Originally named Xamayca, it was (and to some degree still is) an island of great natural beauty. Originally claimed by Spain based on a visit from Columbus during his excursions to discover the New World, it was fought over and eventually claimed by the English. When you read pirate stories, the stories are probably based in Jamaica since this was the pirate haven in the Caribbean. In fact, the buried treasure of the pirate Morgan is featured in the second James Bond thriller, Live and Let Die. After British rule was established, the main trade of Jamaica was sugar cane plantations populated by slaves brought in through the British slave trade. This was abolished in the 1830's. At times, native unrest threatened British rule but starting in the late 1880's a smarter set of colonial officers encouraged a budding democratic concept leading eventually to Jamaica's independence in 1962 and a membership in the British Commonwealth of Nations. Jamaica became a center of bird watching and listing during the early part of the last century. One ornithologist, James Bond, representing Philadelphia's Academy Of Natural Sciences, discovered that many birds supposedly native to Jamaica came from North America and it was this "Jamaica Line" that he was famous for. At the same time, Jamaica's north coast become the site of vacation homes for quite a bit of British Society. With World War II, Jamaica became a base for anti submarine warfare and the island was visited by Commander Ian Fleming in his capacity as the assistant to the chief of British Naval Intelligence. In spite of the fact that it rained during his entire visit, he joined the British invasion of the North Coast in establishing his vacation home, Goldeneye, after the war. Both Fleming and Bond continued their visits to Jamaica, Bond quite frequently and Fleming for 2 months every year into the 1960's when their paths crossed both ethereally and physically.

Above are two pictures of the ancestral home of James Bond, pictured to the left, the ornithologist best known in ornithology circles for his discovery of the 'jamaica line' and for his book, Birds of the West Indies. It's possible that you may have heard of his name for other reasons. Born to Francis and Margarite Bond in 1900, he grew up on the Willowbrook estate in Southeast Pennsylvania's Gwynedd Valley (the township of Lower Gwynedd). This estate would later become the campus of Gwynedd Mercy College in 1946. Francis Bond was a well known ornithologist in his own right and was part of many bird watching excursions to various parts of the world which helped develop our knowledge of avian species. His son would follow his footsteps in 1925 becoming a part of an excursion into South America to bird watch and discover. Young Bond lived in the Willowbrook estate until his mother died and shortly afterward, in 1914, his father sold the estate and moved the family to England. Bond was educated in England and acquired a British accent which, it is said, he was able to maintain even though he returned to Philadelphia as a young man. From research on this amazing individual - he was honored many times around the world for his contributions to our knowledge of birds - he did not immediately pursue the field that he was most famous for, delving into other professions before finally pursuing the profession of ornithology which would bring him fame in his own field and fame in another

Ian Lancaster Fleming was the second of 5 boys born to Valentine Fleming and Evelyn Beatrice St. Croix Rose. He was the grandson of Robert Fleming, the richest man in England for a time. Robert Fleming was a financier who made his money speculating in American Railroads. For those having difficulty understanding how you could make money in this, you should understand that American railroads in the mid 1800's were similar to the internet stock mania of a few years ago. His son, Valentine, used this wealth to cultivate a political career and was a close friend of Winston Churchill. Valentine Fleming was killed during World War I in France in 1917 - Churchill wrote his obituary - leaving his wife to care for the five boys. Ian generally found himself in competition with his older brother, Peter, who would become famous as a world traveler and author in his own right with great intellect which he could show academically. Where Ian could out-do Peter was in athletics, in which he excelled as a youth and in creativity, especially a creativity in manipulating the bounds he found himself.

Coming from an extended family that was rich and powerful - it included the actor, Christopher Lee, among many celebrities - one would think that Ian could do whatever he wanted. To some degree this was true, but he was limited by his father's will that had his inheritance tied to his mother who would control everything until her death. You should be aware the Evelyn had a long and extended life, possibly much to Ian's displeasure, and she did not hesitate to indicate her displeasure with Ian when comparing and narrating the exploits of his brother, Peter.

