James Bond facts for kids
Quick facts for kids James Bond |
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Ian Fleming's image of James Bond; commissioned to aid the Daily Express comic strip artists
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| Creator | Ian Fleming |
| Original work | Casino Royale (1953) |
| Owner | Danjaq Amazon MGM Studios |
| Print publications | |
| Novels | List of novels |
| Short stories | See list of novels |
| Comics | List of comic books |
| Comic strips | James Bond (1958–1983) |
| Films and television | |
| Films | List of films |
| Short films | Happy and Glorious (2012) |
| Television series | "Casino Royale" (Climax! season 1 – episode 3) (1954) |
| Animated series | James Bond Jr. (1991) |
| Games | |
| Traditional | Various |
| Role-playing | James Bond 007: Role-Playing In Her Majesty's Secret Service |
| Video games | List of video games |
| Audio | |
| Radio programs | Radio dramas |
| Original music | Music |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Toys | Various |
| Portrayers | |
The James Bond series is about a super cool fictional British secret agent named James Bond. He was created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming. Fleming wrote twelve novels and two short story collections about Bond. After Fleming passed away in 1964, many other authors continued writing official Bond stories. The latest novel, On His Majesty's Secret Service by Charlie Higson, was published in May 2023. There are also books about a young James Bond and stories from the perspective of Moneypenny, a character from the series.
James Bond is also known by his code number, 007 (which sounds like "double-oh-seven"). His adventures have been turned into TV shows, radio plays, comic strips, video games, and movies. The James Bond series is one of the most successful entertainment franchises ever. The movies are one of the longest-running film series and have earned over US$7.04 billion worldwide. The first movie, Dr. No, came out in 1962 and starred Sean Connery as Bond. As of 2021, there have been twenty-five films in the main Eon Productions series. The most recent Bond film, No Time to Die (2021), featured Daniel Craig as Bond for the fifth time. He was the sixth actor to play Bond in the main film series. There were also two other Bond movies not made by Eon Productions: Casino Royale (a funny movie from 1967) and Never Say Never Again (a 1983 remake of an earlier film).
The Bond films are famous for many things, like their exciting soundtracks. Several theme songs have won Academy Awards! Other important parts of the films include Bond's amazing cars, his special guns, and the cool gadgets he gets from Q Branch. The films also feature Bond interacting with various women, often called "Bond girls."
Contents
Discovering James Bond's World
How James Bond Was Created
Ian Fleming's Inspiration
Ian Fleming created James Bond as the main character for his books. Bond is an intelligence officer for the Secret Intelligence Service, also known as MI6. He is known by his code number, 007. Fleming based Bond on many real people he met during his time in the Naval Intelligence Division during World War II. He said Bond was a mix of all the secret agents and commandos he knew.
Fleming gave Bond some of his own habits and tastes. This included his golf handicap, his love for scrambled eggs, and his favorite toiletries. Bond's passion for golf and gambling also came from Fleming's own life. Fleming used his experiences in espionage and other parts of his life to inspire his writing. He even used names of friends and relatives in his books.
The Name Behind the Agent
The name James Bond came from an American ornithologist (a bird expert) named James Bond. This expert wrote a famous guide called Birds of the West Indies. Fleming, who loved birdwatching, had a copy of this guide. He later explained that he wanted a simple, strong, and unromantic name for his hero. He thought "James Bond" was perfect because it sounded ordinary, making the extraordinary things that happened to him stand out even more.
In the later novel, You Only Live Twice, Fleming gave Bond a family background. He said Bond's parents were Andrew Bond from Glencoe, Scotland, and Monique Delacroix from Vaud, Switzerland.
James Bond Books and Stories
Ian Fleming's Original Novels
While working in Naval Intelligence, Ian Fleming decided he wanted to be a writer. He started writing his first James Bond novel, Casino Royale, on February 17, 1952. He wrote all his Bond novels at his Goldeneye estate in Oracabessa, Jamaica, every January and February. He began Casino Royale just before his wedding, using the writing as a distraction.
After finishing Casino Royale, Fleming showed it to his friend William Plomer, who liked it. The book was published in 1953. Between 1953 and 1966, twelve novels and two short story collections were published. The last two books, The Man with the Golden Gun and Octopussy and The Living Daylights, were published after Fleming's death.
