117-573: Lionel Bart (1 August 1930 – 3 April 1999) was an English writer and composer of pop music and musicals. He wrote Tommy Steele 's " Rock with the Caveman " and was the sole creator of the musical Oliver! (1960). With Oliver! and his work alongside theatre director Joan Littlewood at Theatre Royal, Stratford East , he played an instrumental role in the 1960s birth of the British musical theatre scene after an era when American musicals had dominated
234-642: A comic book adaptation of the screenplay, written by Norman J. Nodel, was published in Britain as part of the Classics Illustrated anthology series. It was later reprinted in the United States by DC Comics as part of its Showcase anthology series, in January 1963. This was the first American comic book appearance of James Bond and is noteworthy for being a relatively rare example of
351-541: A dual role in his second film vehicle, The Duke Wore Jeans , released in March 1958. The film's soundtrack topped the UK Albums Chart . In May 1958, Steele was hospitalised after being mobbed by fans at a concert at Caird Hall , Dundee , having had his right arm hurt, chunks of his hair pulled out and his shirt ripped off. Steele subsequently largely withdrew from performing concerts and increasingly worked in
468-610: A publicity stunt in which Steele performed at a staged debutante ball , getting the singer his first national press in The People under the headline " Rock 'n' roll has got the debs too!". Within weeks, Steele was headlining variety bills. Steele's first single, " Rock with the Caveman ", was one of the first British rock and roll hits, reaching number 13 on the UK Singles Chart in November 1956. He promoted
585-506: A reality competition show based on the franchise, 007: Road to a Million , was released on Amazon Prime Video . In 1958, the novel Moonraker was adapted for broadcast on South African radio, with Bob Holness providing the voice of Bond. According to The Independent , "listeners across the Union thrilled to Bob's cultured tones as he defeated evil master criminals in search of world domination". The BBC have adapted five of
702-527: A British comic being reprinted in a fairly high-profile American comic. It was also one of the earliest comics to be censored on racial grounds (some skin tones and dialogue were changed for the American market). With the release of the 1981 film For Your Eyes Only , Marvel Comics published a two-issue comic book adaptation of the film. When Octopussy was released in the cinemas in 1983, Marvel published an accompanying comic; Eclipse also produced
819-624: A Mark II Continental Bentley, which he used in the remaining books of the series. During Goldfinger , Bond was issued an Aston Martin DB Mark III with a homing device, which he used to track Goldfinger across France. Bond returned to his Bentley for the subsequent novels. The Bond of the films has driven a number of cars, including the Aston Martin V8 Vantage , during the 1980s, the V12 Vanquish and DBS during
936-568: A Mind to Kill , was published on 26 May 2022. Charlie Higson's first adult Bond novel, On His Majesty's Secret Service , was published on 4 May 2023 to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III and support the National Literacy Trust . The Young Bond series of novels was started by Charlie Higson and, between 2005 and 2009, five novels and one short story were published. The first Young Bond novel, SilverFin
1053-687: A Sixpence and played character roles in The Happiest Millionaire and Finian's Rainbow . In this last film, he played Og, the leprechaun turning human and co-starred with Petula Clark and Fred Astaire . In 1968, British exhibitors voted him the fourth most popular star at the local box office. The following year, he starred with Stanley Baker in the period drama Where's Jack? In April 1971, Steele starred in his own show, Meet Me in London , originating in Las Vegas before
1170-510: A diagnosis of cardiomyopathy . Steele attended Bacon's College in Rotherhithe , south London. Through his paternal line, the full family name (Still-Hicks) influenced his future stage name, as he adapted it to become known professionally as Tommy Steele. Whilst working as a merchant seaman , Steele learned to play guitar and began performing country and calypso music , inspired most by Hank Williams . He has claimed that when
1287-644: A factory; they had married in 1933, in Bermondsey. As a child, Steele spent time in hospital for porphyria . He dreamt of being a star performer after his parents took him to the London Palladium , but "didn't think you could be English and be a star". In 1952, at the age of 15, Steele joined the Merchant Navy , working on the Cunard line. He was not eligible for national service because of
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#17327801443331404-421: A fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming , who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have written authorised Bond novels or novelisations: Kingsley Amis , Christopher Wood , John Gardner , Raymond Benson , Sebastian Faulks , Jeffery Deaver , William Boyd , and Anthony Horowitz . The latest novel
1521-507: A friend, "I am going to write the spy story to end all spy stories." On 17 February 1952, he began writing his first James Bond novel, Casino Royale , at his Goldeneye estate in Jamaica, where he wrote all his Bond novels during the months of January and February each year. He started the story shortly before his wedding to his pregnant girlfriend, Ann Charteris, in order to distract himself from his forthcoming nuptials. After completing
1638-438: A game based on then-upcoming film Casino Royale : the game was cancelled because it would not be ready by the film's release in November of that year. With MGM losing revenue from lost licensing fees, the franchise was moved from EA to Activision . Activision subsequently released the 007: Quantum of Solace game on 31 October 2008, based on the film of the same name. A new version of GoldenEye 007 featuring Daniel Craig
1755-442: A licensed tabletop role-playing game , James Bond 007: Role-Playing In Her Majesty's Secret Service , was published by Victory Games (a branch of Avalon Hill ) and designed by Gerard Christopher Klug . It was the most popular espionage role-playing game for its time. In addition to providing materials for players to create original scenarios, the game also offered players the opportunity to have adventures modelled after many of