Ian tried several different professions as a young man and was really good in reporting, however this was a profession frowned upon by his mother. Nevertheless he pursued this career when he was younger in addition to organizing a collection of books, later called the Fleming collection, which would document the initial written works of authors and scientists whose books to some degree had the effect of changing the course of history. At the outbreak of World War II, Ian was recruited into the British Navy to become Assistant to the Chief of Naval Intelligence, John Godfrey.

After his trip to South America and the writeup of such where he was specifically cited for his help in making that trip a success, James Bond became associated with Philadelphia's Academy of Natural Sciences which had sponsored the South American trip. He then proceeded to lead a series of trips to document avian species throughout the Caribbean. One island of fascination was Jamaica where he noticed that many of the bird species native to that island originated from North America and not South America as had been originally assumed. Later trips to Jamaica and other Caribbean islands led him to the theory, later proved, that Jamaica was the line separating North and South American species. After each trip and its discoveries, Bond would write up the discoveries found and this led to the seminal book of Caribbean bird watching, "Birds of The West Indies", originally published in 1936. This book would have a series of re-publications into 1999 - after Bond has died in fact - whose edition is pictured to the left. There were other reprints of this book through the end of the last century. Two definitely we can state are in 1948 - see review to the right - and 1960. The book was widely read by bird watchers in the Caribbean area. One such bird watcher had established an estate on the north coast of Jamaica and used this book as a guide for what is called birding. In time, he would use this book for more that just the avian information that it provided and in doing so, this avid bird watcher, who spent 2 months of the year at his estate in Jamaica, would set off a sequence of events that would make the name, James Bond, more famous than the book shown to the left.

To the left and right you can see the results of querying the NY Times database on "James Bond Birds". It's true that journalism has changed and the announcement of scientific expeditions might not today get the attention that this would attract in the early part of the last century. But here you see the NY Times covering several avian conferences by the Philadelphia Academy Of Natural Science during the 1930's, when these articles were published, where James Bond, later Dr James Bond was either a speaker or a recognized expert. One of these is quite interesting - Bond making an appeal to birders to stop collecting specimens. It would be interesting to know where James Bond received his doctorate or whether it was an honorary achievement. To be fair, by this time, in his early to late 30's, he was the recognized expert on these avian species, so who exactly could have been his mentor at the time. The requirements of a PHD usually include someone to act as an advisor. If you are the expert, it would kind of make it difficult to find an adviser to lead you through your PHD thesis and defense.

We turn back to Ian Fleming who by 1952 had become an established editor on Fleet Street, the street in London where newspaper offices could (and can) be found. You are already aware that he had established his estate, Goldeneye, on the north coast of Jamaica and would spend 2 months (generally January and February) in residence there. Besides birding, he would scuba dive, read and continue the affairs that he had with a variety of women of various nationalities, probably including Jamaican. However, one woman continued to be a favorite and the two came together and broke up a series of times while she was both single and married. Eventually, by the time that he comes to Jamaica in 1952, he is told by Anne Rothermere, the woman in question, that she is pregnant with his child and that marriage is around the corner. With these events at work, he continues something he had tried the year before - to write a short story or perhaps a longer story, a novel. Extrapolating on events that had taken place in Portugal during World War II, he begins to weave a story about a British secret service agent sent to do battle with a Russian agent over a gambling table in a game of baccarat and the events that result from this. Fleming, as a reporter, had an eye for detail. Therefore, he already had a head full of interesting names and interesting circumstances and he takes one out for the villian whom he calls Le Cliffre, (the number in French). Le Cliffre, we are told, does not know his real name due to amnesia from war injuries. Alright, we have a villian, what about the hero? What name should Fleming give him? Well, if you read this or any of the other Fleming books, these books are full of Fleming's interest such as the best automobiles and the best way to make a martini- you can see Fleming's eye for detail at work when you read these stories - with plenty of names like Vesper, the heroine (possible villian) of the book and the first of many exotic female names that Fleming would create, so Fleming, as he relates to later interviewers, looks around for the most boring, masculine name that he can find. And he finds this, so he relates, on his book shelf in the guise of "Birds Of the West Indies" by James Bond. Two syllables, a very British sounding name although its origins are French. And so, the hero of Casino Royale, whose original cover is pictured to the left, is christened James Bond and he will be the "hero" of the next 13 books (14 including Casino Royale) attributed to Fleming until his death in 1964.

