Name	Harry Saltzman
Birth date	October 27, 1915
Birth place	Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
Death date	September 28, 1994
Death cause	Heart attack
Resting place coordinates
Nationality	Canadian
Known for	James Bond films
Occupation	Film producer
Years active	1956 - 1994
Spouse	Jaquie Saltzman
Children	Hilary Saltzman, Steven Saltzman
Footnotes	}}

Harry Saltzman (born Herschel Saltzman October 27, 1915 - September 28, 1994) was a Canadian theatre and film producer best known for his mega-gamble which resulted in his co-producing the James Bond film series with Albert R. Broccoli. He lived most of his life in Denham, Buckinghamshire, in England.

Biography

Saltzman was born in Sherbrooke, Quebec, but ran away from home at the age of 15, according to daughter Hilary Saltzman in the Ian Fleming Foundation documentary ''Harry Saltzman: Showman''. About the age of 17 he joined a circus and traveled with them for some years. By the beginning of World War II in 1939 he was serving in the Canadian Army in France. His career in the war may have included some intelligence work.

After the war, Saltzman ended up in Paris, where he met a refugee from Romania whom he married, Jaquie. He worked as a talent scout for European productions on stage, television and in film. He accumulated a huge number of entertainment business contacts and became the person to turn to when someone had a talent or production problem. Despite his ambition, those were lean years for the Saltzman family, according to son Steven. Saltzman gradually got more successful at producing stage plays. He moved the family of four to Britain in the mid-fifties where he started Woodfall Productions, again produced theater, and then entered the film business, producing ''The Iron Petticoat'' (1956), the cinematic adaptation of a play. "The landmark film introduces a new genre, the kitchen sink movie", and thereafter other critically acclaimed social realism dramas such as 1959's '' Look Back in Anger'' and 1960's ''Saturday Night and Sunday Morning''. Saltzman began casting around for something which would be more profitable than these modestly successful but high quality films.

"My father, I think, was an incredible visionary, and creative person."

"He always felt some of the best scripts were to be found in theatre, and that they were seen by only a few people, and that a way to let more people experience the medium that he felt was under viewed and under appreciated was to go into films."

"He always felt, the films he made during Woodfall were seminal, they gave him the direction [for the rest of his life] and they were films that brought him tremendous joy that he'd made them."

In early 1961, excited by reading the James Bond novel ''Goldfinger'', he made a bid to land film rights to the character. Saltzman co-founded Danjaq, S.A. with Albert R. Broccoli in 1962. It was a holding company responsible for the copyright and trademarks of James Bond on screen, and the parent company of EON Productions, which they also set up as a film production company for the Bond films. The moniker Danjaq is a combination of Broccoli's and Saltzman's wives' first names, Dana and Jacqueline.

In 1975 after unrelated financial difficulties, Saltzman sold his 50% stake in Danjaq to United Artists Corporation. Concurrently, his beloved wife Jaquie was diagnosed with terminal cancer; his health also declined and he became depressed, sold the English country mansion where he loved to hold production meetings in the rooftop pool, and moved to Florida. As related by friend Roger Moore, Jaquie died while ''The Spy Who Loved Me'' was shooting, which places her passing in late 1976 or early 1977. Saltzman all but retired from the movie business thereafter. He was persuaded back from retirement to produce ''Nijinsky'' in 1980 and the 1988 British-Italian-Yugoslavian co-production ''Time of the Gypsies''. He had long desired to produce a film on the life of Vaclav Nijinsky, based on biographies, the rights to which he had acquired in the 1960s but Harry was not the nominal producer when the picture was actually made.

The Bond property

Something of a gambler, Saltzman was at best only modestly successful as a businessman and producer, but had a talent for thinking both big and outside the box in very creative ways. After best selling writer Ian Fleming had been told his novels would never make good films in 1957 (ironically by the ex-partner of his soon to be future partner Oscar winner Irving Allen) Saltzman bet large in a moment of enthusiasm in early 1961 and paid $50,000.00 (high for the times) for a mere six month option of the film rights to the Bond character. Always confident, Saltzman was certain he could put together a deal within the deadline. As spring became summer, he'd been unable to obtain financing, an agreement with production company, or a distributor for the proposed project as he was essentially an outsider mostly unknown in film circles despite his modest success as an independent producer.

Competition from the money side

Meanwhile, David Picker, then a vice-president (and eventual president) of United Artists also got interested in the film rights about the same time Salzman made the option deal with Fleming after he was (also) introduced to the novel ''Goldfinger'' by his cousin Nancy's husband, and soon began strategic studies on which novel might best be adapted first and other such preparatory work anticipating negotiations for the rights. At a luncheon soon after, he was told they weren't available by a credible source, but didn't know of Saltzman's pending deadline, and assumed the long term rights were the topic and so suspended United Artists work. That these studies and events occurred is documented in an internal memo dated 5/5/61 discussing ''Thunderball'' as a potential project and confirmed in interviews with Picker in the documentary ''The Making of Dr. No''.

Competition from veteran film insider

Working from Great Britain in 1957, American producer Albert Broccoli, widely regarded as one of the most successful independent producers in the industry, had decided the novels would make an excellent film project series. From New York he soon arranged an early 1958 meeting between partner Allen and Ian Fleming in London while nursing his ailing second wife through a terminal illness. Only, Allen—who had the big Hollywood name and was controlling partner in Warwick films, in the event snubbed Fleming in their meeting at the prestigious ''Les Ambassadors Club'' in London when Allen proclaimed (according to interviews on various documentaries on Bond special edition DVDs) that Fleming's novels weren't ''"good enough for television,"'' all unbeknownst to Broccoli who knew only the partnership hadn't gotten the rights.

James Bond

In 1960, Broccoli's Warwick Films undertook to produce and self-distribute the self-funded, high risk biographical drama ''Oscar Wilde'' which dealt with the topic of homosexuality, and hence was unable to advertise in the United States because of censorship which thereby doomed the partners to take a loss. This began a chain of events leading to dissolution of the company in bankruptcy in 1961 and the increased tensions between the two partners, already in disagreement over James Bond, led to a sundering of their partnership as well and freed Broccoli to revisit his decision that the Bond novels would make a good film series, only now to be told by the publishers the rights were unavailable.

In an ironic twist worthy of fiction, screenwriter Wolf Mankowitz, while having a working dinner in New York on another script with Broccoli, had a discussion over his disappointment about ''Oscar Wilde'', Warwick, et al. and his interest in the Bond rights. Mankowitz knew Saltzman casually from Broadway productions the two had been involved with and knew Saltzman held the rights to Bond, so he immediately offered to introduce the two men and arranged a meeting between the two the very next morning. In a double historic irony, Mankowitz put the two together and was hired to work on the script for what became film history— ''Doctor No'', but alarmed by early rushes demanded to have his name withdrawn from the script. In addition, his meeting with Broccoli had essentially been about scrapping the Arabian Nights project he'd been writing for Broccoli which is how what Broccoli wanted to do and Bond came into the discussion at all.

Saltzman, always an enthusiast, refused to sell any of the film rights but instead proposed the two form a partnership, joining the novice producer with the well connected and almost always successful industry insider. Broccoli wanting to do Bond very much, and now that Allen was out of the picture, accepted. In that manner, Saltzman joined forces with "Cubby" Broccoli in 1962 to create the holding company, Danjaq, LLC, and production company EON Productions and almost immediately began recruiting talent known to Broccoli from Warwick Productions such as production designer Ken Adam, teamed writers Richard Maibaum and Mankowitz, etc. The project was soon launched and the nascent production team was considering the best novel to adapt and introduce the character. With the rights to ''Casino Royale'' having gone to an early television adaptation they began tossing ideas around. Within a week the two were asking for a meeting with United Artists and with a handshake and a short meeting, had received a million dollars in senior financing, as recounted by Saltzman. Around this time it was decided that their first film in the James Bond series would be ''Dr. No''. Saltzman would remain Broccoli's partner up to the ninth film in the series, 1974's ''The Man with the Golden Gun''.

Other notable productions include ''The IPCRESS File'' (1965), ''The Battle of Britain'' (1969), and ''Call Me Bwana'' (1963) starring Bob Hope. ''Call Me Bwana'' is the only film to be produced by EON Productions outside of the James Bond franchise.

Saltzman came close to rejecting Paul McCartney's submission for ''Live and Let Die''. McCartney asked producer George Martin to approach the producers about the song. Saltzman surprised Martin by asking who they could get to sing it, suggesting only black female vocalists. Martin pointed out that if he did not take McCartney as the singer he did not get the song. Saltzman compromised by having McCartney do the title version and B. J. Arnau do a soul version in the "Fillet of Soul" nightclub.

Harry Saltzman is survived by 2 children Hilary and Steven Saltzman and 4 grandchildren, Alexandre and Jacqueline de La Bouillerie and Hannah and Jacob Saltzman.

List of Saltzman's productions

Saltzman had eclectic tastes, and a love for the theatre and bringing stageplays to the big screen. Many of his non-Bond films received critical acclaim, but they were generally less financially successful than the Bond films.