1872-404: A limited run at London's Adelphi Theatre . The London production was troubled when Steele demanded cuts to the first act on opening night. Singer Clodagh Rodgers refused to accommodate the cuts, and walked out fifteen minutes before the first night curtain. She was eventually replaced by Susan Maughan . In 1978, Steele performed in a TV movie version of Gilbert and Sullivan 's The Yeomen of
1989-612: A loose band, the Cavemen. Usually with the Cavemen, Steele began playing in Soho bars, including " Blue Suede Shoes " and " Heartbreak Hotel " alongside country songs in his set. A performance backed by members of the Vipers Skiffle Group at the 2i's Coffee Bar was seen by John Kennedy, a photographer and publicity man who, within two weeks, got Steele a deal with Decca . With impresario Larry Parnes , Kennedy arranged
2106-459: A more masculine look. The first strip, Casino Royale was published from 7 July 1958 to 13 December 1958 and was written by Anthony Hern and illustrated by John McLusky. Most of the Bond novels and short stories have since been adapted for illustration, as well as Kingsley Amis's Colonel Sun ; the works were written by Henry Gammidge or Jim Lawrence (except for the adaptation of Dr. No which
2223-518: A neutral figure—an anonymous, blunt instrument wielded by a government department." Fleming decided that Bond should resemble both American singer Hoagy Carmichael and himself and 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
2340-665: A new stage production of The Glenn Miller Story " which enjoyed two UK tours before heading for a summer season at the " London Coliseum ." He was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1958 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at the BBC Television Theatre . In December 2019, he hosted a 'Magic of the Musicals' event at the British Film Institute, where he narrated and spoke about some of his favourite musical theatre film routines. Steele
2457-547: A novel titled The Final Run about World War II and the evacuation of Dunkirk . He also wrote a children's novel, entitled Quincy , about a reject toy trying to save himself and his fellow rejects in the basement of a toy store from the furnace the day after Christmas. Released in 1981, it was based on his own television film, Quincy's Quest , from 1979, in which Steele played Quincy and Mel Martin played Quincy's girlfriend doll, Rebecca. Steele co-wrote many of his early songs with Lionel Bart and Mike Pratt , but he used
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#17327801443332574-503: A number of UK hits under his new stage name Marty Wilde . Twenty-seven years after it became a number one hit for Cliff Richard, "Living Doll" was re-recorded by The Young Ones and Richard for Comic Relief , and spent another three weeks at number one. Bart's first professional musical was 1959's Lock Up Your Daughters , based on the 18th-century play Rape upon Rape by Henry Fielding . Following that, Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be , produced by Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop,
2691-575: A number of different Aston Martins for filming and publicity, one of which was sold in January 2006 at an auction in the US for $ 2.1 million to an unnamed European collector. In 2010, another DB5 used in Goldfinger was sold at auction for $ 4.6m million (£2.6 million). James Bond possesses a diverse set of skills that contribute to his effectiveness as a secret agent: Fleming's novels and early screen adaptations presented minimal equipment such as
2808-442: A number of such title characters (e.g. Richard Hannay and Bulldog Drummond ). The documentary included James Bond in dramatised scenes from Goldfinger —notably featuring 007 being threatened with the novel's circular saw, rather than the film's laser beam—and Diamonds Are Forever . In 1991, a spin-off animated series, James Bond Jr. , was produced with Corey Burton in the role of Bond's nephew, James Bond Jr. In 2022,
2925-591: A one-hour show in 1954 as part of the CBS series Climax! . The Bond films are renowned for a number of features, including their soundtracks , with the theme songs having received Academy Award nominations on several occasions, and three wins. Other important elements which run through most of the films include Bond's cars, his guns, and the gadgets with which he is supplied by Q Branch . The films are also noted for Bond's relationships with various women, who are popularly referred to as " Bond girls ". Ian Fleming created
3042-418: A one-hour television adventure, "Casino Royale" , as part of its Climax! series. The episode aired live on 21 October 1954 and starred Barry Nelson as "Card Sense" James Bond and Peter Lorre as Le Chiffre. The novel was adapted for American audiences to show Bond as an American agent working for "Combined Intelligence", while the character Felix Leiter —American in the novel—became British onscreen and
3159-453: A one-off comic for Licence to Kill , although Timothy Dalton refused to allow his likeness to be used. New Bond stories were also drawn up and published from 1989 onwards through Marvel, Eclipse Comics , Dark Horse Comics and Dynamite Entertainment . Eon Productions, the company of Canadian Harry Saltzman and American Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli , released the first cinema adaptation of an Ian Fleming novel, Dr. No (1962), based on
3276-566: A production of Scrooge: The Musical , an adaptation of Scrooge . Following this return, he reprised his role at the Palace Theatre , Manchester, over Christmas 2004 and brought the production to the London Palladium for Christmas 2005 and which toured over the next ten years. In 2008, at the age of 71, Steele toured in the lead role of the stage musical Doctor Dolittle . In 2015, Steele began touring as Glenn Miller in
3393-471: A revue together called IYC Revue 52 . The following year the pair auditioned for a production of the Leonard Irwin play The Wages of Eve at London's Unity Theatre . Shortly afterward Bart began composing songs for Unity Theatre productions, contributing material (including the title song) to its 1953 revue Turn It Up , and songs for its 1953 pantomime, an agitprop version of Cinderella . While at
3510-470: A share of takings from syndication. After initial reluctance, Fleming, who felt the strips would lack the quality of his writing, agreed. To aid the Daily Express in illustrating Bond, Fleming commissioned an artist to create a sketch of how he believed James Bond looked. The illustrator, John McLusky , however, felt that Fleming's 007 looked too "outdated" and "pre-war" and changed Bond to give him
