Aug. 12, 1964: Ian Fleming passes away

Aug. 12 is the 45th anniversary of the death of Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond. There’s a tendency to forget Fleming. His last Bond novel was published in 1965 and the movies long ago became the center of the 007 universe. While he lived to see two of his novels turned into movies (and visited the set of the third, Goldfinger), he never saw Bond movies become mega hits.

Still, the anniversary of his death is reason enough to remember the person who actually created James Bond.

First, how Fleming selected the character’s name. It’s an old story but here it’s told in his own words.

Here’s a longer clip from the same interview: