007-related obits of note

Nicholas Roeg’s title card for the 1967 Casino Royale

There were a couple of obituaries over the weekend of accomplished professionals with ties to James Bond.

The first was the film director Nicolas Roeg. The New York Times’ obit cited how he directed The Man Who Fell to Earth. The Guardian’s obit prominently referenced him directing Don’t Look Now.

Years before, Roeg was credited with “additional photography” for 1967’s Casino Royale, Charles K. Feldman’s expensive spoof of the 1960s spy genre For Roeg, Casino Royale was a footnote. The primary director of photography was Jack Hildyard, a distinguished cinematographer.

The other 007-related obit of note was Ricky Jay, who played a secondary villain in 1997’s Tomorrow Never Dies.

Jay was a big deal before he entered the film world of 007. The New Yorker magazine published a detailed 1993 feature story about Jay. One short passage described how Jay mastered being a magician.

Michael Weber, a fellow-magician and close friend, has said, “Basically, Ricky remembers nothing that happened after 1900.”

One of Jay’s best scenes was cut from the final version. The official Eon Production 007 feed on Twitter included it.

RIP the great Ricky Jay. Sadly, his card throwing scenes in TOMORROW NEVER DIES were left on the cutting room floor. Jay held the world record for many years. pic.twitter.com/Msf4QWhpom

— James Bond (@jamesbondlive) November 25, 2018

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