3627-553: A share of the production royalties. At the peak of his career, Bart was romantically linked in the media with singers Judy Garland and Alma Cogan , though he was homosexual . His sexual preferences were known to friends and colleagues, but he did not announce them publicly until a few years before his death. Bart died at the Hammersmith Hospital in West London on 3 April 1999, of liver cancer. A memorial bench
Lionel Bart - Misplaced Pages Continue
3744-465: A ship he was serving on docked in Norfolk, Virginia , U.S., he saw Buddy Holly perform and fell in love with rock and roll . The story conflicts with the known performances of Holly, making it appear impossible that it could have occurred as described. On shore leave in summer 1956, Steele met writer Lionel Bart and actor Mike Pratt at a Soho party. The trio began writing together and formed
3861-466: A specially recorded festive tale, The Christmas Mystery of Muchhope . This story was re-released for the festive period of 2022 with new edits and sound effects and a new story, 'The Magic of Christmas,' was written and recorded by Steele for a limited release for Christmas 2023. In June 2021, to celebrate his 65 years in the entertainment industry, his authorised biography, A Life in the Spotlight ,
3978-696: A three-day concert visit to Moscow , where The Tommy Steele Story was screened at the Kremlin . In his first colour film, Tommy the Toreador (1959), Steele proved "a real, true Danny Kaye ", according to its cinematographer Gilbert Taylor . A hit single from the film, " Little White Bull ", became a children's favourite after it was released in aid of a cancer research unit for children. Considered Britain's first rock and roll star, Steele has been described by AllMusic as "the English teenager who let
4095-581: A very nice lady at that!" Boothroyd suggested that Bond should swap his Beretta for a 7.65mm Walther PPK and this exchange of arms made it to Dr. No . Boothroyd also gave Fleming advice on the Berns-Martin triple draw shoulder holster and a number of the weapons used by SMERSH and other villains. In thanks, Fleming gave the MI6 Armourer in his novels the name Major Boothroyd and, in Dr. No , M ,
4212-490: Is With a Mind to Kill by Anthony Horowitz, published in May 2022. Additionally, Charlie Higson wrote a series on a young James Bond , and Kate Westbrook wrote three novels based on the diaries of a recurring series character , Moneypenny . The character—also known by the code number 007 (pronounced "double-oh-seven")—has also been adapted for television, radio, comic strips, video games and film. The films constitute one of
4329-446: 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 endowed Bond with many of his own traits, including sharing the same golf handicap, the taste for scrambled eggs, and using the same brand of toiletries. Bond's tastes are also often taken from Fleming's own as
4446-689: Is a respected sculptor and four of his major works have been on public display. Bermondsey Boy at Rotherhithe Town Hall in London, was stolen in 1998: its whereabouts are unknown. Eleanor Rigby , which he sculpted and donated to the City of Liverpool as a tribute to the Beatles , stands in Stanley Street , Liverpool, not far from the Cavern Club . Union , featuring two rugby players,
4563-544: Is dedicated to him in Kew Gardens . A workshop of a musical based on Bart's life and using his songs, It's a Fine Life , was staged in 2006 at the Queen's Theatre , Hornchurch. A later version titled More! was presented in concert at Theatre Royal Stratford East in 2015 featuring Neil McDermott as Bart, Jessica Hynes as Joan Littlewood and Sonny Jay as Charlene, with an appearance by 1960s pop-star Grazina Frame , who
4680-615: Is on display at Twickenham Stadium . Trinity , designed during the regeneration of the docklands area in Bermondsey, stood outside the Trinity building in Bermondsey. When Steele lived in Montrose House , Petersham, Surrey , his life-sized sculpture of Charlie Chaplin as " The Tramp " stood outside his front door. He is also an artist of some note and has exhibited at the Royal Academy . In 1981, Steele wrote and published
4797-490: Is the sixth actor to play Bond in the Eon series. There have also been two independent Bond film productions: Casino Royale (a 1967 spoof starring David Niven ) and Never Say Never Again (a 1983 remake of an earlier Eon-produced film, 1965's Thunderball , both starring Connery). The James Bond franchise is one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time . Casino Royale has also been adapted for television, as
Lionel Bart - Misplaced Pages Continue
4914-550: The 1979 New Year Honours , he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his work as an entertainer and actor. He was knighted in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to entertainment and charity. Steele's teen idol stardom was the subject of several contemporary parodies. On his album The Best of Sellers (1958), Peter Sellers portrays Cockney rock and roll star named "Mr. Iron" in
5031-826: The Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service , introduces him to Bond as "the greatest small-arms expert in the world". Bond also used a variety of rifles , including the Savage Model 99 in "For Your Eyes Only" and a Winchester .308 target rifle in "The Living Daylights". Other handguns used by Bond in the Fleming books included the Colt Detective Special and a long-barrelled Colt .45 Army Special . The first Bond film, Dr. No , saw M ordering Bond to leave his Beretta behind and take up
5148-517: The Eon Productions Bond 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, the thriller writer John Gardner picked up the series with Licence Renewed . Gardner went on to write sixteen Bond books in total; two of the books he wrote were novelisations of Eon Productions films of
5265-510: The Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008. Several of the songs produced for the films have been nominated for Academy Awards for Original Song , including Paul McCartney 's " Live and Let Die ", Carly Simon 's " Nobody Does It Better ", Sheena Easton 's " For Your Eyes Only ", Adele 's " Skyfall ", Sam Smith 's " Writing's on the Wall ", and Billie Eilish 's " No Time to Die ". Adele won
5382-614: The Nintendo 64 followed by 007 Racing for the PlayStation on 21 November 2000. In 2003, the company released James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing , which included the likenesses and voices of Pierce Brosnan, Willem Dafoe , Heidi Klum , Judi Dench and John Cleese , amongst others. In November 2005, Electronic Arts released a video game adaptation of 007: From Russia with Love , which involved Sean Connery's image and voice-over for Bond. In 2006, Electronic Arts announced
