Ian Fleming began his James Bond book series in 1953 with the release of Casino Royale. The Englishman’s novels were instant successes, especially among college-aged men who pounced on each new edition as the paperback books flowed off the presses. Then, Playboy Magazine added fuel to the fire in the early 60s by promoting any and everything James Bond. When the first James Bond movie, Dr. No, finally hit the big screen in 1962, young men across America flocked to see it and we were smitten by Sean Connery, the suave Irish actor who owned the role of James Bond.
Whatever James Bond liked, we liked. If he smoked Chesterfield cigarettes, we did, too. If he liked his vodka martinis shaken, not stirred, so did we, if he drank Jack Daniels straight up, that was our cocktail of choice. Bond loved golf, gambling, beautiful women, fast cars, food, and fine wine. He came across as arrogant, but highly intelligent and quick on his feet and good with his fists. He was the epitome of coolness and millions of college guys took notice.
Connery starred in 6 James Bond movies including Dr. No, From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice and Diamonds are Forever. Then came the imposters – Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, Daniel Craig and others, but they were all Mall-Santas compared to the real James Bond, Sean Connery.
There have been some 25 Ian Fleming-inspired movies on James Bond, but they lost that special factor when Sean Connery left the scene. He was, after all, the one and only Bond, James Bond.