- 1953 Casino Royale
- 1954 Live and Let Die
- 1955 Moonraker
- 1956 Diamonds Are Forever
- 1957 From Russia, with Love
- 1958 Dr. No
- 1959 Goldfinger
- 1960 For Your Eyes Only (short stories)
- 1961 Thunderball
- 1962 The Spy Who Loved Me
- 1963 On Her Majesty's Secret Service
- 1964 You Only Live Twice
- 1965 The Man with the Golden Gun
- 1966 Octopussy and The Living Daylights (short stories)
New Adventures by Other Authors
After Fleming's death, other authors continued the James Bond series. Kingsley Amis wrote Colonel Sun in 1968. Later, John Gardner took over in 1981 with Licence Renewed. Gardner wrote sixteen Bond books, including novelizations of two films. He updated Bond's world to the 1980s.
In 1996, American author Raymond Benson became the next Bond writer. He wrote six novels, three film novelizations, and three short stories before moving on in 2002.
After a break, Sebastian Faulks wrote Devil May Care in 2008. This book celebrated Fleming's 100th birthday. Then, Jeffery Deaver wrote Carte Blanche in 2011, which imagined Bond as a modern agent. William Boyd's Solo came out in 2013. Anthony Horowitz later wrote three Bond novels, Trigger Mortis (2015), Forever and a Day (2018), and With a Mind to Kill (2022), using some of Fleming's unreleased material. Charlie Higson's first adult Bond novel, On His Majesty's Secret Service, was published in May 2023.
Young Bond's Early Years
The Young Bond series tells stories about James Bond when he was a teenager. Charlie Higson started this series, publishing five novels and one short story between 2005 and 2009. The first book, SilverFin, was also made into a graphic novel. In 2013, Stephen Cole continued the series.
- 2005 SilverFin
- 2006 Blood Fever
- 2007 Double or Die
- 2007 Hurricane Gold
- 2008 By Royal Command & SilverFin (graphic novel)
- 2009 "A Hard Man to Kill" (short story)
Moneypenny's Secret Diaries
The Moneypenny Diaries is a series of three novels about the life of Miss Moneypenny, who is M's personal secretary. These books were written by Samantha Weinberg under the name Kate Westbrook. The first book, Guardian Angel, was released in 2005. The second, Secret Servant, came out in 2006, and the third, Final Fling, was released in 2008.
- 2005 The Moneypenny Diaries: Guardian Angel
- 2006 Secret Servant: The Moneypenny Diaries
- 2008 The Moneypenny Diaries: Final Fling
James Bond on Screen and Sound
TV Shows and Radio Dramas
In 1954, CBS adapted Fleming's novel Casino Royale into a one-hour TV show. It was part of the Climax! series and starred Barry Nelson as James Bond. Later, in 1991, an animated series called James Bond Jr. was made, featuring Bond's nephew. In 2022, a reality competition show called 007: Road to a Million was released on Amazon Prime Video.
In 1958, the novel Moonraker was adapted for radio in South Africa, with Bob Holness as Bond's voice. The BBC has also adapted several Fleming novels for radio. These include You Only Live Twice (1990), Dr. No (2008), Goldfinger (2010), From Russia, with Love (2012), and On Her Majesty's Secret Service (2014). Toby Stephens, who played a villain in a Bond film, often played Bond in these radio dramas.
Comic Book Adventures
In 1957, the Daily Express newspaper asked Ian Fleming to turn his stories into comic strips. Fleming agreed, and the first strip, Casino Royale, was published from July to December 1958. John McLusky was the artist, and he gave Bond a more masculine look than Fleming's original idea.
Most of the Bond novels and short stories have been adapted into comic strips. Later, new original stories were created for the Daily Express and Sunday Express until 1977. Many comic book adaptations of the James Bond films have also been published over the years by companies like Marvel Comics, Eclipse Comics, Dark Horse Comics, and Dynamite Entertainment.
The Famous James Bond Movies
Eon Productions' Main Film Series
Eon Productions, founded by Harry Saltzman and Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli, released the first James Bond movie, Dr. No, in 1962. Sean Connery starred as 007. Connery played Bond in five more films before George Lazenby took over for On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969). Lazenby only played Bond once, and Connery returned for Diamonds Are Forever.
Roger Moore became Bond in Live and Let Die (1973) and played the role seven times over twelve years. He was followed by Timothy Dalton for two films. After a break, Pierce Brosnan was cast as Bond in GoldenEye (1995) and starred in four films. In 2006, Daniel Craig took on the role for Casino Royale, which restarted the series. Craig appeared in five films, with his last being No Time to Die (2021). The main film series has earned over $7 billion, making it one of the highest-grossing film series.