5499-577: The West End . Best known for creating the book, music and lyrics for Oliver! , Bart was described by Andrew Lloyd Webber as "the father of the modern British musical". In 1963 he won the Tony Award for Best Original Score for Oliver! , and the 1968 film version of the musical won a total of 6 Academy Awards including the Academy Award for Best Picture . Some of his other songs include
5616-407: The eponymous 1958 novel and featuring Sean Connery as 007 . Connery starred in a further four films before leaving the role after You Only Live Twice (1967), which was taken up by George Lazenby for On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969). Lazenby left the role after just one appearance and Connery was brought back for his last Eon-produced film Diamonds Are Forever . Roger Moore
5733-530: The pseudonym Kate Westbrook, who is depicted as the book's "editor". The first instalment of the trilogy, subtitled Guardian Angel , was released on 10 October 2005 in the UK. A second volume, subtitled Secret Servant was released on 2 November 2006 in the UK, published by John Murray . A third volume, subtitled Final Fling was released on 1 May 2008. In 1954, CBS paid Ian Fleming $ 1,000 ($ 11,346 in 2023 dollars ) to adapt his novel Casino Royale into
5850-450: The "castration of early rock and roll". In 2009, the greatest hits collection The Very Best of Tommy Steele reached the Top 40 in the UK Albums Chart , the first UK chart entry for Steele in over 46 years. The increase in home-grown musical talent during the 1950s and 1960s allowed Steele to progress to a career in stage and film musicals, leaving behind his pop-idol identity. In 1957, he
5967-442: The 1950s two weeks after the events of Goldfinger , it contains material written, but previously unreleased, by Fleming. Trigger Mortis was released on 8 September 2015. Horowitz's second Bond novel, Forever and a Day , tells the origin story of Bond as a 00 agent prior to the events of Casino Royale . The novel, also based on unpublished material from Fleming, was released on 31 May 2018. Horowitz's third Bond novel, With
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#17327801443336084-786: The 2000s, as well as the Lotus Esprit ; the BMW Z3 , BMW 750iL and the BMW Z8 . He has, however, also needed to drive a number of other vehicles, ranging from a Citroën 2CV to a Routemaster Bus, amongst others. Bond's most famous car is the silver grey Aston Martin DB5 , first seen in Goldfinger ; it later featured in Thunderball , GoldenEye , Tomorrow Never Dies , Casino Royale , Skyfall and Spectre . The films have used
6201-509: The American ornithologist James Bond , a Caribbean bird expert and author of the definitive field guide Birds of the West Indies . Fleming, a keen birdwatcher himself, had a copy of Bond's guide and he later explained to the ornithologist's wife that "It struck me that this brief, unromantic, Anglo-Saxon and yet very masculine name was just what I needed, and so a second James Bond was born". He further explained that: When I wrote
6318-606: The BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Award for UK Developer of the Year in 1998, and sold over eight million copies worldwide, grossing $ 250 million, making it the third- best-selling Nintendo 64 game . It is frequently cited as one of the greatest video games of all time . In 1999, Electronic Arts acquired the licence and released Tomorrow Never Dies on 16 December 1999. In October 2000, they released The World Is Not Enough for
6435-712: The BBC programme Six-Five Special (1957–58), though agent Ian Bevan restricted the singer's bookings in the belief that television "tends to cheapen an artist of that nature". He performed at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC's Third Annual Festival of Dance Music in April 1957 and topped the bill at the Royal Variety Performance at the London Palladium in November 1957. In 2008, theatre producer Bill Kenwright alleged that Elvis Presley
6552-491: The Eon Productions film adaptations, albeit with modifications to provide challenges by preventing players from slavishly imitating Bond's actions in the stories. For the first five novels, Fleming armed Bond with a Beretta 418 until he received a letter from a thirty-one-year-old Bond enthusiast and gun expert, Geoffrey Boothroyd , criticising Fleming's choice of firearm for Bond, calling it "a lady's gun—and not
6669-512: The Fleming novels for broadcast: in 1990 You Only Live Twice was adapted into a 90-minute radio play for BBC Radio 4 with Michael Jayston playing James Bond. The production was repeated a number of times between 2008 and 2011. On 24 May 2008 BBC Radio 4 broadcast an adaptation of Dr. No . The actor Toby Stephens , who played Bond villain Gustav Graves in the Eon Productions version of Die Another Day , played Bond, while Dr. No
6786-623: The Guard (misspelt as "The Yeoman..."), singing the role of the hapless jester Jack Point. In 1983, Steele directed and starred in the West End stage production of Singin' in the Rain at the London Palladium . In 1991, he toured with Some Like It Hot the stage version of the Billy Wilder film. In 2003, after a decade-long hiatus, save his one-man shows An Evening With Tommy Steele and What A Show! , he toured as Ebenezer Scrooge in
6903-505: The Second World War, admitting that Bond "was a compound of all the secret agents and commando types I met during the war". Among those types were his brother, Peter , who had been involved in behind-the-lines operations in Norway and Greece during the war. Aside from Fleming's brother, a number of others also provided some aspects of Bond's make up, including Conrad O'Brien-ffrench , Patrick Dalzel-Job , Bill "Biffy" Dunderdale and Duško Popov . The name James Bond came from that of
7020-423: The Toreador (1959), the latter spawning the hit " Little White Bull ". Steele shifted away from rock and roll in the 1960s, becoming an all-round entertainer. He originated the part of Kipps in Half a Sixpence in the West End and on Broadway , reprising his role in the 1967 film version . As an actor, he notably appeared in the films The Happiest Millionaire (1967) and Finian's Rainbow (1968) and as