''The Iron Petticoat'', 1956

''Look Back in Anger'', 1958

''Saturday Night and Sunday Morning'', 1960

''The Entertainer'', 1960

''Dr. No, 1962''

''From Russia with Love, '''1963''

''Call me Bwana'', 1963

''Goldfinger, 1964''

''Thunderball, 1965 (uncredited)

''And There Came a Man'', 1965

''The Ipcress File'', 1965

''Chimes at Midnight'', 1965

''Funeral in Berlin'', 1966

''Billion Dollar Brain'', 1967

''You Only Live Twice, 1967''

''Play Dirty'', 1968

''Battle of Britain'', 1969

''On Her Majesty's Secret Service, 1969''

''Toomorrow'', 1970

''Diamonds Are Forever, 1971''

''Days of Fury'', 1973

''Live and Let Die'', 1973''

''The Man with the Golden Gun'', 1974''

''Nijinsky'', 1979

''Time of the Gypsies'', 1988

References

External links

Category:1915 births Category:1994 deaths Category:Canadian film producers Category:People from Denham Category:People from Sherbrooke Category:Anglophone Quebec people

cy:Harry Saltzman de:Harry Saltzman es:Harry Saltzman fr:Harry Saltzman id:Harry Saltzman it:Harry Saltzman nl:Harry Saltzman ja:ハリー・サルツマン pt:Harry Saltzman fi:Harry Saltzman sv:Harry Saltzman

name	James Bond
author	Ian Fleming
country	United Kingdom
language	English
subject	Spy fiction
genre	Action/Suspense
publisher	Jonathan Cape
pub date	1953–present
followed by	}}

James Bond 007 is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. The fictional British Secret Service agent has also been used in the longest running and most financially successful English-language film franchise to date, starting in 1962 with ''Dr. No''.

After Fleming's death in 1964, subsequent James Bond novels were written by Kingsley Amis, John Gardner, Raymond Benson, Sebastian Faulks and Jeffery Deaver. Moreover, Christopher Wood novelised two screenplays, Charlie Higson wrote a series on a young James Bond, John Pearson wrote an authorised biography, while other writers have authored unofficial versions of the character.

There have been 22 films in the Eon Productions series to date, the most recent of which, ''Quantum of Solace'', was released on 31 October 2008 (UK). In addition there has been an American television adaptation and two independent feature productions. Apart from films and television, James Bond has also been adapted for many other media, including radio plays, comic strips and video games.

The Eon Productions films are generally termed as "official", by fans of the series, originating with the purchase of the James Bond film rights by producer Harry Saltzman in the early 1960s.

Creation and inspiration

Commander James Bond, (CMG, RNVR) is an intelligence officer of the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS; commonly known as MI6). He was created in January 1952 by British journalist Ian Fleming while on holiday at his Jamaican estate, Goldeneye. The hero was named after the American ornithologist James Bond, a Caribbean bird expert and author of the definitive field guide book ''Birds of the West Indies.'' Fleming, a keen birdwatcher, had a copy of Bond's field guide at Goldeneye. Of the name, Fleming once said in a ''Reader's Digest'' interview, "I wanted the simplest, dullest, plainest-sounding name I could find, 'James Bond' was much better than something more interesting, like 'Peregrine Carruthers.' Exotic things would happen to and around him, but he would be a neutral figure — an anonymous, blunt instrument wielded by a government department."

Nevertheless, news sources speculated about real spies or other covert agents after whom James Bond might have been modelled or named, such as Sidney Reilly or William Stephenson, best-known by his wartime intelligence codename of Intrepid. Although they are similar to Bond, Fleming confirmed none as the source figure, nor did Ian Fleming Publications nor any of Fleming's biographers, such as John Pearson or Andrew Lycett. Historian Keith Jeffery speculates in his authorised history of MI6, that Bond may be modelled on Fleming's close friend, Bill "Biffy" Dunderdale, a MI6 agent whose sophisticated persona and penchant for pretty women and fast cars closely matches that of Bond.

James Bond's parents are Andrew Bond, from village of Glencoe (Argyll, Scotland), and Monique Delacroix, from Yverdon (Vaud, Switzerland). Their nationalities were established in ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service.'' Fleming emphasised Bond's Scottish heritage in admiration of Sean Connery's cinematic portrayal, whereas Bond's mother is named after a Swiss fiancée of Fleming's. A planned, but unwritten, novel would have portrayed Bond's mother as a Scot. Ian Fleming was a member of a prominent Scottish banking family. Although John Pearson's fictional biography of Bond gives him a birth date on 11 November (Armistice Day) 1920, the books themselves are inconsistent on the matter. In ''Casino Royale'', he is said to have bought a car in 1933 and to have been an experienced gambler before World War II. Two books later, in ''Moonraker'', he is said to be in his mid-thirties; the setting of this book can be no earlier than 1954 as it refers to the South Goodwin Lightship, which was lost in that year. There is a further reference to Bond's age in ''You Only Live Twice'', when Tanaka tells him he was born in the Year of the Rat (1924/25 or 1912/13). The books were written over a 12-year period during which Bond's age, when mentioned, thus varies, but is usually around 40. In the novel ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service,'' Bond's family motto is found to be ''Orbis non sufficit'' ("The world is not enough"). The novel also states that the family that used this motto may not necessarily be the same Bond family from which James Bond came.

After completing the manuscript for ''Casino Royale'', Fleming allowed his friend (and later editor) William Plomer to read it. Plomer liked it and submitted it to Jonathan Cape, who did not like it as much. Cape finally published it in 1953 on the recommendation of Fleming's older brother Peter, an established travel writer.

Most researchers agree that James Bond is a romanticised version of Ian Fleming, himself a jet-setting womaniser. Both Fleming and Bond attended the same schools, preferred the same foods (scrambled eggs and coffee), maintained the same habits (drinking, smoking, wearing short-sleeve shirts), shared the same notions of the perfect woman in looks and style, and had similar naval career paths (both rising to the rank of naval Commander). They also shared similar height, hairstyle, and eye colour. Some suggest that Bond's suave and sophisticated persona is based on that of a young Hoagy Carmichael. In ''Casino Royale'', Vesper Lynd remarks, "Bond reminds me rather of Hoagy Carmichael, but there is something cold and ruthless." Likewise, in ''Moonraker'', Special Branch Officer Gala Brand thinks that Bond is "certainly good-looking . . . Rather like Hoagy Carmichael in a way. That black hair falling down over the right eyebrow. Much the same bones. But there was something a bit cruel in the mouth, and the eyes were cold."

Fleming did admit to being partly inspired by a story recounted to him which took place during his service in the Naval Intelligence Division of the Admiralty. The incident is depicted in ''Casino Royale,'' when Ralph Izzard finds himself involved in a card game, playing poker against covert Nazi intelligence agents at a casino in Pernambuco, Brazil.

Novels and related works

Ian Fleming novels

In February 1952, Ian Fleming began writing his first James Bond novel. At the time, Fleming was the foreign manager for Kemsley Newspapers, owners of ''The Daily Express'' in London. Upon accepting the job, Fleming asked for two months' yearly vacation in his contract—time spent writing in Jamaica. Between 1953 and his death in 1964, Fleming published twelve novels and one short-story collection (a second collection was published posthumously).

Fleming had long planned to become an author and whilst serving in the Naval Intelligence Division during World War II he had told a friend, "I am going to write the spy story to end all spy stories." Fleming used his experiences of his espionage career and all other aspects of his life as inspiration when writing.

Casino Royale (novel)>Casino Royale''

Live and Let Die (novel)>Live and Let Die''

Moonraker (novel)>Moonraker''

Diamonds Are Forever (novel)>Diamonds Are Forever''

From Russia, with Love (novel)>From Russia, with Love''

Dr. No (novel)>Dr. No''

Goldfinger (novel)>Goldfinger''

For Your Eyes Only (short story collection)>For Your Eyes Only'' – short stories

Thunderball (novel)>Thunderball''

The Spy Who Loved Me (novel)>The Spy Who Loved Me''

On Her Majesty's Secret Service (novel)>On Her Majesty's Secret Service''

You Only Live Twice (novel)>You Only Live Twice''

The Man with the Golden Gun (novel)>The Man with the Golden Gun''

*1966 ''Octopussy and The Living Daylights'' – short stories

Post-Fleming novels

After Fleming's death a continuation novel, Colonel Sun, was written by Kingsley Amis (as Robert Markham) and published in 1968. Although a novelisations of two of the films appeared in print - ''James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me'' and ''James Bond and Moonraker'', both written by screenwriter Christopher Wood - the series of novels did not continue until the 1980s.

In 1981 John Gardner, picked up the series with ''Licence Renewed'', publishing 16 books in total. Gardner moved the series into the 1980s, although retained the ages of the characters as they were when Fleming had left them. In 1996, Gardner retired from writing James Bond books due to ill health and he was replaced by Raymond Benson, who was the first American author of James Bond. Benson wrote six James Bond novels, three novelisations, and three short stories.

In July 2007, it was announced that Sebastian Faulks had been commissioned to write a new Bond novel to commemorate Fleming's 100th Birthday. The book — titled ''Devil May Care'' – was published on 27 May 2008. Ian Fleming Publications Ltd. the commissioned best-selling thriller writer Jeffery Deaver who wrote ''Carte Blanche'', which was published on May 26, 2011.

Young Bond

The ''Young Bond'' series of novels was begun in 2005, by Charlie Higson. Between 2005 and 2008 5 books were published, with the first Young Bond novel, ''SilverFin'' being released as a graphic novel on October 2, 2008 by Puffin Books.

Adaptations

Films

The Eon films

In the late 1950s, Eon Productions guaranteed the film adaptation rights for every 007 novel except for ''Casino Royale'' (those rights were recovered in 1999). In 1962, the first adaptation ''Dr. No'' was made, which featured Sean Connery as 007. Connery starred in six more films after his initial portrayal (including 1983's ''Never Say Never Again'', which was not part of the Eon series). George Lazenby replaced Connery (for one film) before the latter's last Eon film Diamonds Are Forever, after which the part was played by Roger Moore (for seven films), Timothy Dalton (for two films), Pierce Brosnan (for four films) and Daniel Craig (two films to 2008). As of 2008, there have been 22 films in the Eon series. The 21st film, ''Casino Royale'', with Daniel Craig as James Bond, premiered on 14 November 2006, with the film going on general release in Asia and the Middle East the following day. Notably, it is the first Bond film to have been released in China. The second James Bond film to feature Craig is ''Quantum of Solace'', which gets its title from a short story of the same name by Ian Fleming (''For Your Eyes Only'', 1960), but shares no similarities with the plot.

In April 2010, Eon Productions suspended development of ''Bond 23'' indefinitely due to MGM's crippling debt and uncertain future. Prior to this suspension, Craig was expected to return to the franchise for a third time. On 11 January 2011, MGM sent out a press releasing announcing the 23rd Bond film, starring Daniel Craig, will be released on 9 November 2012. The press release reveals that "Sam Mendes [is] directing [the] screenplay written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan."

The film series has grossed over $4 billion (£2 billion) (nearly $11 billion when adjusted for inflation) worldwide, making it the highest grossing film series ever. The 22nd and newest movie in the series, ''Quantum of Solace'', was released in the UK on 31 October 2008. As of 9 November 2008, global box office totals for ''Quantum of Solace'' were almost $161 million (£103 million), placing the Bond series ahead of the ''Harry Potter'' film series even when not adjusting for inflation.

Franchise Count	Title	!Year	Actor	Director	!Total Box Office *	!Budget *	!Inflation Adjusted Total Box Office *†
		1962		rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"
		1963
		1964
		1965	style="text-align:center;"
			1967
		1969
		1971
		1973
		1974
		1977
		1979
		1981	rowspan="5" style="text-align:center;"
	''Octopussy''	1983
		''A View to a Kill''	1985
	''The Living Daylights''	1987
	''Licence to Kill''	1989
	''GoldenEye''	1995
	''Tomorrow Never Dies''	1997
	''The World Is Not Enough''	1999
	''Die Another Day''	2002
		2006
	''Quantum of Solace''	2008
	''Bond 23''	2012
Totals	''Films 1–22''

* ''All figures are in US Dollars'' † ''Figures are inflated to 2008 dollars as of 24 March 2008 figures based on the Consumer Price Index.''

Non-Eon films

In 1967, ''Casino Royale'' was adapted into a spoof Bond film starring David Niven as Sir James Bond 007 and Ursula Andress as Vesper Lynd. David Niven, had, in fact, been Ian Fleming's preference for the part of James Bond. Eon Productions, however, chose Sean Connery. David Niven is the only James Bond actor who is mentioned by name in the text of two of Fleming's James Bond novels. In ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'', Bond visits an exclusive ski resort and is told that David Niven is a frequent visitor and in ''You Only Live Twice'' Kissy Suzuki mentions him as the only man who had been kind to her in her brief foray to Hollywood. Ursula Andress is also mentioned in the text of ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' as being present at the ski resort.

A legal loophole allowed Kevin McClory to release a remake of ''Thunderball'' titled ''Never Say Never Again'' in 1983. The film, featuring Sean Connery as Bond, is not part of the Eon James Bond series of films because it is not part of the Bond film franchise from Eon Productions and United Artists, although it is currently owned by United Artists parent MGM. Its original theatrical release in October 1983 actually created a situation in which two Bond movies were playing in cinemas at the same time, as the Eon Bond film, ''Octopussy'' was still playing in cinemas. Since then, MGM has bought the name "James Bond", preventing a repeat of this episode.

Title	Year	Actor	Director	!Total Box Office *	!Budget *	!Inflation Adjusted Total Box Office *†
	1967	David Niven
''Never Say Never Again''	1983	Sean Connery	Irvin Kershner
Totals

* ''All figures are in US Dollars'' † ''Figures are inflated to 2008 dollars as of 24 March 2008 figures based on the Consumer Price Index.''

Television programmes

In 1954, CBS paid Ian Fleming for the rights to adapt ''Casino Royale'' into a one hour television adventure as part of their ''Climax!'' series. However, Barry Nelson played a CIA agent named Jimmy Bond, Clarence Leiter was a British agent played by Michael Pate and Peter Lorre was Le Chiffre.

According to Andrew Pixley's notes to ''Danger Man'' Original soundtrack, Ian Fleming collaborated with Ralph Smart to bring James Bond to television, but dropped out taking his creation with him. Ralph Smart went on to develop ''Danger Man'' with Patrick McGoohan who would later turn down the opportunity to play James Bond.

The 1973 BBC documentary ''Omnibus: The British Hero'' featured Christopher Cazenove playing a number of such title characters (e.g. Richard Hannay and Bulldog Drummond), including James Bond in dramatised scenes from ''Goldfinger'' – notably featuring the hero being threatened with the novel's circular saw, rather than the film's laser beam — and ''Diamonds Are Forever''.

A TV cartoon series James Bond Jr. was produced in 1991 with Corey Burton in the role of the young James Bond.

Radio programmes

In 1956, Bob Holness starred in a South African radio adaptation of ''Moonraker'', making him the second actor to portray James Bond.

In 1990, a radio adaptation of ''You Only Live Twice'' was produced starring Michael Jayston.

Radio adaptations featuring Toby Stephens have been produced, with ''Dr. No'' in 2008 and ''Goldfinger'' in 2010.

Actors

Cultural impact

James Bond has long been a household name and remains a huge influence within the genre. The ''Austin Powers'' series by writer, producer and comedian Mike Myers, and other parodies such as ''Johnny English'' (2003), ''Bons baisers de Hong Kong'', ''OK Connery'', the "Flint" series starring James Coburn as Derek Flint, the "Matt Helm" movies starring Dean Martin, and ''Casino Royale'' (1967) are testaments to Bond's prominence in popular culture.

The Bond series also received many homages and parodies in popular media. The 1960s TV imitations of James Bond such as ''I Spy'', ''Get Smart'', ''Charles Vine'', ''Matt Helm'' and ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' went on to become popular successes in their own right, the last having enjoyed contributions by Fleming towards its creation: the show's lead character, "Napoleon Solo", was named after a character in Fleming's novel ''Goldfinger''; Fleming also suggested the character name April Dancer, which was later used in the spin-off series ''The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.'' A reunion television movie, ''The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' (1983), is notable for featuring a cameo by George Lazenby as James Bond in tribute to Fleming (for legal reasons, the character was credited as "JB").

George Lucas has said on various occasions that Sean Connery's portrayal of Bond was one of the primary inspirations for the Indiana Jones character, a reason Connery was chosen for the role of Indiana's father in the third film of that series.

His association with Aston Martin sports cars has helped further boost the brand's already strong image and popularity since Bond (then played by Sean Connery) first drove an Aston Martin in Goldfinger in 1964. A poll by Lloyds TSB in September 2010 revealed that Aston Martin was the most desired brand of "dream" car in Britain.

Music

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The "James Bond Theme" was written by Monty Norman and was first orchestrated by the John Barry Orchestra for 1962's ''Dr. No'', although the actual authorship of the music has been a matter of controversy for many years. In 2001, Norman won £30,000 in libel damages from the British paper ''The Sunday Times'', which suggested that Barry was entirely responsible for the composition.

Barry did go on to compose the scores for eleven Bond films in addition to his uncredited contribution to ''Dr. No'', and is credited with the creation of "007", used as an alternate Bond theme in several films, as well as the popular orchestrated theme "On Her Majesty's Secret Service." Both the "James Bond Theme" and "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" have been remixed a number of times by popular artists, including Art of Noise, Moby, Paul Oakenfold, and the Propellerheads. The Beatles used a portion of the "Bond theme" in the introduction of their song "Help" as released on the American version of the "Help" LP. The British/Australian string quartet also named bond (purposely in lower case) recorded their own version of the theme, entitled "Bond on Bond."

Barry's legacy was followed by David Arnold, in addition to other well-known composers such as Chris Minear and Corbin Ott and record producers such as George Martin, Bill Conti, Michael Kamen, Marvin Hamlisch and Éric Serra. Arnold is the series' current composer of choice and composed the score for the 22nd Bond film, ''Quantum of Solace''.

A Bond film staple are the theme songs heard during their title sequences sung by well-known popular singers (which have included Tina Turner, Paul McCartney and Wings, Sheryl Crow and Tom Jones, among many others). Shirley Bassey performed three themes in total. After ''Doctor No'', ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' is the only Bond film with a solely instrumental theme, though Louis Armstrong's ballad "We Have All the Time in the World", which serves as Bond and his wife Tracy's love song and whose title is Bond's last line in the film, is considered the unofficial theme. Likewise, although the credit sequence to ''From Russia with Love'' features an instrumental version of the film's theme, another version, with lyrics sung by Matt Monro, can be partially heard within the film itself, and is featured on the film's soundtrack album.

The themes usually share their names with their film. "Nobody Does It Better", the theme for ''The Spy Who Loved Me'', was the first Bond theme not to share its title with that of the movie, although the words "the spy who loved me" do appear in the lyrics. The song is featured in both credit sequences of the film, and in orchestral form throughout. "Nobody Does It Better" was nominated for an Academy Award for "Best Original Song" of 1977, but lost to the theme song to ''You Light Up My Life''. Hamlisch's score for the film was also nominated for an Oscar, but lost to John Williams' score for ''Star Wars''.

