Royal Navy Commander James Bond, CMG, RNVR, is a fictional character created by British journalist and novelist Ian Fleming in 1953. He is the protagonist of the James Bond series of novels, films, comics and video games. Fleming wrote twelve Bond novels and two short story collections, although the last two books—The Man with the Golden Gun and Octopussy and The Living Daylights—were published posthumously.

The Bond character is a Secret Service agent, code number 007, residing in London but active internationally. Bond was a composite character who was based on a number of commandos whom Fleming knew during his service in the Naval Intelligence Division during World War II, to whom Fleming added his own style and a number of his own tastes.

Ian Fleming's original sketch impression of James Bond.

Fleming's concept of Bond

The central figure in Ian Fleming's work was the fictional character of James Bond, an intelligence officer in the "Secret Service". Bond was also known by his code number, 007, and was a Royal Naval Reserve Commander.

Origins of the name

Fleming took the name for his character from that of the American ornithologist James Bond, a Caribbean bird expert and author of the definitive field guideBirds 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".

Who Played James Bond: A Complete History

Barry Nelson

In early 1954, Ian Fleming was paid $1000 for the television rights for Casino Royale. The novel was adapted into an hour long TV special and was broadcast on CBS on October 21st, 1954 as an episode of the Climax! Mystery Theatre.

It was a low budget black and white episode that was adapted by Charles Bennett, who wrote the screenplays for most of Alfred Hitchcock's films in the 1930s. It starred Peter Lorre as Le Chiffre, Linda Christian as Valerie Mathis, Michael Pate as Clarence Leiter, and American actor Barry Nelson as the first ever James Bond.

Barry played James Bond very casually, and despite several laughable fighting and torture scenes, the episode was an interesting and enjoyable rendition of Casino Royale. Peter Lorre in particular was a strong addition to the cast. The episode appears as a special feature on the DVD for the 1967 spoof film Casino Royale.

Bob Holness (1956)

In 1956, Bob Holness provided the voice for James Bond in a South African radio adaption of the Ian Fleming novel Moonraker. He would later go on to become an actor and game show host for Take a Letter and Blockbusters.

The Moonraker special was arranged by the Durban Repertory Theatre. Bob has said that it was broadcast live, and as such, there is no known recording of it. It is believed that local performers from Durban voiced the other roles, and that the production was under ninety minutes.

<To be Continued>