7137-420: The US. American writer Jeffery Deaver was then commissioned by Ian Fleming Publications to produce Carte Blanche , which was published on 26 May 2011. The book turned Bond into a post-9/11 agent, independent of MI5 or MI6. On 26 September 2013, Solo by William Boyd , set in 1969, was published. In October 2014, it was announced that Anthony Horowitz was to write a Bond continuation novel. Set in
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#17327801443337254-425: The Unity he was talent-spotted by Joan Littlewood , and so joined Theatre Workshop . He also wrote comedy songs for the Sunday lunchtime BBC radio programme The Billy Cotton Band Show . He first gained widespread recognition through his pop songwriting, penning numerous hits for the stable of young male singers promoted by artist manager and music publisher Larry Parnes . Bart's pop output in this period includes
7371-400: The Walther PPK, which Bond used in eighteen films. In Tomorrow Never Dies and the two subsequent films, Bond's main weapon was the Walther P99 semi-automatic pistol . In the early Bond stories Fleming gave Bond a battleship-grey Bentley 4 + 1 ⁄ 2 Litre with an Amherst Villiers supercharger . After Bond's car was written off by Hugo Drax in Moonraker , Fleming gave Bond
7488-520: 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 Sunday Times newspaper, which suggested that Barry was entirely responsible for the composition. The theme, as written by Norman and arranged by Barry, was described by another Bond film composer, David Arnold , as "bebop-swing vibe coupled with that vicious, dark, distorted electric guitar, definitely an instrument of rock 'n' roll ... it represented everything about
7605-404: The award at the 85th Academy Awards , Smith won at the 88th Academy Awards , and Eilish won at the 94th Academy Awards . For the non-Eon produced Casino Royale , Burt Bacharach 's score included " The Look of Love " (sung by Dusty Springfield ), which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. In 1983, the first Bond video game, developed and published by Parker Brothers ,
7722-433: The booby-trapped attaché case in From Russia, with Love , although this situation changed dramatically with the films. However, the effects of the two Eon-produced Bond films Dr. No and From Russia with Love had an effect on the novel The Man with the Golden Gun , through the increased number of devices used in Fleming's final story. For the film adaptations of Bond, the pre-mission briefing by Q Branch became one of
7839-400: The canton of Vaud , Switzerland. Fleming did not provide Bond's date of birth, but John Pearson 's fictional biography of Bond, James Bond: The Authorized Biography of 007 , gives Bond a birth date on 11 November 1920, while a study by John Griswold puts the date at 11 November 1921. Whilst serving in the Naval Intelligence Division, Fleming had planned to become an author and had told
7956-499: The character you would want: It was cocky, swaggering, confident, dark, dangerous, suggestive, sexy, unstoppable. And he did it in two minutes." Barry composed the scores for eleven Bond films and had an uncredited contribution to Dr. No with his arrangement of the Bond Theme. A Bond film staple are the theme songs heard during their title sequences sung by well-known popular singers. Shirley Bassey performed three Bond theme songs, with her 1964 song " Goldfinger " inducted into
8073-471: The chart-topper " Singing the Blues " (1957). Steele's rise to fame was dramatised in The Tommy Steele Story (1957), the soundtrack of which was the first British album to reach number one on the UK Albums Chart . With collaborators Lionel Bart and Mike Pratt , Steele received the 1958 Ivor Novello Award for Most Outstanding Song of the Year for "A Handful of Songs". He starred in further musical films including The Duke Wore Jeans (1958) and Tommy
8190-421: The company had purchased the rights to Never Say Never Again from Taliafilm. As of 2015 , Eon holds the full adaptation rights to all of Fleming's Bond novels . " cocky, swaggering, confident, dark, dangerous, suggestive, sexy, unstoppable." — David Arnold The " James Bond Theme " was written by Monty Norman and was first orchestrated by the John Barry Orchestra for 1962's Dr. No , although
8307-507: The entertainer Max Bygraves for £350 (Bygraves later sold them on for £250,000) to realise capital to finance the shows; Bart later estimated that this action lost him over £1 million. By 1972, Bart was bankrupt with debts of £73,000. A twenty-year period of depression and alcoholism ensued. He eventually stopped drinking, although the years of substance abuse seriously damaged his health, leaving him with diabetes and impaired liver function. He wrote Next Year in Jerusalem in 1975–1976, but it
8424-572: The fictional character of James Bond as the central figure for his works. Bond is an intelligence officer in the Secret Intelligence Service , commonly known as MI6. Bond is known by his code number, 007, and was a Royal Naval Reserve Commander . Fleming based his fictional creation on a number of individuals he came across during his time in the Naval Intelligence Division and 30 Assault Unit during
8541-531: The first one in 1953, I wanted Bond to be an extremely dull, uninteresting man to whom things happened; I wanted him to be a blunt instrument ... when I was casting around for a name for my protagonist I thought by God, [James Bond] is the dullest name I ever heard. On another occasion, Fleming said: "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
8658-461: The genie out of the bottle, even if he wasn't the genie." Steele's rock and roll recordings have often divided critical opinion. In Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop (2013), Bob Stanley describes Steele's early singles as "charming and naïve, endearingly amateurish, with odd smudges of echo and strangely slurred vocals". In his 1970 book Revolt into Style: The Pop Arts in Britain , George Melly derided Steele’s films of being emblematic of
8775-453: The hits " Living Doll " (written for Cliff Richard ) and " Rock with the Caveman ", "Handful of Songs", "Butterfingers" and " Little White Bull " (all for Tommy Steele ). During this period, Steele and Mike Pratt were his songwriting partners. He won three Ivor Novello Awards in 1957, a further four in 1958, and two in 1960. He wrote the theme song for the 1963 James Bond film From Russia with Love , and worked with John Barry again on