The only other Bond themes to be nominated for an Academy Award for best song are "Live and Let Die", written by Paul and Linda McCartney and performed by their band Wings, and "For Your Eyes Only", written by Bill Conti and Michael Leeson and performed by Sheena Easton, though a few of John Barry's scores have been nominated.

The only Bond theme to reach number one on the pop charts in the U.S. was Duran Duran's "A View to a Kill".

The only singer, to date, to appear within a title sequence is Sheena Easton during ''For Your Eyes Only''. The only singer of a title song to appear as a character within the film itself, to date, is Madonna, who appeared (uncredited) as fencing instructor Verity, as well as contributing the theme for ''Die Another Day''. The title sequence in ''Die Another Day'' is notable, however, for being the only one in which the visuals actually serve to further the plot of the film itself, as opposed to being merely a montage or collage of abstract images related to the film or to the larger James Bond mythos.

The theme song from ''Quantum of Solace'' is Alicia Keys and Jack White's "Another Way to Die", which is the first James Bond theme song to be a duet. It is also the fourth theme song not to reference the name of the movie in its lyrics.

In 1998, Barry's music from ''You Only Live Twice'' was adapted into the hit song "Millennium" by producer and composer Guy Chambers for British recording artist Robbie Williams. The music video features Williams parodying James Bond, and references other Bond films such as ''Thunderball'' and ''From Russia with Love''. It should also be noted that the video was filmed at Pinewood Studios, where most of the Bond films have been made.

In 2004 the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps won the Drum Corps International World Championship with "007," using the music of James Bond as composed by David Arnold. The Cavaliers performed selections from ''GoldenEye'', ''Die Another Day'' ("Hovercraft Theme" and "Welcome to Cuba"), and ''Tomorrow Never Dies''.

Burt Bacharach's score for 1967's ''Casino Royale'' included "The Look Of Love", nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song, has become a standard for its era, with the biggest-selling version recorded by Sérgio Mendes and Brasil '66 (#4 on the Billboard pop charts in 1968). It was heard again in ''Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery'', which was to a degree inspired by ''Casino Royale''.

Video games

In 1983, the first Bond video game, developed and published by Parker Brothers, was released for the Atari 2600, the Atari 5200, the Atari 800, the Commodore 64, and the ColecoVision. Since then, there have been numerous video games either based on the films or using original storylines.

Bond video games, however, did not reach their popular stride until 1997's revolutionary ''GoldenEye 007'' by Rare for the Nintendo 64. Subsequently, virtually every Bond video game has attempted to copy the accomplishments and features of ''GoldenEye 007'' to varying degrees of success; even going so far as to have a game entitled ''GoldenEye: Rogue Agent'' that had little to do with either the video game ''GoldenEye 007'' or the film of the same name. Bond himself plays only a minor role in which he is "killed" in the beginning during a 'virtual reality' mission, which served as the first level of the game.

Since acquiring the licence in 1999, Electronic Arts has released eight games, five of which have original stories, including the popular ''Everything or Nothing'', which broke away from the first-person shooter trend that started with ''GoldenEye 007'' (including the games "Agent Under Fire" and "Nightfire") and instead featured a third-person perspective. It also featured well known actors including Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, John Cleese and Pierce Brosnan as James Bond, although several previous games have used Brosnan's likeness as Bond. In 2005, Electronic Arts released a video game adaptation of ''From Russia with Love'', another game in the same vein as ''Everything or Nothing''. This was the second game based on a Connery Bond film (the first was a 1980s text adventure adaptation of ''Goldfinger'') and the first to allow the player to play as Bond with the likeness of Sean Connery. Connery himself recorded new voice-overs for the game, the first time the actor had played Bond in twenty-two years.

In 2006, Activision secured the licence to make Bond-related games, briefly sharing but effectively taking over the licence from EA. The deal became exclusive to Activision in September 2007. Activision studio Treyarch has released the new James Bond game "Quantum of Solace" a movie tie in of "Casino Royale" and "Quantum of Solace" it (not unlike "Goldeneye 007") is a first person shooter and it does include a new 'dashing to cover' and 'cover fire' third person game play.

In relation to the twenty-first film in the series Sony Ericsson released a Casino Royale edition of their K800i mobile phone. In this edition, a Java ME game loosely based on the movie was included. Vodafone has also published a game for the same platform called ''007: Hoverchase'' and developed by IOMO.

Activision released a reimagining of the N64 ''GoldenEye 007'', which was released for the Wii and DS in 2010. A number of changes are present in the game, most notable being Daniel Craig playing Bond, rather than Pierce Brosnan, who was Bond in the original game, and the film.

Comic strips and comic books

In 1957 the ''Daily Express'', a newspaper owned by Lord Beaverbrook, approached Ian Fleming to adapt his stories into comic strips. After initial reluctance by Fleming who felt the strips would lack the quality of his writing, agreed and the first strip ''Casino Royale'' was published in 1958. Since then many illustrated adventures of James Bond have been published, including every Ian Fleming novel as well as Kingsley Amis's ''Colonel Sun'', and most of Fleming's short stories. Later, the comic strip produced original stories, continuing until 1983.

Titan Books is presently reprinting these comic strips in an ongoing series of graphic novel-style collections; by the end of 2005 it had completed reprinting all Fleming-based adaptations as well as ''Colonel Sun'' and had moved on to reprinting original stories.

Several comic book adaptations of the James Bond films have been published through the years, as well as numerous original stories.

Most recently, a thinly veiled version of Bond (called only "Jimmy" to avoid copyright issues) appeared in ''The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier''. In this story, Bond is the villain; he chases the heroic duo of Mina Murray and Allan Quatermain across London, aided by disguised versions of Bulldog Drummond ("Hugo Drummond") and Emma Peel ("Miss Night"). Jimmy is portrayed as an unpleasant incompetent servant of the US who only pretends to work with Britain.

Characters

The James Bond series of novels and films have a plethora of allies and villains. Bond's superiors and other officers of the British Secret Service are known by letters, such as M and Q. In the novels, Bond has employed two secretaries, Loelia Ponsonby and Mary Goodnight, who in the films typically have their roles and lines transferred to M's secretary, Miss Moneypenny. Occasionally Bond is assigned to work a case with his good friend, CIA agent Felix Leiter.

Throughout both the novels and the films there have only been a handful of recurring characters. Some of the more memorable ones include Bill Tanner, Rene Mathis, Jack Wade, Jaws and recently Charles Robinson. J.W. Pepper is also a recurring character.

Vehicles and gadgets

Exotic espionage equipment and vehicles are very popular elements of James Bond's literary and cinematic missions. These items often prove critically important to Bond in successfully completing his missions.

Fleming's novels and early screen adaptations presented minimal equipment such as the booby-trapped attaché case in ''From Russia with Love''. In ''Dr. No'', Bond's sole gadgets were a Geiger counter and a wristwatch with a luminous (and radioactive) face. The gadgets, however, assumed a higher profile in the 1964 film ''Goldfinger''. The film's success encouraged further espionage equipment from Q Branch to be supplied to Bond. In the opinion of critics, some Bond films have included too many gadgets and vehicles, such as 1979's science fiction-oriented ''Moonraker'' and 2002's ''Die Another Day''.

James Bond's cars have included the Aston Martin DB5, V8 Vantage (80s), V12 Vanquish and DBS (00s); the Lotus Esprit; the BMW Z3, BMW 750iL and the BMW Z8. Bond's most famous car is the silver grey Aston Martin DB5, first seen in ''Goldfinger''; it later features in ''Thunderball'', ''GoldenEye'', ''Tomorrow Never Dies'', and ''Casino Royale''. The films have used a number of different Aston Martin DB5s for filming and publicity, one of which was sold in January 2006 at an auction in Arizona for $2,090,000 to an unnamed European collector. That specific car was originally sold for £5,000 in 1970.

In Fleming's books, Bond had a penchant for "battleship grey" Bentleys, while Gardner awarded the agent a modified Saab 900 Turbo (nicknamed the Silver Beast) and later a Bentley Mulsanne Turbo.

In the James Bond film adaptations, Bond has been associated with several well-known watches, usually outfitted with high-tech features not found on production models. The Rolex Submariner, one of the few recurring models, was worn by Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, and Timothy Dalton's versions of James Bond. Roger Moore also sported a number of digital watches by Pulsar and Seiko. Pierce Brosnan's and Daniel Craig's James Bonds were both devotees of the Omega Seamaster. The selection of James Bond's watch has been a matter of both style and finance, as product placement agreements with the watch manufacturers have frequently been arranged.

Bond's weapon of choice in the beginning of ''Dr. No'' is an Italian-made Beretta 418 .25 calibre, later replaced by the German-made Walther PPK, chambered in 7.65 mm (a peculiar choice, as Valentin Zukovsky remarks in ''GoldenEye'': the PPK as found in the U.S. and Western Europe is most commonly chambered in .380 ACP). The PPK was used in every subsequent film and became his signature weapon until the ending of ''Tomorrow Never Dies'', when Bond upgraded to the Walther P99. He has subsequently used the P99 pistol in ''Tomorrow Never Dies'', ''The World Is Not Enough'', ''Die Another Day'', and ''Casino Royale''. Strangely, Bond resumed use of the PPK in ''Quantum of Solace'', the direct sequel of ''Casino Royale''.

See also

Shaken, not stirred

Sir Fitzroy MacLean, 1st Baronet

The Battle for Bond

9007 James Bond Asteroid named after the character

References

External links

; Official sites:

James Bond Official Website

Ian Fleming Publications Official Website

Young Bond Official Website

Pinewood Studios – home of Bond

Pinewood Studios Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage Official Website

Ian Fleming's 'Red Indians' – 30AU – Literary James Bond's Wartime unit

;Unofficial sites:

007James – The Site's Bond, James Bond

MI6 – The Home of James Bond

Licensed to Kill – The fan compendium

Category:Characters in British novels of the 20th century Category:Fictional Scottish people Category:Fictional secret agents and spies Category:Media franchises Category:Fictional characters introduced in 1953

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Name	Shirley Bassey
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Shirley Veronica Bassey
Born	January 08, 1937Tiger Bay, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom
Instrument	Vocals
Occupation	Singer
Years active	1953–present
Genre	Popular music
Label	Philips, Columbia, United Artists, Decca, Geffen
Website	}}

Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey, DBE (born 8 January 1937 in Cardiff, Wales), is a Welsh singer who found fame in the late 1950s and has continued a successful career since then worldwide. She is best known for recording the theme songs to the James Bond films ''Goldfinger'' (1964), ''Diamonds Are Forever'' (1971), and ''Moonraker'' (1979), and is a UNESCO Artist for Peace.

Birth to 1959

Shirley Bassey was born the last child of Eliza Jane (née Start) and Henry Bassey in Tiger Bay, Cardiff, Wales, of paternal Nigerian and maternal English descent. She grew up in the nearby working-class dockside district of Splott. After leaving Splott Secondary Modern School at the age of fourteen, Bassey first found employment packing at a local factory while singing in local public houses and clubs in the evenings and weekends. In 1953, she signed her first professional contract, to sing in a touring variety show ''Memories of Jolson'', a musical based on the life of Al Jolson. She next took up a professional engagement in ''Hot from Harlem'', which ran until 1954. By this time Bassey had become disenchanted with show business, and had become pregnant at 16 with her daughter Sharon, so she went back to waitressing in Cardiff. However, in 1955, a chance recommendation of her to Michael Sullivan, a booking agent, put her firmly on course for her destined career. He saw talent in Bassey, and decided he would make her a star. She toured various theatres until she got an offer of the show that put her firmly on the road to stardom, Al Read's ''Such Is Life'' at the Adelphi Theatre in London's West End. While she starred in this show, Philips A&R; and record producer Johnny Franz spotted her on television, was impressed, and offered her a recording deal. Bassey recorded her first single, entitled "Burn My Candle (At Both Ends)", and Philips released it in February 1956, when Bassey was just nineteen. Owing to the suggestive lyrics, the BBC banned it, but it sold well nonetheless, backed with her powerful rendition of "Stormy Weather". Further singles followed, and in February 1957, Bassey had her first hit with "Banana Boat Song", which reached #8 in the UK Singles Chart. During that year, she also recorded under the direction of American producer Mitch Miller in New York for the Columbia label, producing the single "If I Had a Needle and Thread" b/w "Tonight My Heart She Is Crying". She then travelled to Las Vegas to make her American stage debut at the El Rancho Vegas. In mid-1958, she recorded two singles that would become classics in the Bassey catalogue. "As I Love You" was released as the B-side of another ballad, "Hands Across the Sea"; it did not sell well at first, but after a chance appearance at the London Palladium things began to pick up. In January 1959, it reached number one and stayed there for four weeks. It thus became the first number one single by a Welsh artist. Bassey also recorded "Kiss Me, Honey Honey, Kiss Me" at this point, and while "As I Love You" raced up the charts, so too did this record, with both songs being in the top three at the same time. A few months later, Bassey signed to EMI's Columbia label, and the second phase in her recording career had begun.

1960 to 1979

In the early and mid 1960s, Bassey had numerous hits on the UK charts, and five albums in the top 15. Her 1960 recording of "As Long As He Needs Me" from Lionel Bart's ''Oliver!'' reached #2, and had a chart run of 30 weeks. In 1962, Bassey's collaboration with Nelson Riddle and his orchestra produced the album ''Let's Face the Music'' (#12) and the single "What Now My Love" (#5). Other top ten hits of the period included her second #1, the double A-side "Reach for the Stars"/"Climb Ev'ry Mountain" (1961), "I'll Get By" (also 1961), and a cover version of the Ben E. King hit "I (Who Have Nothing)" in 1963. During this period, Bassey appeared on the cover of Ebony magazine and sang at a Washington gala celebrating the end of President Kennedy's second year in office.

In 1965, Bassey enjoyed her first—and only—U.S. Top 40 ''Billboard'' Hot 100 hit with the title song of the James Bond film, ''Goldfinger''. The single peaked at #8, while the original soundtrack of ''Goldfinger'' hit #1 in the U.S. that same year. Also in 1965, she sang the title track for the spoof James Bond film ''The Liquidator'', and had a Top 20 live album recorded during a sell-out run at London's ''Pigalle''.

From 1964 onwards the "Goldfinger" single had a lasting impact on her career: writing for the sleeve notes of Bassey's ''25th Anniversary Album'', Clayton (1978) notes that: "Acceptance in America was considerably helped by the enormous popularity of (''Goldfinger'')...But she had actually established herself there as early as 1961, in cabaret in New York. She was also a success in Las Vegas...'I suppose I should feel hurt that I've never been really big in America on record since ''Goldfinger''...But, concertwise, I always sell out.'..." This was reflected in the fact that Bassey had only one solo LP to reach the Top 20 in a US chart (R&B;, ''Live at Carnegie Hall''), and she was technically a "one-hit wonder," making only one appearance in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, "Goldfinger". But in the aftermath of "Goldfinger" her UK sales started to falter as well: only two of her singles would enter the UK top 40 until 1970. She had signed to United Artists, and her first album on that label, 1966's ''I've Got a Song for You'', spent one week on the chart; from there until 1970, only two albums would chart, one of those a compilation. In 1967 came the release of one of her best-known singles "Big Spender", although it charted just outside the UK Top 20.

Bassey started living as a tax exile in 1968, and was not permitted to work in Britain for almost two years. Also in 1968, at the Sanremo Festival in Italy, she performed "La vita", an Italian song by Bruno Canfora and Antonio Amurri, with some lyrics re-written in English by Norman Newell for her performance. Her version of the song with chorus sung in Italian became a Top 40 hit on the Italian chart, and Bassey recorded several songs in Italian, some appearing on a 1968 Italian album titled ''La vita''. (Later, Newell would write English lyrics for the rest of "La vita", and the result was "This Is My Life".) But her UK sales continued to suffer.

Bassey's UK comeback came in 1970, leading to one of the most successful periods of her career. In this year, she returned to the UK with a record breaking run of performances at the ''Talk of the Town'' nightclub. Also in that year, she released the album ''Something'', which showcased a new Bassey style, a shift from traditional pop to more contemporary songs and arrangements (the single of the same name was more successful in the UK charts than the original Beatles recording - the only artist to have achieved this), though Bassey would never completely abandon what had been her forte, standards, show tunes, and torch songs. "Something" was also a Top 10 U.S. hit on the Adult Contemporary chart. Other singles of this period included top ten hits "For All We Know" (1971) and "Never Never Never" (1973) – the latter reaching the Top 10 in the U.S. Adult Contemporary Chart, the UK Top 10 and and number one in Australia and South Africa. The success of "Something" (single #4, album #5) spawned a series of successful albums on the UA label, including '' Something Else '' (1971), '' And I Love You So '' (1972), '' I Capricorn '' (1972), '' Never Never Never '' (1973), ''Good, Bad but Beautiful'' (1975), ''Love, Life and Feelings'' (1976), ''You Take My Heart Away'' (1977) and ''Yesterdays'' (1978). Bernard Ighner wrote and duetted with Bassey for the track "Davy" on the ''Nobody Does It Like Me'' album (1974). Additionally, two of Bassey's earlier LPs entered the charts, 1967's ''And We Were Lovers'' (re-issued as ''Big Spender''), and 1962's ''Let's Face the Music'' (re-issued as ''What Now My Love''). Two compilations, ''The Shirley Bassey Singles Album'' (1975) and ''25th Anniversary Album'' (1978) both made the UK top three: ''The Shirley Bassey Singles Album'' her highest charting album at No. 2 and earning a gold disc, and ''25th Anniversary Album'' going platinum.

Between 1970 and 1979, Bassey had 18 hit albums in the UK Albums Chart. In 1976 Bassey starred in the six-episode ''The Shirley Bassey Show'', the first of her television programs for the BBC, followed by a second series of six episodes in 1979. The final show of the first series was nominated for the Golden Rose of Montreux in 1977. The series featured guests including Neil Diamond, Michel Legrand, The Three Degrees and Dusty Springfield; filmed in various locations throughout the world as well as in the studio.

In 1978 Bassey pleaded guilty to being drunk and disorderly "after shouting abuse in the street and pushing a policeman".

Bassey closed out the decade with her third title theme for the Bond films, ''Moonraker'' (1979).

