Fleming lived to see the success of the second Bond film adaptation From Russia with Love and had input on the film Goldfinger, although he died before the film was released.
Fleming saw the filming and release of Dr No and From Russia With Love. He only saw filming of Goldfinger. He died on the 12th August 1964 before Goldfinger was released.
Who did Ian Fleming think was the best James Bond?
Ian had entertained several possibilities, from Richard Burton ('I think that Richard Burton would be by far the best James Bond'), to James Stewart ('I wouldn't at all mind him as Bond if he can slightly anglicise his accent'), to James Mason ('We might have to settle for him').”
Fleming not only got to see Dr. No, he ended up liking Sean Connery's performance (after objecting to the casting on the grounds Connery was “too unrefined” for the role) so much he made Bond half-Scottish as a nod to the actor.
But all this almost didn't happen and it goes back to when Fleming made an unprecedented deal for the majority stake in his Bond book rights, having already sold the film rights in 1961. Bond expert Mark Edlitz, who was promoting his new book James Bond After Fleming: The Continuation Novels shared the tale.
He Died 3 Years Ago, Now Sean Connery's Dark Secrets Come Out
Does Ian Fleming get royalties?
Yet for years and years, the estate of Ian Fleming has only received a pittance of the money that's generated, because they've merely received traditional royalty percentages which (I imagine) are around 10%.
Sticking purely to things written by Fleming, Bond is white: * In “You Only Live Twice”, Bond is revealed to be the son of a Scottish farmer and a Swiss mother. * In “Live And Let Die”, it's noted that Bond and Felix Leiter stick out in a predominately black area because they are “two white men.”
Fleming favoured either David Niven, Moore or his cousin, Christopher Lee, with his neighbour in Jamaica, Noel Coward, as Dr No, all of whom were deemed unsuitable for one reason or another. In fact Coward himself turned down the part, famously sending a telegraph to the producers which simply read: "Dr. No? No!
Fleming was a heavy smoker and drinker for most of his life and succumbed to heart disease in 1964 at the age of 56. Two of his James Bond books were published posthumously; other writers have since produced Bond novels.
Fleming was pleased with the book and later said: Personally I think from Russia, with Love was, in many respects, my best book, but the great thing is that each one of the books seems to have been a favourite with one or other section of the public and none has yet been completely damned.
However, Fleming wasn't happy with their choice, reportedly saying privately he was nothing but an “over-developed stunt man”, describing him as “unrefined”. Connery reciprocated the feelings, calling Fleming “a real snob”, but admitting he was “interesting”.
With that in mind, Connery isn't our first choice (cue gnashing of teeth from hardcore fans), but he's an inescapable part of the franchise's legacy. The Scottish actor was the first Bond to take up the reins seriously and make the role his own. As the original, he is what many would see as the best Bond.
Raymond Benson noted that Dalton "purposely played Bond as a ruthless and serious man with very little of the wit displayed by Connery, Lazenby or Moore", and considered him "the most accurate and literal interpretation of the role ... ever seen on screen".
The real thing, the man who became one of the great agents of the [Second World War] is William Stephenson." Elsewhere Fleming wrote of Stephenson that he "used to make the most powerful martinis in America and serve them in quart glasses".
In an interview with the New Yorker, Fleming once explained that he initially conceptualised Bond as an uninteresting individual who finds himself in remarkable situations. He said: “When I wrote the first one, in 1953. I wanted Bond to be an extremely dull, uninteresting man to whom things happened…”
Born in Oxfordshire, England into a wealthy and prominent family, Fleming grew up with every possible advantage. His father was a Member of Parliament (who died in World War I), and his mother was a socialite who counted Winston Churchill among her closest friends.
He had a gift for languages and studied in Switzerland where he learned French and German. (His love of Switzerland can be seen in several of the James Bond novels that have scenes set there, and Fleming gave Bond a Swiss mother from the Canton of Vaud.) In early 1939, his career was mainly as a stringer journalist.
Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond spy novels and Lee's step-cousin, had offered him the role of the titular antagonist in the first Eon-produced Bond film Dr. No (1962).
But this isn't actually true as both The Saint and the Bond film series started in 1962, so he couldn't have been inspired by Moore's performance there. He may have seen Moore in an early film/tv series but the only actor Fleming ever endorsed as Bond was David Niven.
According to the On Her Majesty's Secret Service book, his full name is James Herbert Bond. If it sounds like he doesn't like it, it's an understatement.
The only time that James Bond got married was in 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service, 1969'. Starring George Lazenby, Diana Rigg, Lois Maxwell, and Telly Savalas.
The code name 007 has a specific meaning. The “00” designation signifies the agent's licence to kill, while the “7” is his identification within the elite unit of MI6, Britain's external intelligence service. The M designating Bond's boss comes from the Missions Department.
