Happy 104th birthday, Ian Fleming

The man without whom, etc…

Today is what would have been Ian Fleming’s 104th birthday. Fleming created James Bond as he composed the first draft of the Casino Royale novel in Jamaica six decades ago. A decade later, after a number of false starts and aborted projects, the first film based on a Bond novels was filmed and released.

Those facts are well known by fans. Even though none of the 50th anniversary movie 007 hoopla wouldn’t be possible without him, Fleming’s name hasn’t come up much in connection with the 50th anniversary of the 007 movies. The main exceptions:

–A press conference on April 29 in Turkey where the Skyfall principals mentioned the author in some detail. Meanwhile, Fleming hasn’t received a mention in one of Skyfall’s main social media marketing efforts.

—Earlier this month when the Daily Mail wrote about how Fleming was keen on interesting Alfred Hitchock about doing a Bond film.

That’s the way of the world, we suppose. Still, on this day fans should raise a vodka martini (or a double bourbon or a whiskey and soda or a Miller High Life) to an author who created a special world, one still enjoyed all these years later. Fans of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. should also join in thanks to Fleming’s contribution of the name Napoleon Solo.

UPDATE: The Official 007 Twitter feed, on its 242nd post since early November, finally mentioned Ian Fleming on the 104th anniversary of his birth. The Tweet in question apparently went out just before midday New York time.