1954: James, Um, Jimmy Bond Makes His First TV Appearance
October 21, 2020
| By TV WW
On this day in 1954, the CBS anthology series Climax! Mystery Theater presented the first screen adaptation of an Ian Fleming James Bond novel.
The novel was Casino Royale, Fleming's first published work, and James Bond was played by actor Barry Nelson. In the Climax! adaptation, Bond is an American agent working for "Combined Intelligence," and is frequently referred to as "Jimmy."
The live presentation co-starred Peter Lorre as antagonist Le Chiffre, Michael Pate as Clarence Leiter (who in this adaptation is a British agent) and Linda Christian as Bond's former lover, Valerie Mathis.