Connery was Llewelyn, who played , Shutterstock.com tiring of the role. He complained of the character’s limited said, “I draw a veil over the one of my more intelligent moves,” he said years later. Sean Connery had the good sense to observe Young, absorbing the dimensions and longed for more complicated parts. It was chap. How can you expect director’s persona. Young responded by mentoring Connery on only a matter of time before producers would have to start someone who’s never Bit parts followed as he steadily learned his craft. But it Bond’s (and his own) finer points. He took Connery to his personal thinking of a replacement. acted before to take on a wasn’t until casting for a new movie based on a series tailor in and then instructed him to sleep in the custom leading role?” of spy novels that big change came. It was the role of a suit. The goal was to be comfortable in fine clothing under any Connery’s instincts to back away from the character that lifetime and one Sean Connery almost didn’t get. circumstance. made him famous were correct. Instead of a career typecast Despite Lazenby’s inexperience and difficulties on the on as Bond, he went on to success that spanned decades until the set, EON Productions offered him a seven movie contract. Young also worked with Connery on his mannerisms, forbidding retiring in 2012. Not only did Sean Connery turn himself into Lazenby’s agent was convinced James Bond’s popularity would him from talking with his hands. Young influenced Connery’s the quintessential spy—he turned himself into one of the best never last into the and advised his client against the performance so profoundly that cast and crew wondered if he was and well-known actors of his generation. But he is never far contract. Lazenby took the advice and announced his departure simply imitating the director. from his legacy. He is still the embodiment of James Bond for from the series before On Her Majesty’s Secret Service had been a great number of fans. He is the gold standard by which all released. “Terence took Sean under his wing,” said , who played other Bonds are measured. Miss Moneypenny. “He took him to dinner, showed him how to walk, how to talk, even how to eat.”

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PIERCE BROSNAN: MAN OF STEELE When Pierce Brosnan was officially offered the role Jamesof Bond on June 1, 1994, he didn’t need to screen test, having already tested nearly a decade THE 007 CHARACTER EVOLVED earlier. Producers were certain they had found a new Bond in Brosnan, whose TV detective show was ending and freeing up his schedule. CONSIDERABLY DURING MOORE’S The excitement over his portrayal of Bond backfired, however.Remington LONG TENURE. JOKES WERE INSERTED Steele producers decided the publicity surrounding Brosnan would benefit their own agenda. Instead of canceling Remington Steele as planned, they TO CATER TO MOORE’S ABILITY TO ordered a new season, effectively ending Brosnan’s playing Bond. Until 1994. DELIVER ONE-LINERS. BOND’S GRITTIER Gone was ’s realism. Brosnan’s Bond more closely resembled QUALITIES WERE SMOOTHED OVER IN Roger Moore’s portrayal. Although every Bond movie requires suspension of FAVOR OF MORE REFINEMENT. disbelief, the Brosnan era was especially fantastical. Still, Pierce Brosnan perfectly embodied the quintessential James Bond confidence and sexual swagger. Ultimately, though, EON decided it was time to scrap the old format and go with something completely new. That also ROGER MOORE: NEXT GENERATION TIMOTHY DALTON: THE DARK BOND meant a new actor. It was time for a reboot. Roger Moore’s name had first been mentioned during the Theater actor Timothy Dalton had first considered as a pre-production of Dr. No. The time wasn’t right for Moore possible Bond in 1968. Then only 24, Dalton believed then, but when it came time to cast a new Bond for Live himself too young for the character, and did not want to and Let Die (1973), EON soon narrowed in on him. follow Connery.

The 007 character evolved considerably during Moore’s He was considered again in DALTON MADE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN JAMES BOND MOVIE HISTORY, long tenure. Scripts were tailored to Moore’s acting 1980, until Moore decided IT CLEAR THAT abilities. Jokes were inserted to cater to Moore’s ability to to continue the role. THE PRODUCERS WANTED TO START COMPLETELY deliver one-liners. Bond’s grittier qualities were smoothed After Moore’s retirement, HIS VISION FOR over in favor of more refinement. producers were serious JAMES BOND FRESH. NO REFERENCES TO THE PAST OR UPDATED about Dalton as a candidate. WAS A DARKER VERSIONS OF OLD CHARACTERS. Bond’s life becomes Now a more seasoned actor, increasingly luxurious and Dalton was finally ready. INTERPRETATION the stunts more outrageous. CLOSER TO Instead of cigarettes, Moore’s From the beginning, IAN FLEMING’S Bond flamboyantly smokes Dalton made it clear that : A REBIRTH BOOKS. BOND cigars. Even his relationship his vision for James Bond For the first time in James Bond movie history,the producers wanted to start with M softens to the point of was a darker interpretation ONCE AGAIN completely fresh. No references to the past or updated versions of old characters. respectful. closer to Ian Fleming’s SHOWED HIS books. Bond once again Another factor caused a big change in how James Bond would be portrayed—the Before the began, showed his flaws. He FLAWS. Austin Powers movies. The comedies had so successfully spoofed James Bond that Moore talked of retiring was verging on burnout lightheartedness and jokey one-liners were no longer an option. The time hadn’t from the series, though and occasionally needed chemical assistance to get him been right to show a grittier Bond during the Timothy Dalton tenure. Now it was. he continued until 1985’s through his duties. He also returned to smoking cigarettes . When instead of cigars. Producers wanted Daniel Craig to play this new version of Bond as soon as they the movie was released, Moviepix/Getty Images decided to reboot the series. Craig himself was not interested and wanted no part Moore was 58 and it was Dalton’s time as Bond was a bumpy one. Audiences had of the jokey, sometimes hokey, Bond that Austin Powers so effectively mocked. It clear it was time for a new, younger Bond. But Moore’s trouble adjusting to the grittier characterization and wasn’t until producers showed Craig the script and assured him of the new, darker elegant Bond goes down in history as one of the most realistic violence. Legal issues also held up production, direction that he finally agreed to play the legendary British spy. iconic and to a generation of fans, it’s his portrayal that including the 1990 sale of MGM and a dispute over represents 007. television rights. The news of Daniel Craig was not received well by James Bond fans. He did not match the physical expectations of what audiences had come to expect. He was >> Daniel Craig and Olga Kurylenko Pre-production finally started again in 1993, but Dalton in Spain at the official presentation of the more muscular, shorter and his hair blonder. The fiercely loyal Bond fan base film . opted out of his contract. After being associated with was harsh. the James Bond character for eight years, he decided he needed a change and resigned on April 11, 1994. LevanteMedia / Shutterstock.com When Craig’s first Bond movie,Casino Royale, was released, fans not only changed their minds but they eagerly embraced the new OO7. The new Bond, as it turns out, was exactly what fans had wanted. They just hadn’t realized it yet. Daniel Craig’s current status as Bond has not yet been decided, but he is due credit for breathing life back into James Bond.

Elisa Jordan is a freelance writer living in Southern California and writes for a variety of media outlets. She specializes in cultural history, architecture and pets.

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