Ian Fleming (1908 - 1964)
The current incarnation of James Bond, portrayed by Daniel Craig
'Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car' novel, 1964
Fleming's signature
August 12th 1964: Ian Fleming dies
On this day in 1964, the English author Ian Fleming died in Canterbury aged 56. Fleming is best known for his series of spy novels about the British secret agent James Bond, codename 007. Fleming was born in London in 1908 to a wealthy family, and attended Eton College and then the military academy Sandhurst. He briefly worked in finance, before the outbreak of the Second World War, during which time he worked as a naval intelligence officer. This experience introduced Fleming to the world of espionage, as he rose to assistant of the director of Naval Intelligence and coordinated intelligence efforts with counterparts in the United States and elsewhere. This crucial period of his life shaped the Bond novels, with Bond’s boss ‘M’ supposedly modeled after Fleming’s own superior. The first Bond novel was Casino Royale, written at Goldeneye (his Jamaican home, named for a naval operation he had planned) in 1952, and released in 1953 to moderate success. He went on to write thirteen more Bond novels, and the series soon became popular, counting Prince Philip and John F. Kennedy among its many fans; the Bond books have sold over 100 million copies worldwide. James Bond has been adapted into one of the longest running film franchises of all time, with different actors taking on the iconic role; Fleming lived to see the first two films, with Sean Connery as Bond. Despite failing health, Fleming wrote the children’s story Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang for his young son, which was published after his death in 1964 and made into a film in 1968. Ian Fleming died in August 1964, but his legacy lives on in the enduring popularity of the Bond franchise, and 2015 will see the 24th Bond film, Spectre, starring Daniel Craig.
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