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  1. Cary Grant; The Bond Connection

    By daniel on 2003-12-03

    The interest that Martin Sterling and Gary Morecambe, authors of Martini’s, Girls and Guns: Fifty Years of 007, show in the world of James Bond is more apparent then ever with the recently released paperback publication of their autobiographical work, Cary Grant: In Name Only.

    While Grant is, obviously, the primary focus of the work, its connections with the 007 are numerous. Most apparent to Bond fans will be the books detailing of Grant’s relationship with Bond producer Albert R ‘Cubby’ Broccoli. It was a friendship that would stretch from the mid-1930’s until Grant’s death in 1986, and as a result Cubby appears throughout the book including accounts of their first meeting when Cubby was 25 and later when Grant served as best man at the wedding of Cubby and Dana Broccoli in 1959. Of particular interest to Bond fans will be comments from Michael G Wilson on his memories of that day.

    Also covered in the book is Cubby’s offering of the role of 007 to Grant for the film Dr No and Grants subsequent refusal to do more than one Bond film. Grant’s connection with the cinematic James Bond is also furthered with the authors interviewing of Roger Moore, the pair being good friends.

    Ian Fleming is also mentioned in the autobiography, as he and Grant were acquaintances through their mutual friend Noel Coward. The book also speculates that Fleming may have been influenced in his creation of the character of James Bond by Grant’s portrayal of Devlin in 1946’s Notorious.

    However, Fleming’s appearance is most interesting due to the possibility that he got Coward to recruit the Grant into William Stephenson’s Hollywood celebrity spy ring during the Second World War. It is known that Coward worked for them, and his good friendship with Grant is well documented.

    Cary Grant: In Name Only is available from Amazon UK.