1980 to 1999

Throughout most of the 1980s, Bassey focused on charitable work and performing occasional concert tours throughout Europe, Australia, and the United States, having ended her contract with EMI-United Artists and taking what she referred to as 'semi-retirement'. In 1982 Bassey recorded an album entitled ''All by Myself'' and made a TV special for Thames Television called ''A Special Lady'' with guest Robert Goulet. In 1983 she recorded a duet with Alain Delon, "Thought I'd Ring You", which became a hit single in Europe. Bassey was now recording far less often but released an album in 1984 of her most famous songs, ''I Am What I Am'', performed with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Carl Davis. In 1986, she released a single and video to support the London Tourist Board, ''There's No Place Like London'' co-written by Lynsey de Paul and Gerard Kenny. In 1987 she recorded an album of James Bond themes, ''The Bond Collection'', but was apparently unhappy with the results, as she declined to release it. (Five years later it was released anyway, Bassey sued in court, and all unsold copies were withdrawn.) Also in 1987, Bassey provided vocals for Swiss artists Yello on "The Rhythm Divine", a song co-written by Scottish singer Billy Mackenzie. In 1989 she released an album sung entirely in Spanish, ''La Mujer''. In the latter mid-1980s Bassey had started working with a vocal coach, a former opera singer, and her 1991 album Keep the Music Playing displayed a grand, operatic pop style on several songs (perhaps also influenced by her album with the LSO seven years earlier).

In 1994 EMI released the five-CD box set ''Bassey – The EMI/UA Years 1959 – 1979''. The accompanying booklet opened with a poem by Marc Almond. In 1996, Bassey collaborated with Chris Rea in the film ''La Passione'', appearing in the film as herself and releasing the single "'Disco' La Passione". The remix of this single proved a major club hit throughout Europe, though charting just outside the UK top 40. Bassey released a new recording the following year, "History Repeating", written for her by the Propellerheads and scoring a #1 on the UK Dance Chart, and #10 on the US Dance Chart. It was also a top ten hit in Italy. The liner notes of the Propellerheads' album ''Decksandrumsandrockandroll'' included the lines "We would like to extend our maximum respect to Shirley Bassey for honouring us with her performance. We are still in shock ..." Bassey celebrated her 60th birthday in 1997 with two open-air concerts, at Castle Howard and Althorp Park, and another TV special. The resulting live album ''The Birthday Concert'' received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance. On 7 October 1998 in Egypt, Bassey performed for a benefit at an open air concert close to the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid.

In the 1998 film ''Little Voice'', Bassey was one of three central figures along with Marilyn Monroe and Judy Garland, and Bassey's track "Goldfinger" featured in the movie. Jane Horrocks, the lead actress in the film, went on to impersonate Bassey both on record and television, as well as during a UK tour.

In 1998 Bassey was sued by her former personal assistant in a breach of contract case, who also accused Bassey of hitting her and making an ethnic slur. Bassey won the case. The episode was lampooned by Alexander Baron in his one-act play, ''The Trial of Shirley Bassey''.

In 1999, she performed the official song for the Rugby World Cup, "World in Union", with Bryn Terfel at the opening ceremony at The Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, wearing a gown designed on the Welsh flag. Their single made the Top 40, and Bassey contributed two more songs to the official album ''Land of My Fathers'', which reached #1 on the UK compilations chart, and went silver.

2000 to date

In 2001, Bassey was principal artiste at the Duke of Edinburgh's 80th Birthday celebration. On 3 June 2002 Shirley Bassey was one of a prestigious line up of artists including Elton John, Paul McCartney, Queen, The Corrs, Annie Lennox, Eric Clapton, Tony Bennett, Clidd Richards, Joe Cocker, Rod Stewart, Ricky Martin, Phil Collins and Tom Jones who performed at the Queen’s 50th Jubilee Party at Buckingham Palace. Then, in 2003, Bassey celebrated 50 years in show business, releasing the CD ''Thank You for the Years'', which was another Top 20 album. A gala charity auction of her stage costumes at Christie's, 'Dame Shirley Bassey: 50 Years of Glittering Gowns', raised £250,000 (US$500,000) for the Dame Shirley Bassey Scholarship at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and the Noah's Ark Children's Hospital Appeal. Bassey topped the bill at the 2005 Royal Variety Performance, introducing her new song "The Living Tree".

Two popular ''Audiences with Shirley Bassey'' have aired on British TV, one in 1995 that attracted more than 10 million viewers in the UK, with the most recent in 2006. Bassey returned to perform in five arenas around the UK in June the same year, culminating at Wembley. She also performed a concert in front of 10,000 people at the Bryn Terfel Faenol Festival in North Wales broadcast by BBC Wales.

Marks & Spencer signed her for their Christmas 2006 'James Bond style' TV advertising campaign. Bassey is seen in a glamorous Ice Palace singing a cover version of Pink's song "Get the Party Started", wearing an M&S; gown.

"The Living Tree", written, produced and originally recorded by the group Never the Bride, was released as a single on 23 April 2007, marking Bassey's 50th anniversary in the UK Singles Chart – and the record for the longest span of Top 40 hits in UK chart history. A new album, ''Get the Party Started'', was subsequently released on 25 June 2007 and entered the UK Albums Chart at #6. The single of the title song reached #3 on the U.S. Dance Chart. The same year, Bassey performed "Big Spender" with Elton John at his annual White Tie and Tiara Ball to raise money for The Elton John AIDS Foundation. In 2007, Bassey performed in ''Fashion Rocks'' in aid of The Prince's Trust at the Royal Albert Hall.

She was rushed to hospital in Monaco on 23 May 2008 to have an emergency operation on her stomach after complaining of abdominal pains. She was forced to pull out of the Nelson Mandela 90th Birthday Tribute concert because of her illness. A biography, ''Diamond Diva'', was published in 2008. In 2009 her granddaughter appeared on ''The X Factor''.

In 2009 Bassey recorded a new album, ''The Performance'', with James Bond composer David Arnold as co-producer (with Mike Dixon). A number of artists wrote songs expressly for Bassey, including Manic Street Preachers, Gary Barlow, KT Tunstall, Pet Shop Boys, Nick Hodgson of the Kaiser Chiefs, John Barry and Don Black.

Bassey headlined at the BBC Electric Proms on 23 October 2009, in her only full live set of 2009.

In November 2009, she performed several of the new songs from The Performance on various TV shows: The Graham Norton Show, The Paul O'Grady Show and as the guest singer on Strictly Come Dancing.

Bassey performed at the Rainforest Foundation Fund 21st Birthday concert at Carnegie Hall, New York City on 13 May 2010.

On 30 March 2011, Bassey performed at a gala celebrating the 80th birthday of Mikhail Gorbachev. She also performed at the Classical Brit Awards in 2011, singing "Goldfinger" in tribute to John Barry.

On 20 June 2011, Bassey sang "Diamonds Are Forever" and "Goldfinger", accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, at the John Barry Memorial Concert the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Personal life

Bassey's first marriage was to Kenneth Hume (1961–65) and ended in divorce. In September 1965 Bassey announced her intention to re-marry Hume, but less than a year later revealed that this would not take place. Her second husband was Sergio Novak. Bassey and Novak were married from 1968 until they divorced in 1977; Novak served as Bassey's manager throughout this time. Bassey had two daughters, Sharon and Samantha. With Novak she also adopted her great-nephew, Mark. In 1985, 21-year-old Samantha Novak was found dead in the River Avon in Bristol, England. Bassey has always maintained that the death of her daughter was not a suicide. On 24 March 2010, Avon and Somerset Police confirmed they were undertaking fresh inquiries into the death of Novak, and specifically claims that the convicted killer Michael Moffat was involved in her death. However, in October 2010 it was reported that the investigation came to an end, and concluded that there "is no evidence of any criminal act involved" in Novak's death.

Bassey currently resides in Monte Carlo.

Awards and achievements

In recognition of her career longevity, and admiration from the British Royal Family, Bassey was created a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) on 31 December 1999 by HM Queen Elizabeth II. She was invited to perform in 2002 at the Party at the Palace, a public celebration of the Queen's Golden Jubilee. She was awarded France's top honour, the Legion d'Honneur, to signify her popularity and importance in the culture of France.

1972 – Best Female Singer – TV Times

1973 – Best Female Singer – TV Times

1974 – Best Female Entertainer – American Guild of Variety Artists

1976 – Best Female Singer – Music Week

1976 – 22-day British tour to mark twenty years as a recording artist

1976 – EMI Award for twenty years as a recording artist – UK

1977 – Best British Female Solo Artist in the previous 25 years – BRIT Award

1977 – Golden Rose of Montreux nomination for ''The Shirley Bassey Show''

1991 – Walk of Fame, Star Boulevard – plaque unveiled in Rotterdam

1993 – CBE – Commander of the Order of the British Empire

1995 – Showbusiness Personality of the Year – Variety Club of Great Britain

1997 – Grammy nomination – ''The Birthday Concert'' (recorded live at Althorp Park)

1998 – Longest run by a solo artist (ten shows) – Royal Festival Hall, London

1999 – Légion d'Honneur – France

1999 – Madam Tussaud's waxwork unveiled in London (second model in Las Vegas)

2000 – DBE – Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire

2000 – Most Successful British Female Singer – Guinness Book of Records 2003 – Outstanding Contribution to Music – National Music Awards, UK 2003 – Lifetime Achievement Award (inaugural award) – Western Mail Welsh Woman of the Year Awards

2004 – 100 Great Black Britons, Bassey voted into the top ten

2004 – Artist for Peace Award – UNESCO

2005 – Avenue of Stars – plaque unveiled in London

2008 – "Goldfinger" – United Artists single (1964) inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame

Discography

Bibliography

''Miss Shirley Bassey'' - John L. Williams (2010)

''Shirley Bassey: Diamond Diva'' – Peter Hogan (2008)

''Cardiff: Rebirth of a Capital'' (Foreword by Shirley Bassey) – Ungersma, Hurn (2005)