While Fleming never wrote the words Bond, James Bond in any of the books, It appears that he did do research as to the origin of the name. So, if you will allow a slight detour from our narrative, let's discuss some facts about Bond as a last name, and James Bond, in particular as a full name. In his book, "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", published in 1962, Fleming gives a history of the Bond name which we will relate to you here. The original is the French, Le Bond, and this name was associated with some of the Norman knights who staged the invasion of Britain in 1066. In short order, the name was shortened to Bond and apparently 10 families laid claim to this name and the coat of arms indicated to the left. The coat of arms motto in English is "The World Is Not Enough" which was appropriated by the producers as a title of one of the Bond films starring Pierce Brosnan. As luck would have it (and we're sure it was luck because Fleming did not do this research before using the name 10 years previous) the motto fits the image that both the books and the films created for this character.

The most famous Bond (assuming we don't count either of the James indicated in these web pages) was Thomas Bond who in the 1600's acted almost like a finance minister. In his honor, Bond street of London was named. Bond is not an uncommon name in Britain or in the United States for that matter. And James Bond, although rare today because who would name their son such and create unreachable expectations, was not rare when James Bond, the ornithologist, and Ian Fleming, the author, were growing up. The disk coordinator checked the 1930 US census for the populace with a first name of James and a last name of Bond and found about 400 matches. The US at the time, with a population in the range of 80 million, was over 50% German ethnicisity, and Bond would not be encountered in that ethnic group. Extrapolating this to England at the time probably means that an equal number of James Bond's existed in that country. If you look at the surname of Bond, it is very common, so common in fact that the Bond films themselves have had a complement of Bonds in production and actor roles - i.e. Trevor Bond who has dealt with main title animation and Samantha Bond who has played Miss Moneypenny for the last 10 years.

While it was certainly possible to go through life without meeting a James Bond, there was equally a good possibility that you could meet someone with this name. And so, it is not surprising that the name was used by Agatha Christie in one of her novels during the 1920's. It is also not surprising that some "historians" claim that one of the liaisons that Fleming would have encountered in his duties as assistant to the director of Naval Intellegience was also named James Bond. So, it's almost positive that Fleming had already encourtered the name prior to acquiring Birds Of The West Indies and becoming aware of its author. One could make a case that this name was already swirling inside his head and the explanation indicated in the previous pages about the ornithology book and its author was just that, a convenient explanation.

And while we're at it, how does the name James Bond stack up against other literary and video heroes. We assume that to James Bond, the ornithologist, this was just his name. Perhaps friends or his wife - he married in the early 50's - called him Jim, but this was his name and the surname Bond put him into a certain strata of society. But, to the fictional James Bond, this name is an identity. His real identity in employment is 007, a top secret designation, with James Bond a convenient alias. In this, the disk coordinator can relate as this designation serves as an alias for his real name, which is also a top secret. In that light, how does the name, James Bond, stack up.

There are instances of aliases that have multiple syllables - Lamont Cranston who was the Shadow - but, in general, authors or screen writers seem to move in the direction of one syllable first names and/or last names. We've surrounded this text with several examples, Superman being the classic as Clark Kent. This is as close to sparse a name as possible: 2 syllables, nine letters. In a similar situation is John Drake, the "hero" of Danger Man/Secret Agent fame. Bruce Wayne is similarly situated as Batman's cover although covering 10 letters. Nine letters meets the criteria for James Kirk of Star Trek although to be fair he spices it up by adding the middle initial T. Buck Rogers, at 10 letters, is the most prolific name on this list at 10 letters and 3 syllables. Even more sparse is the Lone Ranger's secret identity, either Dan Reid or John Reid, depending which history you look at, but either case 2 syllables, less than 9 letters and Spock beats them all coming in at 5 letters. How does the disk coordinator's secret identity stack up you may ask: 9 letters 3 syllables in one identity and 8 letters 2 syllables if his name had not been changed when he was younger. Therefore, James Bond is a perfectly good and average name for a literary hero and Fleming probably recognized this as he used the name in Casino Royale.