8892-528: The last two books— The Man with the Golden Gun and Octopussy and The Living Daylights —published posthumously. All the books were published in the UK through Jonathan Cape. After Fleming's death, a continuation novel, Colonel Sun , was written by Kingsley Amis (as Robert Markham ) and published in 1968. Amis had already written a literary study of Fleming's Bond novels in his 1965 work The James Bond Dossier . Although novelisations of two of
9009-616: The lead in several West End productions of Singin' in the Rain . Also an author and sculptor, Steele remains active. He was knighted in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to entertainment and charity and was awarded the Freedom of the City of London in 2021. Steele was born Thomas Hicks in Bermondsey , London, in 1936. His father, Thomas Walter Hicks, was a racing tipster and his mother, Elizabeth "Betty" Ellen Bennett, worked in
9126-512: The longest continually running film series and have grossed over US$ 7.04 billion in total at the box office, making James Bond the fifth-highest-grossing film series to date, which started in 1962 with Dr. No , starring Sean Connery as Bond. As of 2021 , there have been twenty-five films in the Eon Productions series . The most recent Bond film, No Time to Die (2021), stars Daniel Craig in his fifth portrayal of Bond; he
9243-450: The manuscript for Casino Royale , Fleming showed it to his friend (and later editor) William Plomer to read. Plomer liked it and submitted it to the publishers, 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. Between 1953 and 1966, two years after his death, twelve novels and two short-story collections were published, with
9360-463: The mid 1960s he was as well known for his outlandish lifestyle, his celebrity friends, his excesses and his parties, as he was for his work. He was born Lionel Begleiter , the youngest of seven surviving children of Galician Jews, Yetta (née Darumstundler) and Morris Begleiter, a master tailor. He grew up in Stepney ; his father worked in the area as a tailor in a garden shed. The family had escaped
9477-530: The motifs that ran through the series. Dr. No provided no spy-related gadgets, but a Geiger counter was used; industrial designer Andy Davey observed that the first ever onscreen spy-gadget was the attaché case shown in From Russia with Love , which he described as "a classic 007 product". The gadgets 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, although
9594-506: The opening of a new production of Blitz! , which was then revived in London's West End in 1990 by the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the London blitz. In April 1991, he appeared on This Is Your Life . Cameron Mackintosh , who owned half the rights to Oliver! , revived the musical at the London Palladium in 1994 in a version featuring rewrites by Bart. Mackintosh gave Bart
9711-466: The pogroms against Jews by Ukrainian cossacks in Galicia . As a young man he was an accomplished painter. When Bart was aged six, a teacher told his parents that he was a musical genius. His parents gave him an old violin, but he did not apply himself and the lessons stopped. He started his songwriting career in amateur theatre, first at The International Youth Centre in 1952 where he and a friend wrote
9828-579: The pseudonym of Jimmy Bennett from 1958 onwards. On 7 November 2019, Steele was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the British Music Hall Society at a celebratory luncheon in Mayfair 's Lansdowne Club . Those paying tribute to his then 63 years and two days in show business included Tim Rice , Wyn Calvin and Bill Kenwright . In May 2020, Steele announced a new project which he had been working on titled Breakheart , which
9945-712: The role of Bond. The result of a court case in the High Court in London in 1963 allowed Kevin McClory to produce a remake of Thunderball titled Never Say Never Again in 1983. The film, produced by Jack Schwartzman 's Taliafilm production company and starring Sean Connery as Bond, was not part of the Eon series of Bond films. In 1997, the Sony Corporation acquired all or some of McClory's rights in an undisclosed deal, which were then subsequently acquired by MGM , whilst on 4 December 1997, MGM announced that
10062-458: The same name: Licence to Kill and GoldenEye . Gardner moved the Bond series into the 1980s, although he 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. In 1996, the American author Raymond Benson became the author of the Bond novels. Benson had previously been the author of The James Bond Bedside Companion , first published in 1984. By
10179-484: The score to the 1964 film Man in the Middle . His other hits include " Do You Mind ", recorded by both Andy Williams and Anthony Newley , whose recording reached number one on the UK charts on 30 March 1960 and was the 100th song to do so, "Big Time" (a 1961 cover by Jack Jones of his show tune from Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be ), "Easy Going Me" ( Adam Faith ), and "Always You and Me" (with Russ Conway ). Bart
10296-682: The single with his first television appearance, on bandleader Jack Payne 's BBC series Off the Record , and quickly became a national teen idol . Steele's success saw him dubbed "Britain's Elvis ", though his appeal has been characterised as less provocative than Presley's. A 1957 concert review by Trevor Philpott of Picture Post described Steele's act as possessing "not a trace of sex, real or implied", whilst Stephen Glynn has written that Steele's voice "was genial before threatening, his stage demeanour more playground skip than bedroom thrust". Steele's live performances were marked by frenzy from
10413-472: The sketch "The Trumpet Volunteer". Steele's rise to fame was satirised in the 1958 West End musical Expresso Bongo and its 1959 film adaptation starring Cliff Richard. There is a London Borough of Southwark blue plaque on Nickleby House, in the Dickens Estate in Bermondsey, commemorating Steele. James Bond The James Bond franchise focuses on the titular character ,
10530-461: The teenage audience. His first album, Tommy Steele Stage Show , was recorded at a London concert the night before his twentieth birthday and issued in March 1957. "Doomsday Rock", Steele's second single, failed to chart after its apocalyptic theme drew controversy. His third, " Singing the Blues ", reached number 1 in January 1957, staving off a recording by Guy Mitchell for one week. Steele
10647-409: The theatre. He continued to record rock and roll over 1958 and 1959, finding chart success with covers of US hits, including " Come On, Let's Go " and " Tallahassee Lassie ". In September 1958, he appeared in the first episode of Oh Boy! , Jack Good 's ITV series which featured several new British rock and roll stars, including Cliff Richard and Marty Wilde . In August 1959, Steele undertook
