Ian Fleming 100th Birthday

28 May 2008 marked the 100th Birthday of Ian Fleming (R). Ian Fleming was born on this day in Mayfair, London, England. His parents were Major Valentine Fleming, DSO, MP & Evelyn Beatrice St. Croix Rose Fleming. He was the grandson of Scottish financier Robert Fleming, who founded the Scottish American Investment Trust and merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co. (since 2000 part of JP Morgan Chase). He had 3 brothers & 1 half sister. During WW II he was in British Naval Intelligence, code name 17F. He was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR). He eventually was promoted to commander. His experiences helped to lay the foundation for his writing the James Bond novels which are his biggest legacy.

After the war he worked for Reuters. It was in 1952 he wrote hs 1st Bond novel, Casino Royale. He did it to deal with the nerveousness at his upcoming marriage to Ann Rothermere. In all he wrote 12 novels & 9 short stories (eventually collected into 2 books). He took the name of James Bond from American ornithologist James Bond. He got the idea to use the Bond name after seeing Bond's book Birds of the West Indies.

But, James Bond novels weren't his only output. In 1957 he published The Diamond Smugglers. It was based on a series on the topic that he wrote for London Sunday Times. In 1959 & 1960s he did 2 series of articles for the London Sunday Times. These articles were based on 2 trips he made on the behest of the Times travel editor, Leonard Russell. The 1959 trip was to cities in the Far East & the USA. The 1960 trip was an automobile tour of European Cities. Using additional material edited out of the original articles, the articles were published under the title Thrilling Cities in 1963. The article on New York City included a Bond short story, 007 in New York.

Probably the biggest surprize to most people is that Fleming also wrote a children's book, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car. It was pubklished in 1964 & Albert Broccoli made it into a musical film in 1968. 3 of the actors that appeared in it also appeared in Bond movies (Gert Fröbe, Goldfinger; Anna Quayle, 1967 version of Casino Royale; Desmond Llewelyn, Q in many of the Eon movies).

There are also 2 unpublished books. State of Excitement: Impressions of Kuwait is about the oil industry in that country. Even though The Kuwait Oil Company, who had commissioned it, gave their approval, the Kuwaiti government didn't. Between 1954 & 1964 Fleming worked with Geoffrey Jenkins on a story. Per Fine Ounce takes place in South Africa. Jenkins was commissioned to turn it into a novel. The final manuscript was rejected. (It would be interesting to read what might have been, even if poorly done.) Fleming also had a scrapebook with fragments, notes & ideas for future stories. Some of these have been excerpted in John Pearson's The Life of Ian Fleming.

He also wrote the story for the movie The Poppy Is Also a Flower (1966). It deals with the heroin trade & the UN's efforts to battle it.

In later years, Fleming was in poor health. He died 12 August 1964 of a heart attack in Canterbury, Kent, England. He had finished the 1st draft of The Man With the Golden Gun. He was buried in a churchyard cemetary in Sevenhampton, Wiltshire, England. His widow Ann died in 1981. His only son, Caspar Robert Fleming, died of a drug overdose in 1975. Both are buried next to him.

In 1952 Fleming bought Glidrose Publications Limited (now Ian Fleming Publications). He assigned most of the rights to his works to them to act as a shelter from British taxes. In the years since there have been several novels by other authors about Bond as well as a series of books about Miss Moneypenny & a series of Young James Bond novels. 1 novel, 003½: The Adventures of James Bond Junior, is problematic. It is about Bond's nephew, an impossibility since Bond was an only child. In addition to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang there have been 21 movies made by Eon Productions. In addition there have been 3 other non-Eon Bond movies There was a 1954 TV adaptation of Casino Royale as well as a 1967 film version. These were made because the rights to the novel were sold seperately in the mid 50s. Never Say Never Again was a 1984 remake of Thunderball. The remake was the result of the fact that Fleming didn't have total rights to the storyline of Thunderball as a result of a lawsuit. In 1985 Raymond Benson adapted Casino Royale into a play that has never been produced. This is only a small part of the Bond merchandise over the years.

To celebrate Ian Fleming's 100th Birthday a new Bond Novel, Devil May Care, was released on 28 May. This novel takes place in the mid 60s shortly after the events in The Man With the Golden Gun.

Ian Fleming may never have set out to become such a huge part of Western culture, but as a result of James Bond he has.

(Photo: Copyright Ian Fleming Foundation, used for informational purposes only)