As reviewed by Anthony Boucher in the New York Times, April 25, 1954

Having appropriated the name for his hero in 1952, Fleming publishes Casino Royale in 1953. Each year, thereafter, a new book about James Bond, secret agent 007, is published. Like any new series or endeavor, it takes a while for the character and the stories to catch on, but catch on they do. The disk coordinator, if left to his own devices, could fill up several web sites discussing the reasons for this series' popularity, but let's restrict that part of the discussion to just noting that Fleming's plot construction, descriptions and insights seem to click with the post-war British audience. For the rest of the 50's in Britain, James Bond is a British phoenomena, with a set of comic strips and best sellers on that side of the Atlantic. In the case of the comic strips, a considerable amount of work was done in making James Bond a comic strip hero. As indicated below, each book would be serialized as a set of strips which would run for a month or more. In one case, as you study this, the artist drew Bond almost as a splitting image of Sean Connery three years before the first movie. The strip below pertains to the opening illustrations of Casino Royale as published in the Daily Express in 1958.

The author is known on this side of the Atlantic given his heritage as a Fleming; his occupation as a reporter, columnist and editor and his numerous contacts made during World War II, but the books, except for one American exception that we discuss on the next screen, are generally unknown and undiscovered by the general populace and panned by the critics - especially, Anthony Boucher, the critic from the New York Times as you can see to the left. Boucher was a real critic of the type of literature that Ian Fleming wrote, not necessarily of the genre. He took particular glee in panning Fleming's books from his position of book critic of popular fiction for the New York Times. As you look at his criticisms of the books during the late 1950's, he even directs these at the readers of Ian Fleming as he writes that he cannot understand the appeal of these books.

Below is a TV grid for October 21st, 1954 for New York City Channels

For whatever reason, Fleming sells the film rights to Casino Royale early on and this sets up a US Television event. 1954 is the era of live TV and live drama on this medium and CBS has a weekly live drama called "Climax". They produce a US version of Casino Royale that is aired live on October 21, 1954. Many things have to be changed in this adaption to correspond to a US audience. Obviously, the torture scene involving Bond as a victim is considerable changed as is his name. We now have as the chief protagonist, Jimmy Bond, CIA card shark. Other actors involved in this production are Peter Lorre, of Casablanca and Maltese Falcon fame, and Linda Christian who was one of Tyrone Power's ex wives. Barry Nelson, himself, would go on to make a name for himself as one of the panelists of "What's My Line, a game show that was popular during the 1960's. To the left is the TV schedule for that day and you can see for yourself the promo for the program.

Although it was a live production, a type of taping (the technology is very different from today and would be difficult to describe here) was made while it was being aired. It was thought for many years that this taping was lost, but a few years ago it was found and you can purchase a copy and view it as the Disk Coordinator has done - the cover is on the right. However, a warning! If you're thinking of buying it, don't! Nelson, many years later, admitted that not having read the books, and not having been involved in the publicity surrounding the books and the author on the other side of the Atlantic, that he really didn't know what to make of the part and how to act it. And, it shows! Nelson, however, does become the answer to the trivia question, what actor first played James Bond, secret agent 007?

How about James Bond, the ornithologist. Last we left him, he had become a Phd and was very active in discovering avian species in the Caribbean. His book, Birds of the West Indies, was published in 1936. We don't know what he did during the war years, but post war, into the 1960's was a period of growth both on the professional and personal level. In 1948 he comes out with the first revision of his 1936 book, and continued visits to the Caribbean would bring forth another revision and version of this book in 1960, when it's publication, and the uncertainty about he as the author, would tip him off that something was amiss as to his name. James Bond also meets the love of his life, Mary Fanning Wickham, a novelist, poet and fellow socialite of Philadelphia. At the left is the New York Times announcement of the marriage and wedding. The Times covered this even though it was not local to its readership. Keep in mind that at that time, and this tradition continues today, the Times only publishes this type of marriage information on a national basis for those prominent in society in some way. In this case, both the bride and groom met this condition. Anyway, the publication in 1960 of his re-edited "Birds Of the West Indies" sets the stage for quite a jolt, the discovery of his alter ego, the fictional spy, James Bond 007.

Since we couldn't find a picture of Mary Fanning Wickham, we did the next best thing by showing you the cover of her first book. Her novel writing, it has been reported, was generally satiric about fellow socialites and she is remembered for this.

The Kennedy List

Lord Melbourne, by David Cecil

Montrose, by John Buchan

Marlborough, by Sir Winston Churchill

John Quincy Adams, by Samual Flagg Bemis

The Emergence Of Lincoln, by Allan Nevins

The Price Of Union, by Herbert Agar

John C Calhoun, by Margaret Coit

Byron In Italy, by Peter Quennell

The Red and the Black, by M de Stendhal

From Russia With Love, by Ian Fleming

Pilgrim's Way, by John Buchan

Several things happen in the year 1960 that herald the media tsunami that is about to hit American shores. From James Bond, the ornithologist, the latest update to Birds Of The West Indies will be published. By March of 1960, John Kennedy will be running for President bringing along his style and interests to a fascinated American, if not world, public. And Playboy magazine signs an agreement with Ian Fleming to publish one of the short stories, The Hildebrand Rarity, that is to appear in his latest James Bond Thriller, For Your Eyes Only, a book made up of 5 short stories involving a certain secret agent. Interestingly, all of these are related as we are about to find out.

Let's start with that rather unassuming couple, Mary and James Bond. As related by a great article in Rittenhouse magazine by Charles E. Ramsey (which you can find at www.rittenhousemagazine.com/jamesbond.html) the Bonds are shocked and bewildered by the review of his book in the London Sunday Times. Something about James Bond trying to change his image from sado-mashochism to bird watching, the review reads. This review by the Times critic was very much tongue in cheek and ultimately acknowledged who the author really was, but this gave notice to the Bonds that something was happening with the good doctor's name.

In March of that year, Playboy, which we can be assured was not on the reading list of either Mary or James, published the abovementioned Fleming short story. Playboy at that time was a meter of American society, being very cutting edge in merging literature and sex in an easy to read format (and even easier to look at format if not that intellectually inclined). It seems unbelieveable today but Playboy at that time published some great American (and obviously British) fiction and essays from a wide political and social spectrum of writers. It's publication of Fleming's story served to introduce Fleming to a whole generation of American readers, including the disk coordinator.

Kennedy was on his way to winning a very close Presidential election, but as he was about to enter office at the end of the year, a wave of Kennedy interest, similar to what we see with President Obama today, swept the nation. By early 1961, Kennedy's favorite books had been published in an article by Hugh Sidey in Life magazine and you can see in the list for yourself at the left, Ian Fleming's "From Russia With Love" was designated as Kennedy's ninth favorite book. Before we continue our narrative on the next screen, there is some question as to how Fleming's novel got on this list. It is suspected that someone interested in showing Kennedy to be a little more down to earth added this entry and not Kennedy himself, although it is clear that the Kennedy family knew Fleming personally (and enjoyed his books) given that his background was very similar to their own. Whatever the reason for the inclusion to the Kennedy list, the Fleming books sales in the United States flew into orbit.

Above you can see Albert Broccoli to the left, Ian Fleming in the middle and Harry Saltzman to the right. Broccoli and Saltzman formed a partnership, Danjaq, LLC, with the express purposes of taking the Flemings novels and setting them to film. In what was rare at the time, all the novels (except for Casino Royale which had been sold previously) and any future novels were part of the deal. Production on the fist movie, Dr No, began in early '62 and provided its own excitement in the search for an actor to play James Bond. It is doubtful that James and Mary Bond kept track of this as they were busy with their own interests and careers. But, sooner or later, the aura of the two James Bonds would meet

It's very difficult to explain the James Bond craze that encompasses the early 60's and why it occurred. This is best left to media and psychology experts. But, as far as the disk coordinator will try in terms of an explanation, it is his opinion that John F. Kennedy had a major role in the Bondian wave that swept over the country at the time. Becoming president at age 42 of a country that felt itself being confronted, if not bested, by Eastern Europe (The Soviet Union and Its bloc), Mainland asia (Red China and its supporters) and new base of aggression 90 miles south of Miami, he countered this with style, a suave handsomeness, a beautiful wife (and lovely girlfriends, too, we would discover later), a boyish charm, a serious attitude toward recreation including sailing and water sports and a rugged determination to defend the free world based on his experience as a PT boat captain and hero in World War II.