10764-566: The theme song to the James Bond film From Russia with Love , and the songs " Living Doll " by Cliff Richard , "Far Away" by Shirley Bassey , " Do You Mind? " (recorded by both Anthony Newley and Andy Williams ), "Big Time" (a 1961 cover by Jack Jones of his show tune from Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be ), "Easy Going Me" by Adam Faith , "Always You And Me" by Russ Conway , and several songs recorded by Tommy Steele ("A Handful of Songs", "Butterfingers" and " Little White Bull "). By
10881-585: The time London's most expensive musical ever, had a run of 568 performances), but Twang!! (1965), a musical based on the Robin Hood legend, was a flop and La Strada (1969), which opened on Broadway after the removal of most of Bart's songs, closed after only one performance. By this time Bart was taking LSD and other drugs and was drinking heavily. Bart used his personal finances to try to rescue his last two productions, selling his past and future rights to his work, including Oliver! which he sold to
10998-492: The time he moved on to other, non-Bond related projects in 2002, Benson had written six Bond novels, three novelisations and three short stories. After a gap of six years, Sebastian Faulks was commissioned by Ian Fleming Publications to write a new Bond novel, which was released on 28 May 2008, the 100th anniversary of Fleming's birth. The book—titled Devil May Care —was published in the UK by Penguin Books and by Doubleday in
11115-472: Was also adapted and released as a graphic novel on 2 October 2008 by Puffin Books. In October 2013 Ian Fleming Publications announced that Stephen Cole would continue the series, with the first edition scheduled to be released in Autumn 2014. The Moneypenny Diaries are a trilogy of novels chronicling the life of Miss Moneypenny , M 's personal secretary. The novels are written by Samantha Weinberg under
11232-498: Was also responsible for the discovery of two of Parnes' biggest stars. It was on his recommendation that Parnes went to see singer Tommy Hicks, whom he signed and renamed Tommy Steele, and Bart also suggested that Parnes see singer Reg Smith, who was then performing at the Condor Club. Although Parnes missed his performance, he went round to Smith's house and signed him up on the basis of Bart's recommendation. Smith went on to score
11349-418: Was among the first British pop stars to be heavily merchandised, with tie-in sweaters, shoes and toy guitars. Only a few months after his first chart presence, the singer was filming his life story; The Tommy Steele Story (1957) featured twelve new songs, written hastily by Steele, Bart and Pratt, that expanded the singer's repertoire to incorporate ballads and calypso music . The film's soundtrack
11466-517: Was an original cast member in Bart's Blitz! . Tommy Steele Sir Thomas Hicks OBE (born 17 December 1936), known professionally as Tommy Steele , is an English entertainer, regarded as Britain's first teen idol and rock and roll star. After being discovered at the 2i's Coffee Bar in Soho , London, Steele recorded a string of hit singles including " Rock with the Caveman " (1956) and
11583-492: Was appointed to the role of 007 for Live and Let Die (1973). He played Bond a further six times over twelve years, before being replaced by Timothy Dalton for two films. After a six-year hiatus, during which a legal wrangle threatened Eon's productions of the Bond films, Irish actor Pierce Brosnan was cast as Bond in GoldenEye (1995); he remained in the role for a total of four films through 2002. In 2006, Daniel Craig
11700-540: Was available exclusively online throughout May. Announced via a specially recorded video during the COVID-19 lockdown, Breakheart was a seven-episode audio thriller, written by Steele and set during the Second World War. A new episode was released each day for a week culminating in the full story. Following the re-release of the complete version of Breakheart for the 2020 festive period, Steele also released
11817-529: Was dramatised for Radio 4; it featured a full cast again starring Stephens as Bond. In May 2014 Stephens again played Bond, in On Her Majesty's Secret Service , with Alfred Molina as Blofeld, and Joanna Lumley (who appeared in the 1969 film adaptation) as Irma Bunt. In 1957, the Daily Express approached Ian Fleming to adapt his stories into comic strips, offering him £1,500 per novel and
11934-414: Was given the role for Casino Royale (2006), which rebooted the series. Craig appeared for a total of five films. The series has grossed well over $ 7 billion to date, making it the fifth-highest-grossing film series . In 1967, Casino Royale was adapted into a parody Bond film starring David Niven as Sir James Bond and Ursula Andress as Vesper Lynd. Niven had been Fleming's preference for
12051-430: Was his behaviour, with Bond's love of golf and gambling mirroring Fleming's own. Fleming used his experiences of his career in espionage and all other aspects of his life as inspiration when writing, including using names of school friends, acquaintances, relatives and lovers throughout his books. It was not until the penultimate novel, You Only Live Twice , that Fleming gave Bond a sense of family background. The book
12168-412: Was made into a movie starring Ron Moody , Oliver Reed and Shani Wallis that won several Oscars , including best film. It is estimated that around this time Bart was earning 16 pounds a minute from Oliver! Bart's next two musicals, Blitz! (1962) (from which came the song "Far Away", a hit for Shirley Bassey ) and Maggie May (1964) had successful and respectable West End runs ( Blitz! , at
12285-562: Was not staged until 2021 in a virtual performance of the Jewish Music Institute featuring Maureen Lipman . In May 1977, an autobiographical musical called Lionel! opened in the West End at the New London Theatre . It was loosely based on Bart's early life as a child prodigy. Bart added some new songs for the show. The cast included Clarke Peters , Marion Montgomery and Adrienne Posta . The role of Lionel
12402-515: Was noted for encouraging the use of authentic Cockney accents on the London stage and bringing an end to censorship of British theatre. Oliver! (1960), based on Dickens's Oliver Twist , was a major success. The music for Oliver! was transcribed by Eric Rogers , who wrote and composed 21 scores for the Carry On films . Bart hummed the melodies and Rogers wrote the notes on his behalf as Bart could not read or write music. In 1968 Oliver!