In March 2022, Amazon bought Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), which included the distribution rights to the James Bond movies. After creating Amazon MGM Studios, the company became involved in planning the next Bond film. By February 2025, the studio acquired creative control of the franchise from the long-time producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, who officially retired from overseeing the films. The deal included a monetary "Bond dividend" for the family. Amazon MGM began searching for a studio executive to manage the series and find the next director and star. In March 2025, Amazon finalized deals with Amy Pascal and David Heyman to become the new producers. By June 2025, Denis Villeneuve was announced as the director, working from a script by Steven Knight.
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Sean Connery
(1962–1967; 1971) -
George Lazenby
(1969) -
Roger Moore
(1973–1985) -
Timothy Dalton
(1987–1989) -
Pierce Brosnan
(1995–2002) -
Daniel Craig
(2006–2021)
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- Dr. No (1962) - Sean Connery
- From Russia with Love (1963) - Sean Connery
- Goldfinger (1964) - Sean Connery
- Thunderball (1965) - Sean Connery
- You Only Live Twice (1967) - Sean Connery
- On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) - George Lazenby
- Diamonds Are Forever (1971) - Sean Connery
- Live and Let Die (1973) - Roger Moore
- The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) - Roger Moore
- The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) - Roger Moore
- Moonraker (1979) - Roger Moore
- For Your Eyes Only (1981) - Roger Moore
- Octopussy (1983) - Roger Moore
- A View to a Kill (1985) - Roger Moore
- The Living Daylights (1987) - Timothy Dalton
- Licence to Kill (1989) - Timothy Dalton
- GoldenEye (1995) - Pierce Brosnan
- Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) - Pierce Brosnan
- The World Is Not Enough (1999) - Pierce Brosnan
- Die Another Day (2002) - Pierce Brosnan
- Casino Royale (2006) - Daniel Craig
- Quantum of Solace (2008) - Daniel Craig
- Skyfall (2012) - Daniel Craig
- Spectre (2015) - Daniel Craig
- No Time to Die (2021) - Daniel Craig
Other James Bond Films
In 1967, a funny parody film called Casino Royale was made. It starred David Niven as Sir James Bond. Later, in 1983, a remake of the film Thunderball was released, called Never Say Never Again. This movie starred Sean Connery again but was not part of the main Eon Productions series.
- Casino Royale (1967) - David Niven
- Never Say Never Again (1983) - Sean Connery
Iconic James Bond Music
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The famous "James Bond Theme" was written by Monty Norman. It was first heard in the 1962 film Dr. No. This theme is known for its cool, confident, and dangerous sound. John Barry composed the music for eleven Bond films and helped arrange the "James Bond Theme."
A special part of every Bond film is its theme song, sung by popular artists during the opening credits. Shirley Bassey sang three Bond theme songs, including "Goldfinger" (1964), which is now in the Grammy Hall of Fame. Many Bond songs have been nominated for Academy Awards. These include "Live and Let Die" by Paul McCartney, "Nobody Does It Better" by Carly Simon, "For Your Eyes Only" by Sheena Easton, "Skyfall" by Adele, "Writing's on the Wall" by Sam Smith, and "No Time to Die" by Billie Eilish. Adele, Sam Smith, and Billie Eilish all won Academy Awards for their songs.
James Bond Video Games
The first Bond video game, James Bond 007, came out in 1983. Since then, many video games have been made, either based on the films or with new stories. In 1997, the first-person shooter game GoldenEye 007 was released for the Nintendo 64. This game was very popular, won awards, and sold over eight million copies. It is often called one of the greatest video games of all time.
Electronic Arts acquired the license in 1999 and released several games, including Tomorrow Never Dies and James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing. The latter featured the voices and likenesses of actors like Pierce Brosnan and Judi Dench. In 2005, they released 007: From Russia with Love, with Sean Connery providing Bond's voice. Later, Activision took over the license and released games like 007: Quantum of Solace (2008) and 007 Legends (2012). In November 2020, IO Interactive announced a new original James Bond video game, later titled First Light.
Role-Playing Games
From 1983 to 1987, a tabletop role-playing game called James Bond 007: Role-Playing In Her Majesty's Secret Service was very popular. Players could create their own spy adventures or play through stories inspired by the Bond films.
Bond's Essential Gear and Skills
Bond's Trusted Firearms
In his early novels, Fleming gave Bond a small Beretta 418 pistol. However, a gun expert suggested Bond should use a more powerful 7.65mm Walther PPK. This change was included in the novel Dr. No and became Bond's signature weapon in the films. The expert's advice was so helpful that Fleming named the MI6 Armourer, Major Boothroyd, after him. Bond also used various rifles and other handguns in the books.