In the fiction covered by these slides, he was somewhat paralleled by a perpetually 37 year old World War II vet, blond hair, blue eyed look alike to a young Hoagy Carmichael, attractive enough to get and partake of female attention, serious student of gaming, water and motor vehicle sports, a scar down his right cheek and a man dedicated to the destruction of his country's enemies with the most boring name one could imagine. Almost a Kennedy? Maybe the author and his alter ego creation could be considered as such. There were a lot of parallels that Fleming put into James Bond that reminded Fleming's readers of this new president. No wonder Bond mania takes off.

For much of the population, the disk coordinator included, they can dream and imagine living the life of James Bond. They could buy the books, read the reviews, listen or read one of the many interviews with the new media darling, Ian Fleming, listen to the analogies, buy the consumer products which started to appear attributed to its use by James Bond, hear about the proposed movies that had been authorized, one of which, Dr No, was starting production (and to the left we have picture of the producers Broccoli and Saltzman meeting with Ian Fleming). For most people, a few hours in "bondage" was all they needed as indicated to the right, but there were some who could not escape.

Above, you have the comedian Louis Nye appearing in a Saturday Evening Post story about being surrounded by Bond paraphanelia. If you can look closely, you will see the toiletries sold with the 007 symbol which did exist as Nye shaves to the accompliment of some of the "Bond girls" pictures.

In a previous screen, we discussed the Bond surname and the number of men with the name, James Bond, who were living in the United States and Great Britain. Therefore, for a portion of the population, they couldn't escape being James Bond, this was their given name. How do you react to this growing phoenomena of seeing your name placed everywhere.

Well, most of us have never been in this position. Best as we can assume is that you grin and bear it. No doubt some of the men enjoyed the notoriety. No doubt some ignored it and possibly there was some who were really angry over the attention. No doubt one would find strangers making comments about your name as you are introduced ("You're kidding! James Bond, like the secret agent"). Perhaps your friends play tricks on you for the same reason. But, you remind everyone that you are not related to that James Bond and you weren't the one he was named after. It's just the luck of the draw. It could happen to any name. Who could foresee what any author would name a character.

But, for one couple documented in this presentation, it becomes personal. Ian Fleming, when doing one of a number of interviews, relates the fact that he named the character after the author of a book dedicated to the study of Caribbean birds who lived in the Philadelphia area. Mary Bond finds this out, interestingly enough, when she visits her dry cleaner who tells her that he was reading about her husband being the name sake for Fleming's hero in the latest issue of Playboy, of all publications. This answers one of questions that has bothered Mary and James Bond for a while, what are these calls all about asking for Pussy Galore, Goldfinger and Doctor No. And it explains, to some degree, the giggling teen aged girls calling to ask to speak to James.

After she does some research, she writes Fleming a letter that is somewhat semi serious complaining about what he has done to their lives both socially and professionally. Fleming responds with his own letter taking full responsibility for their situation. This exchange of letters precipitates, as we will see in a future screen, the one and only meeting between the two authors.

At least Mary was able to use this predicament to extend her writings. Above are two books she authored about this situation. She always said that she married the right James Bond, at least for her and had no regrets of never meeting the other. If you read her books, you get the impression that they were a most happy couple together.

The top photo is a bar in Ocho Rios where Bond meets Leiter in the movie. The actors are Lester Prendergast and John Kitzmiller. Below you see the Simpson estate looking outward to the ocean during filming

We have been remiss in not telling you about what was going on in Jamaica during this time frame. First, In the 1950's, the English government sets Jamaica onto a irrevocable course for independence to occur in 1962. Second, during the late 50's a music movement is started based on American Jazz coupled with native Calypso. This movement, and music, is designated as Ska and will become popular world wide when introduced at the New York World's Fair in 1964. Third, continuing their residence thorughout this transition to independence is the so-called British Colony which have estates on the North Shore of the island. One of these estates, Goldeneye, has as its resident the owner and author Ian Fleming for the months of January and February of each year and he uses his time of residency to continue to churn out additional James Bond thrillers at a rate of one a year. Fleming combines work and pleasure by setting many of the thriller plots in the Caribbean and specifically setting 3 of the plots in Jamaica. He also continues his good neigbor policy toward many of the Jamican women who, if rumor is somewhat true, he continues to have affairs with even though he is still married to Anne Rothermore.