12519-481: Was played by David Suchet . Following its success, a second story was adapted and on 3 April 2010 BBC Radio 4 broadcast Goldfinger with Stephens again playing Bond. Sir Ian McKellen was Goldfinger and Stephens' Die Another Day co-star Rosamund Pike played Pussy Galore. The play was adapted from Fleming's novel by Archie Scottney and was directed by Martin Jarvis . In 2012, the novel From Russia, with Love
12636-426: Was published by FontHill Media, written by fan and archivist Sebastian Lassandro. Steele and Winifred Anne Donoghue or Donoughue (born 1936) married at St Patrick's Catholic Church, Soho Square , London, in spring 1960. The couple have one daughter. In 2019, Steele was awarded the Freedom of the City of London . Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , the ceremony at Mansion House was delayed until 20 July 2021. In
12753-453: Was released for the Atari 2600 , Atari 5200 , Atari 8-bit computers , Commodore 64 , and ColecoVision . Since then, there have been numerous video games either based on the films or using original storylines. In 1997, the first-person shooter video game GoldenEye 007 was developed by Rare for the Nintendo 64 , based on GoldenEye . The game received highly positive reviews, won
12870-632: Was released for the Wii and a handheld version for the Nintendo DS in November 2010. A year later a new version was released for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 under the title GoldenEye 007: Reloaded . In October 2012 007 Legends was released, which featured one mission from each of the Bond actors of the Eon Productions' series. In November 2020, IO Interactive announced Project 007 , an original James Bond video game, working closely with licensors MGM and Eon Productions . From 1983 to 1987,
12987-524: Was renamed "Clarence Leiter". In 1964 Roger Moore appeared as "James Bond" in an extended comedy sketch opposite Millicent Martin in her ATV TV series Mainly Millicent , which also makes reference to "007". It was written by Dick Hills and Sid Green . Undiscovered for several years, it reappeared as an extra in the DVD and Blu-ray release of Live and Let Die . In 1973, a BBC documentary Omnibus : The British Hero featured Christopher Cazenove playing
13104-502: Was shared by a young Todd Carty and Chris Nieto. The show closed after six weeks. Bart continued writing songs and themes for films, but his only real success in his later years was "Happy Endings", a song he wrote for a 1989 Abbey National advertising campaign, which featured Bart playing the piano and singing to children. He received a special Ivor Novello Award for life achievement in 1986. In 1987, encouraged by long-time friend Barry Humphries , he travelled to Australia to attend
13221-485: Was taken on a tour of London by Steele in 1958, challenging Glasgow Prestwick Airport 's accepted status as the only place in the United Kingdom where Presley set foot. The unverified claim caused controversy, with Steele telling the media "I swore never to divulge what took place and I regret that it has found some way of 'getting into the light'. I can only hope he [Elvis] can forgive me." Steele starred in
13338-474: Was the first UK number one album by a British act, and the hit single "A Handful of Songs" received the 1958 Ivor Novello Award for Most Outstanding Song of the Year, Musically and Lyrically. By the end of 1957, Steele had bought a four-bedroomed house in South London for his parents and was reported to be earning more than British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan . Steele made several appearances on
13455-518: Was the first to be written after the release of Dr. No in cinemas, and Sean Connery 's depiction of Bond affected Fleming's interpretation of the character, henceforth giving Bond both a dry sense of humour and Scottish antecedents that were not present in the previous stories. In a fictional obituary, purportedly published in The Times , Bond's parents were given as Andrew Bond, from the village of Glencoe , Scotland , and Monique Delacroix, from
13572-654: Was voted the seventh-most-popular actor at the British box office. In 1960, a tour of Australia had not been particularly successful and upon his return to England he received two offers, one to star in the play Billy Liar , the other to join the Old Vic Company. He chose the latter. In the West End , he appeared in She Stoops to Conquer , and played the title role of Hans Christian Andersen . On film, he recreated his London and Broadway stage role in Half
13689-551: Was written by future Modesty Blaise creator Peter O'Donnell ) with Yaroslav Horak replacing McClusky as artist in 1966. After the Fleming and Amis material had been adapted, original stories were produced, continuing in the Daily Express and Sunday Express until May 1977. Several comic book adaptations of the James Bond films have been published through the years: at the time of Dr. No 's release in October 1962,
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