In the first Bond film, Dr. No, M ordered Bond to switch to the Walther PPK. Bond used this gun in eighteen films. In later films like Tomorrow Never Dies, Bond's main weapon became the Walther P99 semi-automatic pistol.
Amazing Vehicles and Cars
In the early Bond books, Fleming gave Bond a battleship-grey Bentley 4½ Litre car. After it was destroyed in Moonraker, Bond got a new Mark II Continental Bentley. In Goldfinger, Bond was given an Aston Martin DB Mark III with a tracking device.
The Bond films feature many different cars. These include the Aston Martin V8 Vantage, the V12 Vanquish, the DBS, and the Lotus Esprit. He also drove BMW models like the Z3, 750iL, and Z8. Bond has driven many other vehicles too, from a Citroën 2CV to a Routemaster Bus.
Bond's most famous car is the silver grey Aston Martin DB5. It first appeared in Goldfinger and later in many other films like Thunderball, GoldenEye, Casino Royale, Skyfall, and Spectre. These cars are so famous that some used in the films have sold for millions of dollars at auction.
James Bond's Special Skills
James Bond has many skills that make him a great secret agent:
- Marksmanship: Bond is incredibly good with guns, especially handguns and rifles. He is very accurate and has quick reflexes.
- Hand-to-hand combat: He is skilled in different fighting styles, like judo and boxing. This helps him defeat enemies up close.
- Espionage techniques: As a top MI6 agent, Bond is excellent at spy methods. These include sneaking into places, watching people secretly, and gathering important information.
Incredible Gadgets from Q Branch
In Fleming's novels, Bond used only a few gadgets, like a booby-trapped attaché case in From Russia, with Love. However, the films made gadgets a much bigger part of the Bond world. The pre-mission briefing from Q Branch, where Bond gets his new tools, became a classic part of the movies.
The first real spy gadget in the films was the special attaché case in From Russia with Love. Gadgets became even more important in the 1964 film Goldfinger. The success of this film led to Q Branch supplying Bond with more and more amazing equipment. Some people thought Bond became too reliant on these gadgets in later films.
Q, the head of Q Branch, once told Bond, "If it hadn't been for Q Branch, you'd have been dead long ago!" Bond used many cool gadgets, like the Little Nellie autogyro (a small helicopter), a jet pack, and exploding attaché cases. Even the villains had custom-made devices, such as Francisco Scaramanga's golden gun and Oddjob's steel-rimmed bowler hat.
James Bond's Global Impact
James Bond has had a huge influence on spy movies since Dr. No came out in 1962. Many other spy films tried to be like Bond because of his popularity. Some movies, like the Harry Palmer series starring Michael Caine, even tried to be the opposite of Bond, showing a more realistic spy. Other parodies, like the Austin Powers series and Johnny English films, have also made fun of or used elements from the Bond movies.
The line "Bond... James Bond" became a famous saying after the film Dr. No. It is considered one of the most famous movie lines ever. In 2001, British moviegoers voted it the "best-loved one-liner in cinema." The American Film Institute also named it the 22nd greatest quotation in cinema history.
The character of James Bond himself was recognized as the third greatest film hero by the American Film Institute in 2005. Time magazine called him "the biggest mass-cult hero of the decade" in 1965.
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The 25 James Bond films made by Eon Productions are the longest continuously running film series ever. Including the two non-Eon films, the 27 Bond movies have earned over $7.04 billion in total. It is thought that about a quarter of the world's population has seen at least one Bond film. The series is very important to the British film industry.
James Bond has become a symbol of the United Kingdom. Daniel Craig, playing Bond, even appeared with Queen Elizabeth II in the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics. The 'Milk Tray Man' in Cadbury chocolate ads, a tough Bond-style figure, has also been a popular character. Bond has been featured on UK postage stamps many times, most recently in March 2020.
Many products have been released alongside the films, leading to "Bondmania" in the 1960s. This included everything from soundtracks to toys and board games. In 2018, a James Bond museum opened high up in the Austrian Alps, built on a mountain summit.
The real MI6 (Secret Intelligence Service) has a mixed view of Bond. While the films make MI6 famous worldwide, they also might attract people who aren't suited for spy work. However, the global recognition of MI6's name is seen as a big advantage.
See also
In Spanish: James Bond (franquicia) para niños
