 After retiring from the
Navy, Ian became a very successful writer. His books have sold more
than 30 million copies. Despite his success, the literary industry
looked down on his books.
Ian's grandfather founded the Scottish American Investment Trust
in his native Scotland in 1873, when he was just 28 years old. He
also helped finance America's reconstruction after the Civil War.
His business went on to become a huge success, and it is still doing
well today as an investment and merchant bank.
Ian's father, whose first name was Valentine, was a member of
British Parliament and a friend of Winston Churchill's. He served in
World War I but was killed in combat. Churchill wrote an obituary
for Ian's father, and Ian kept it for the rest of his life.
Ian was born in London in 1908 and he had three brothers. Like
his father, he served in the military. After the war, Ian moved to
the north coast of Jamaica and built his home there. This is where
he began writing the stories about his famous alter ego.
Not to change the subject, but have you ever wondered why certain
movies feature new inventions and gadgets that seemed like they were
created just for the movie? The 1968 children's film "Chitty Chitty
Bang Bang" and the James Bond movies are two perfect examples.
"Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" featured a popular inventor played by Dick
Van Dyke, while the Bond movies featured the coolest high-tech
gadgets that were years ahead of their time.
Coincidence?
Not really, because both of these shows were created by the same
person. His name?
Fleming. Ian Fleming.
I mentioned earlier that Ian was a spy for the British Naval
Intelligence during World War II. As is the case with James Bond,
it's easy for life to imitate art when the person creating the art
is writing about his own life.
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 While his greatest "invention" was James Bond, Ian never invented
any gadgets in real life. He commanded Desmond Llewelyn's character,
Q, to equip Bond with all the coolest gadgets that any
self-respecting spy could ever want, such as the ejector seat in his
Aston Martin car, the specially equipped briefcase, the ski pole
gun, the acid pen and the Omega watch with a laser.
Here is some interesting trivia about Ian Fleming's James Bond …
trivia that any loyal Bond fan already knows:
-
Ian Fleming named
the James Bond character after the author of "Birds of the West
Indies." He wanted a dull, plain name for the character.
-
Fleming attended
Eton, which is the same school that Prince Harry attended.
-
Two of the Bond
actors, Sean Connery and Roger Moore, have been knighted.
-
Cary Grant was one
of the actors Sean Connery beat out for the role of Bond.
-
As a boy, Sean
Connery delivered milk to the school that the real-life James
Bond attended -- Fettes School -- which is the same school that
former British Prime Minister Tony Blair attended.
-
Sean Connery's
son, Jason, portrayed Ian Fleming in the film "Spymaker."
-
There were five different actors who
played James Bond during the first 19 official Bond movies, but
there was only one actor who played Q during that time: Desmond
Llewelyn. His Q character was also known as Maj. Boothroyd.
[By
PAUL NIEMANN]
Paul Niemann's column has appeared in
more than 80 newspapers and counting. He is the author of the
"Invention Mysteries" series of books and can be reached at
niemann7@aol.com.
Copyright Paul Niemann 2009
(Other
columns) |