So, in addition to the prospect of independence, the populace of Jamaica is excited to learn that the first of the James Bond Novels to be filmed for the screen will be "Dr No" and much of it will be shot on location in Jamaica. In fact, one crucial scene of Bond landing at Crab Key will be shot on the estate of one of Fleming's neighbors, Mrs Minnie Simpson. Other shots are to take place on Fleming's estate itself, GoldenEye, and on Noel Coward's estate that resides next door. Other shots will take place in Ocho Rios, Port Royal and Kingston. Many of the women who Fleming is familiar with (in whatever way) push him to tell the producers to include their sons and daughters as extras in the filming, which he does and the producers comply. It makes for quite an atmosphere as the shooting starts, but we still don't have a James Bond. Nevertheless, production goes ahead awaiting the announcement (and the arrival) of the actor who will play this secret agent. The director is here, Terence Young, scouting locations for filming. Also, among the production staff, is Monty Norman asked to create the music for the movie, who is trying to get a musical flavor of the Island. History will note that he is somewhat successful in doing this and he will get credit - some say undeservingly - for the theme song of the movie. The next screen answers the question that must be burning in your mind! Do they find an actor the play James Bond or is production cancelled?

Oh, yeah, about that other little thing going on in Jamaica about this time, Independence. Above is Alexander Bustamonte, first PM of Jamaica and below him is the Jamaican flag

Dr No was the first of 22 movies about James Bond, secret agent 007. In any media, you can find analysis on the 6 (7 if you include Barry Nelson) men who have played 007. Sean Connery was the first and eventually did 7 such movies. But you have to play against somebody if you are acting the part of James Bond, and the character you act against only wants to control, destroy and/or take over the world. So this screen commemorates Doctor No, Fleming's homage to Sax Rohmer's Fu Man Chu and the first of the film Bond Villians.

One of the things that could not be duplicated in the movies are the histories and psychological profiles given to the villians in the Fleming books. The names of these megalomeniacs are fun also. Like any villian who goes against Bond, Doctor Julius No has quite a history. The son of a German/Chinese union, this is not his real name, as the Julius is his father's first name, the No represents his rejection of his father and all of society norms. In this, Dr No is similar to most of Fleming's villians either being fully German or half as Fleming had great bias against Germans for their part in the start of both world wars, the first having claimed the life of Fleming's father, Valentine.

Dr No has built an interesting empire by buying an island off Jamaica and closing it off to outside influence. (Fleming's trip to Great Inagua island counting flamingos was the prototype of the island of Crab Key). But this villian's success has come at an awful price, the loss of both hands. In the book this is the result of a Chinese gang's retribution against him by cutting off both hands, but in the movie version this is the result of Dr No's exposure to nuclear radiation. In addition, Dr No has sided with the Russians (and in the film, SPECTRE) to cripple America's space and missle program through "toppling" - interferring with telemetry during launches. In later interviews, Fleming joked that he had gotten the name from a hospital stay where a nurse, being chased by a doctor, was yelling No, Doctor! No! around his ward one night.

