Happy 92nd birthday, Efrem Zimbalist Jr.

Efrem Zimbalist Jr. celebrates his 92nd birthday on Nov. 30. A lot of today’s television viewers either don’t remember EZ Jr. at all or, maybe, notice he supplied the voice of Alfred the Butler in some well-made Batman cartoons. But he held two starring roles on prime-time television in the U.S. almost continuously from 1958 [...]

Irvin Kershner, director of unofficial 007 film, dies at 87

Irvin Kershner, best known for directing The Empire Strikes Back as well as the “unofficial” 007 film Never Say Never Again, has died at 87, according to an obituary on the entertainment Web site The Wrap. (UPDATE: For a more detailed obit, you can read The New York Times’s account of Kershner’s career BY CLICKING [...]

Thunderball’s 45th anniversary part II: a star talks about moving on

Advertisements proclaimed that with Thunderball, “Here Comes the Biggest Bond of All!” For Sean Connery, things had already gotten too big and he sounded as if he was already looking forward to his post-007 career. Connery detailed his views about James Bond IN AN INTERVIEW WITH PLAYBOY MAGAZINE. The exchange wasn’t like the quick promotional [...]

Leslie Nielsen dies at 84, parodies included ‘Spy Hard’

Surely we’re not serious? Unfortunately, we are. Actor Leslie Nielsen has passed away on Nov. 28, the Associated Press reported, citing the actor’s agent. Nielsen was a dramatic actor for years until the 1980 movie Airplane! From then on Nielsen was known mostly for comedy. A short-lived 1982 parody of police dramas, Police Squad!, led [...]

Thunderball’s 45th anniversary part I: Bondmania peaks

December is the 45th anniversary of the fourth James Bond film, Thunderball. In some ways, it’s a bittersweet anniversary for 007 fans. Bondmania hit its peak with Thunderball for the general public and it would never make it back to those levels. Obviously the series has remained popular, generating 18 installments over the next 43 [...]

HMSS’s latest odds on spy movie projects

With recent developments, including bankruptcy filings and intriguing reports in the entertainment trade press, it’s time to revise our odds for spy movie projects in development once more. Bond 23: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer filed for bankruptcy but is hoping it’s a quick trip and the company will shed that status next month. As part of its filings, [...]

45th anniversary of The Incredible World of James Bond

This week (Nov. 26 to be precise) marks the 45th anniversary of the 007 infomercial, The Incredible World of James Bond. The program reflected how Agent 007 was reaching his peak popularity. NBC pre-empted The Man From U.N.C.L.E., enjoying the best ratings that ’60s spy show would achieve, to show Incredible World. The move made [...]

Jeffrey Wright tells Reuters 007 films have `independent movie’ feel

Reuters caught up with Jeffrey Wright, the most recent screen Felix Leiter, to discuss a new play he’s working on in New York, “A Free Man of Color.” The story is mostly about the play but Wright makes an observation or two about the Bond franchise. Yet even in the film world, there is enormous [...]

Happy birthday No. 78, Robert Vaughn

Robert Vaughn, the original Napoleon Solo (aka The Man From U.N.C.L.E.), turned 78 today. We wish Mr. V a happy birthday. Here’s a clip from Vaughn’s final performance as Solo, the television movie The Return of the Man From U.N.C.L.E. It includes the original CBS intro and the main titles. The Jerry Goldsmith theme is [...]

NPR asks whether James Bond is dead

NPR (the former National Public Radio) aired a story asking whether James Bond is dead. It’s NPR’s take on Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s financial crisis which has helped (but isn’t the sole reason) delay in Bond 23. A lot of details are familiar to Bond fans but NPR’s Robert Smith does an entertaining version by making the story [...]