''Shirley Bassey: Welsh History Stories'' – Evans, Stokes, ap Emlyn, ap Emlyn (2003)

''Shirley Bassey: An appreciation'' – Muriel Burgess (1998, reprinted 1999)

''My Life on Record and in Concert'' – Shirley Bassey (Bloomsbury, 1998)

''The Trial of Shirley Bassey – A Play in One Act'' – Alexander Baron (1998)

''Shirley Bassey: This Is My Life'' (Piano/vocal/guitar) – Sheet music book

''Shirley Bassey: You're the Voice'' (Piano/vocal/guitar) – Sheet music book

''Guinness Book of British Hit Singles'' – 14th Edition – ISBN 0-85156-156-X

''Guinness Book of British Hit Singles'' – 16th Edition – ISBN 0-85112-190-X

''Guinness Book of British Hit Albums'' – 7th Edition – ISBN 0-85112-619-7

''The Book of Golden Discs'' – 2nd Edition – ISBN 0-214-20512-6

''The Guinness Book Of 500 Number One Hits'' – ISBN 0-85112-250-7

See also

List of best-selling music artists

References

External links

Dame Shirley Bassey — official website

Shirley Bassey discography at Discogs

The Bassey Blog — fansite

The Songs of Shirley Bassey (archived site) — interviews with Shirley Bassey, plus an extensive discography

The Dame Shirley Bassey Message Board — forum fansite

Bassified.com — extensive CD discography

Shirleybassey.nl — extensive CD discography with tracklists

Shirley Bassey biography on BBC Wales

Category:1937 births Category:Living people Category:Black British musicians Category:BRIT Award winners Category:Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Category:People from Cardiff Category:Traditional pop music singers Category:Welsh female singers Category:Welsh people of Nigerian descent Category:British expatriates in Monaco

cy:Shirley Bassey da:Shirley Bassey de:Shirley Bassey es:Shirley Bassey eo:Shirley Bassey fr:Shirley Bassey io:Shirley Bassey id:Shirley Bassey it:Shirley Bassey he:שירלי באסי lb:Shirley Bassey nl:Shirley Bassey no:Shirley Bassey oc:Shirley Bassey pl:Shirley Bassey pt:Shirley Bassey ru:Бэсси, Ширли scn:Shirley Bassey simple:Shirley Bassey fi:Shirley Bassey sv:Shirley Bassey tl:Shirley Bassey th:เชอร์ลีย์ บาสซีย์ tr:Shirley Bassey

"The Man" is a slang phrase that may refer to the government or to some other authority in a position of power. In addition to this derogatory connotation, it may also serve as a term of respect and praise.

The phrase "the Man is keeping me down" is commonly used to describe oppression. The phrase "stick it to the Man" encourages resistance to authority, and essentially means "fight back" or "resist", either openly or via sabotage.

History

The term "the Man" in the American sense dates back to the late 19th Century. In the Southern U.S. states, the phrase came to be applied to any man or any group in a position of authority, or to authority in the abstract. From about the 1950s the phrase was also an underworld code word for police, the warden of a prison or other law enforcement or penal authorities.

It was also used as a term for a drug dealer in the 1950s and 1960s and can be seen in such media as Curtis Mayfield's "No Thing On Me", William Burroughs's novel ''Naked Lunch'', and in the Velvet Underground song "I'm Waiting for the Man", in which Lou Reed sings about going to Uptown Manhattan, specifically Lexington Avenue and 125th Street, to buy heroin.

The use of this term was expanded to counterculture groups and their battles against authority, such as the Yippies, which, according to a May 19, 1969 article in ''U.S. News and World Report'', had the "avowed aim ... to destroy 'The Man', their term for the present system of government". The term eventually found its way into humorous usage, such as in a December 1979 motorcycle ad from the magazine ''Easyriders'' which featured the tagline, "California residents: Add 6% sales tax for The Man."

In present day, the phrase has been popularized in commercials and cinema.

Use as praise

The term has also been used as an approbation or form of praise. This may refer to the recipient's status as the leader or authority within a particular context, or it might be assumed to be a shortened form of a phrase like "He is the man (who is in charge)." One example of this usage dates to 1879 when Otto von Bismarck commented, referring to Benjamin Disraeli's pre-eminent position at the Congress of Berlin, "The old Jew, he is the man."

In more modern usage, it can be a superlative compliment ("you da man!") indicating that the subject is currently standing out amongst his peers even though they have no special designation or rank, such as a basketball player who is performing better than the other players on the court. It can also be used as a genuine compliment with an implied, slightly exaggerated or sarcastic tone, usually indicating that the person has indeed impressed the speaker but by doing something relatively trivial.

See also

Absentee landlord

Big Brother (''Nineteen Eighty-Four'')

New World Order (conspiracy theory)

Ruling class

The Establishment

Power elite

Corrections officer

YTMND

Notes

References

Lighter, J.E. (Ed.). (1997). ''Random House Dictionary of American Slang''. New York: Random House.

Category:Slang expressions Category:Stock characters Category:English idioms Category:Pejorative terms for people Category:Military-industrial complex

Francisco Scaramanga is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the James Bond film and novel ''The Man with the Golden Gun''. The film was so named because it described Scaramanga's possession of a golden gun.

In the novel, the character is nicknamed "Pistols" Scaramanga and is also called "Paco" (a Spanish diminutive of Francisco). Scaramanga was played by British actor Christopher Lee, who is also the cousin of Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond.

Novel biography

Francisco Scaramanga, of Catalan origin, became a trick shot and performed in acts in a circus owned by his father Enrico while a youngster, and he also cared for one of the circus elephants, which he stated was his only real friend. When the elephant went on a rampage during the circus visit to Trieste, Scaramanga witnessed a policeman kill him. The enraged boy retaliated by killing the policeman with a single shot through the eye, being 16 at the time. He then made his way to the United States from Naples, where he found employment as an enforcer for the Spangled Mob, an outfit that plays a role in two other Bond novels: ''Diamonds Are Forever'' (where they were the main foe of Agent 007) and ''Goldfinger'' as an accomplice to Auric Goldfinger's Operation Grandslam. He acted like a pitboy at the casino of Tiara Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, while in fact he was executioner of cheats and other transgressors within and outside the gang. In 1958 he was forced to emigrate from the U.S because of his gun duel with Ramon "The Rod" Rodriquez, his opposite from the Detroit Purple Gang, also featured in the novel ''Goldfinger'', killing Ramon and earning $100 for it. He spent some time travelling the Caribbean as a representative of Las Vegas interests in real-estate and plantation dealing, later switching to Trujillo of the Dominican Republic and Batista of Cuba where he settled in 1959, in Havana. While remaining a Batista man he started an undercover work for Fidel Castro's party, becoming an "enforcer" for DSS after the revolution.

By the time Bond finally encounters him in ''The Man with the Golden Gun'', Scaramanga is a Caribbean gunman who often works for Fidel Castro's secret police, in addition to being engaged in other criminal enterprises such as drug-running into the United States in partnership with the KGB. Bond's service has evaluated him as one of the finest shots in the world, and M authorizes Bond to assassinate Scaramanga— if he can.

Bond catches up with Scaramanga in Jamaica, where Bond pretends to be a freelance security officer, and Scaramanga hires him to guard an upcoming meeting of gangsters. During the meeting, a KGB officer blows Bond's cover, subsequently pitting Scaramanga and Bond in a shootout. Bond wounds Scaramanga, but before he can finish the gunman off, Scaramanga shoots Bond with a poisoned bullet from his backup weapon, a golden Derringer. Bond returns fire with his .32 Walther PPK pistol, killing Scaramanga instantly; soon therefore, a policewoman finds the nearly dead Bond in time to save him.

In the novel, British intelligence also has an in-depth psychological profile on Scaramanga, which is printed in the book before the mission begins. He is 6 ft 3 inches (190 cm) tall (as such he is the one of four Fleming 007 villains taller than Bond's 6 ft [183 cm], the others being Mr Big, Ernst Stavro Blofeld and Julius No), slim and fit. He is about 35 (he is also perhaps the only Fleming villain younger than Bond, the fact hinted in the novel); and has light blue eyes. His hair is reddish in a crew-cut with long sideburns.

The profile (read by M) is unusually disturbing in describing his background and psyche. The profile also claims that Scaramanga might be a latent homosexual.

Film biography

In the film ''The Man with the Golden Gun'', Francisco is a high-priced assassin, supposedly the best in the world, charging one million dollars per kill. He's best known for being "The man with the golden gun", because he only uses bullets made of gold in a fictitious, 4.2 mm cartridge. All of Scaramanga's dealings go through his henchman Nick Nack, which allows Scaramanga to be anonymous.

Francisco Scaramanga was a British national born in a travelling circus. His father was the ringmaster, a former Cuban national and his mother was the snake charmer. By age 10, he was part of the circus as a trick-shot pistol marksman. At age 15, he became an international assassin-for-hire. He was recruited some years later by the KGB while living in Ipanema, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and trained in Eastern Europe where for many years he was basically just another "overworked and underpaid assassin" for the KGB. He quit the KGB in the late 1950s, becoming an independent hitman-for hire. No photographs of him exist, but he has unusual anatomy: a third nipple. This information later comes in handy to Bond, who uses Scaramanga's anonymity and only known physical feature to get into contact with Scaramanga's current employer, the crime lord Hai-Fat — though Scaramanga is already at Hai-Fat's estate, and Hai-Fat quickly guesses who Bond really is.