The web site does not know the criteria used for the selection of Joseph Wiseman to play Dr No, but he did set a pattern of bringing experienced actors in to play the main evil leads and letting everybody else come up to their standards. Wiseman was a Canadian who grew up in Montreal. Perhaps because of the bi-lingual nature of that city, his voice and English is very crisp, direct and distinctive, his enunciation is very specific. Good things for both the actor and the voiceover specialist for commercials that he would become. His specialty was the stage and theater - he has won several awards for his acting on the stage especialy for his portrayal of Robet Oppenheimer - with occasional gigs in movie roles. For this web site though, we concentrate on the TV show, The Twilight Zone, and one specific episode, "One more pallbearer", filmed for the 1961/62 season (and possibly coincident with his filming of Dr No.). Watching this episode you are bound to notice that Wiseman's character interpretation of the industrialist Paul Radin, especially the bearing, erectness and aloofness are exactly what he would bring to the first James Bond movie. Whether this was coincidental or this was a prolog for his interpretation of Dr No remains unknown. Wiseman died in October 2009 at the age of 91. While alive he remained mute on this subject of playing the role of Dr No. He limited his response to this movie to the fact that he thought this was to be an easily forgotten, cheap grade B, movie and never expected the wide appeal it would have. Obviously, Wiseman was wrong in this but was right in most of the interpretations of character he brought to the stage and film.

Two pictures of megalomania within a few months of each other by Joseph Wiseman. Above, Wiseman portrays Paul Radin, industrial magnate. Below, Wiseman protrays Dr No

By Febuary of 1964, the Bond movies are established. Dr No has been very successful and this has been topped by From Russia With Love. Goldfinger would be a few months from starting production and promised to be at least as big as the previous two films. The books are more popular than ever. The only sad note is the loss of Fleming's number one fan in the US, John Kennedy, assassinated a few month earlier in 1963. But, James Bond's other link to the US is about to make a visit. The Bonds, James and Mary, are in the Caribbean to do more research on bird species when they decide to pay a surprise visit to Ian Fleming, who had on the first exchange of letters invited them to his estate in Jamaica. Fleming was very ill at this time, suffering from a host of problems, with about 6 months to live - he would pass away on August 12th, 1964. In addition, he was hosting a BBC crew who were doing yet another interview with the man who had become perhaps as great a celebrity as his creation. The film crew were able to film the one and only meeting between these two authors on the island with which they were so intertwined. At first Fleming was somewhat suspicious, asking Bond to identify some of the birds in view. But once Bond passed the test, this was probably the best day Fleming would have for the rest of his life. And the Bonds enjoyed it too as Mary Bond would relate in both her books.

What could all of them be thinking during this meeting? In Bond's case, there is no question that Fleming rescued him from obscurity but his personality was such that this probably was more of a burden than a blessing. In Mary's case, this provided fodder for a more successful writing career not to mention the notoriety that she handled better than her husband. And, how about for Fleming. Surely he knew his days were numbered given the medical problems he was dealing with. Even further, the outgoing personality that was his hallmark had changed, the prior year while in England he had spent most of his time sitting and pondering his future - or lack of it - inside his home as opposed to his normal dashes around town. It must have been a great day for Fleming. If you look at the film or the picture of the meeting included here top right, Fleming is beaming. And he indicates this to his visitors by inscribing just that - Great Day - in the guestbook (all his visitors signed it when visiting the estate) that he had the Bonds sign.

James and Mary Bond continued to live in Philadelphia for the next quarter century after their meeting with Ian Fleming. James died on Feb 17, 1989 and Mary died on Dec 17th, 1997. Both are buried next to each other at the Bond family plot at the Church Of The Messiah which you can see bottom right, next to the William Penn Inn on Route 202 just north of Gwynedd Mercy College which is the present day occupant of Willowbrook, the Bond family estate.

This is the tale of two men and one island

Ian Fleming, reporter and author

The Book That Binds

Further Research by (and on) James Bond

Bond, James Bond

James Bond, the ornithologist

The Island is Jamaica

Facts about the last name Bond, James Bond

A Discussion Of Secret Identities

The Bond Index During The Fifties

We Return You Now To The Real James Bond

Collision

Casino Royale comes to an inappropriate "Climax"

An Order Of Broccoli

Can I speak To James

Jump Up, Jamaica

The Man with the Licence To Thrill

No, Doctor! No!

The two Authors meet

As reviewed by Anthony Boucher in the New York Times, April 25, 1954

Below is a TV grid for October 21st, 1954 for New York City Channels

The Kennedy List


A Map Of Jamiaca, an Island in the Caribbean		Ian Fleming, reporter and author		James Bond, Ornithologist