Later in the film, Scaramanga reveals to Bond that as a boy living in the travelling circus, he shot and killed an abusive animal trainer for killing an elephant that he had befriended. Scaramanga also demonstrates his marksmanship to Bond by using a Colt Single Action Army to shoot the cork off a bottle of champagne from long range (Scaramanga's golden gun in the novel is a gold-plated Single Action Army), claiming later that it was a toy.

Scaramanga lives very well, drawing from the exorbitant sums of money he charges to carry out his assassinations, and has built his home on his own personal island somewhere off the coast of south-eastern China - paying for lease of the island and protection through assassinations ('favours') for the Chinese. Despite his assertion that "science was never [his] strong point," the island utilizes many aspects of modern technology, including its own self-sufficient solar power plant. In addition to the power plant, Scaramanga's home also includes a section which is something between a labrynthine maze and a funhouse, where Scaramanga and his foes duel to the death. Nick Nack hires assassins to kill Scaramanga as a challenge to keep him on his toes. Scaramanga is well aware of and approves of Nick Nack's efforts, and wishes him better luck next time when his hired guns fail. In addition, Scaramanga also has a private junk, which Bond later steals to get off the exploding island.

Scaramanga also uses some of his wealth to finance research and development of technologies that rival those developed by MI6's Q Branch. Such technologies include a car that transforms into an aircraft and a solar-powered laser cannon.

Scaramanga was hired by Hai-Fat to assassinate a British scientist named Gibson, thought to be in possession of solar energy information and technology crucial to solving the energy crisis. Gibson is assassinated and his invention, the solex agitator, is stolen from the crime scene by Nick Nack. The solex agitator is a critical component of Gibson's solar energy device.

However, instead of turning the device over to Hai-Fat, Scaramanga instead kills Hai-Fat with his golden gun and takes the device for himself. With it in his possession, it allows for him to sell the device to the highest criminal bidder or use it to power his personal solar energy cannon.

Scaramanga also desires to test his skills against the famed James Bond, whom he regards as the only man capable of being his equal. Besides the profit and/or power the solex agitator can give him, Scaramanga's scheme in acquiring the device is also intended to lure Bond to Scaramanga's private island so that the two of them can engage in one final, decisive duel (Although Bond is using his six-bullet .32 Walther PPK pistol while Scaramanga uses the golden gun, Scaramanga states that he 'only needs one', Bond's superior number of bullets being offset by Scaramanga's advantages of fighting on his own ground).

After taking Goodnight (Bond's semi-partner in the film) hostage, Scaramanga lures Bond to his private island. Scaramanga seems excited about Bond's visit and gives him a tour about his plan for solar power. Bond has lunch with Goodnight and Scaramanga but Bond presses his luck which provokes him and Scaramanga into a duel. Once in the funhouse, Bond takes the place of a dummy "James Bond" and tricks Scaramanga into coming out in the open to look for Bond with his pistol drawn. Before he could react to the deception, Scaramanga is shot in the heart by Bond with a .32 Walther PPK pistol and killed.

Henchmen

Nick Nack

Kra

Andrea Anders

Scaramanga apparently lives alone on his private island, accompanied only by Nick Nack, Miss Anders (his kept woman), and a mechanic named Kra who is in charge of maintenance and security.

Hit list

This is the death toll caused by Scaramanga in the film.

Rodney, arguably the same Slumber Inc. employee from ''Diamonds Are Forever''.

Bill Fairbanks, MI6 Agent 002

Dan Gibson, inventor of the solex agitator

Hai-Fat

Andrea Anders

In other media

Scaramanga has been featured as a villain in various video games.

In 2004, Scaramanga returned for the game ''GoldenEye: Rogue Agent'', as an ally of Auric Goldfinger. He is the manufacturer of the synthetic eye given to the player (GoldenEye) and makes a virus used against Goldfinger's O.M.E.N. device. Once again, Scaramanga was voiced by Christopher Lee. The game also features a Multiplayer "Funhouse" level, including the traps that caused Bond to lose most of his bullets, such as Al Capone and Cowboy mannequins and an image of Scaramanga. In addition, the level includes a Bond mannequin, whose gun the player can take and use.

Scaramanga is a playable character in the multiplayer portion of 2003's ''Nightfire'' and 2010's ''GoldenEye 007''. In the original ''GoldenEye'' game, it is said in the briefing for the "Egyptian" mission that the Golden Gun was stolen from Scaramanga by Baron Samedi.

The Golden Gun

In Ian Fleming's novel, the Golden Gun was a gold-plated, single-action Colt Peacemaker .45 calibre revolver that fired silver-jacketed bullets with a gold core. However, in the film, it was a single-shot weapon that fired a custom made 4.2-millimetre golden (23-carat gold with traces of nickel) dum-dum bullet. The movie gun could be disassembled and its components disguised as a fountain pen (the barrel), a cigarette lighter (breech), cuff-link (trigger), and a cigarette case (the grip), all gold-plated.

Scaramanga used the Golden Gun in numerous assassinations of officials, political enemies, gangsters, and a 00-agent, Bill Fairbanks (002). Scaramanga later used the Golden Gun to kill British scientist Gibson and Scaramanga's own employer, Hai-Fat. But, when Scaramanga was killed and his island destroyed, the Golden Gun was presumably also lost.

The Golden Gun ranked sixth in a 2008 20th Century Fox poll of the most popular film weapons, which surveyed approximately two thousand film fans.

In October 2008, the Golden Gun was stolen from the company Elstree Props which is based in Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire. At the time, the prop was estimated to be worth of £80,000.

Video games

Francisco Scaramanga's weapon, the golden gun, was initially added to the Egyptian level and multiplayer portion of the video game ''GoldenEye 007''. Due to its popularity it was also added into subsequent James Bond games ''The World is Not Enough'', ''Agent Under Fire'', ''Nightfire'', ''Everything or Nothing'', ''GoldenEye: Rogue Agent'', ''From Russia With Love'' and ''Quantum of Solace'', as well as the 2010 video game 2010 remake of ''GoldenEye'' for the Nintendo Wii. In ''The World is Not Enough'' for the Nintendo 64, the gun must be assembled from the pen, lighter, and case before it could be used. In each of the games (except ''Everything or Nothing''), the golden gun would count for an instant kill, which reflected that Scaramanga never missed, although in the games the player can and because of this, the golden gun is not available in single player mode (except ''Everything or Nothing'') but golden versions of the game's standard weapon(s) are usually available (such as a golden Walther PPK, P99, and a golden rocket launcher). In ''GoldenEye'', the Golden Gun appears in a special mission. In the mission, the Golden Gun is stolen by Baron Samedi, and Bond needs to defeat Samedi and recover the Golden Gun. Although Samedi isn't killed, Bond escapes with the Golden Gun. Interestingly, another first-person shooter game from Rare, the makers of ''GoldenEye 007'', In the ''Quantum of Solace'' video game, the gun appears to be designed on the gun from the novel, similar to a gold-plated revolver, rather than the design used in the film. It is likely to be based on a Smith & Wesson Model 686 in the game.

''Perfect Dark'', made by ''GoldeneEye'' developer Rareware, also featured a golden gun which would count for an instant kill, this time a customized Colt Python revolver belonging to NSA boss, Trent Easton.

In a game totally unrelated to James Bond canon, ''killer7'', the main character, Garcian Smith, having just lost his team of heroic assassins to a new type of enemy, must use a Golden Gun to finish the team's mission. This gun is capable of killing ALL the enemies he comes across in one shot. It appears to be in a design similar to the Golden Gun depicted in the novels, rather than that found in the movie.

Reception

Chris Nashawaty argues that Scaramanga is the best villain of the Roger Moore James Bond films.

Trivia

Ian Fleming is reported to have named Francisco Scaramanga after George Ambrose Scaramanga, a fellow student at Eton with whom he reportedly shared a lasting rivalry. Fleming and Scaramanga were at Eton in the 1930s until the Bond author was expelled. According to the story, following several schoolground spats Fleming decided to use the animosity he felt towards George Scaramanga for the influence behind one of his most famous villains.

Ian Fleming asked Pandias Peter Scaramanga - whom he met on the Greek island of Hydra - if he minded his name being used for a villain. Scaramanga said that he didn't mind, but that for superstitious reasons preferred the character not be killed. Fleming died before completing the novel.

Scaramanga was mentioned in the British television show ''Dead Ringers'' on a sketch parodying ''Die Another Day''. In the sketch, a stereotypical Bond villain is advertising a supervillain's torture machine called "The Dr Diabolical's Super-Hero Slice-A-Matic Deluxe 4000". Scaramanga said of it, "I couldn't believe how much time it saved me."

Scaramanga was listed in the Top 11 Classy Assassins list on UGO

Christopher Lee is the step-cousin of Ian Fleming, the author of the James Bond novels. Lee was also considered for the role of Dr. No, but the part eventually went to Joseph Wiseman.

Christopher Lee is one of the tallest actors in the James Bond film series at 6'5". Ironically and significantly, he was cast alongside the shortest of all actors in the series, Hervé Villechaize, at 3'11".

References

Category:Fictional assassins Category:James Bond characters Category:Supervillains first appearing in novels Category:Fictional Spanish people Category:The Man with the Golden Gun (film) Category:Fictional characters introduced in 1965 es:Francisco Scaramanga fr:Francisco Scaramanga nl:Francisco Scaramanga pl:Scaramanga (postać) pt:Francisco Scaramanga sv:Francisco Scaramanga