Bond. Rodney Bond: According To New Bio Of James Bond Author Ian Fleming, 007 Almost Had A Different First Name

“Bond. James Bond,” is the iconic introduction that the late, great Scot actor Sean Connery, appearing as James Bond in Dr. No, gave to a woman (and the world) at a gambling table in the opening scenes of the first James Bond film in 1963. 

The New York Post reports that Ian Fleming’s iconic character may have had a different first name. 

007’s iconic name was almost completely different, a new book claims.

According to “Ian Fleming: The Complete Man,” MI6 superspy James Bond was nearly called Rodney. 

That surprising revelation, first reported by the Times of London, was discovered in author Ian Fleming’s old papers that the book’s writer Nicholas Shakespeare was given access to.

Rodney Bond, it turns out, was a real person who saved the life of Fleming’s brother Peter in 1941. 

Peter, a lieutenant colonel in the British Army who died in 1971, was on a training mission in Greece during World War II. 

When Germany invaded Athens, Peter attempted to escape with his friends Nancy and Harold Caccia and 70 people from the British Embassy, but he was badly injured by an explosion. 

The Caccias’ daughter Clarissa, who was fleeing with them, recalled, “Peter and Dad from there sent a Morse message to Crete to see if anyone was prepared to come back into enemy-occupied territory and get us.” 

The message was received by a Secret Intelligence Service officer — Lt. Rodney Clarence Mortimer Bond. 

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

 James Bond almost had a wildly different first name (nypost.com) 

You can also read my Crime Beat column on Ian Fleming via the below link:

Paul Davis On Crime: My Crime Beat Column: A Look Back At Ian Fleming's Iconic James Bond Character

"Bond. Rodney Bond" doesn't quite have the same ring as "Bond. James Bond." 

Thankfully, Ian Fleming had an interest in the birds near Goldeneye, his famous Jamaican villa. 

So the late, great thriller writer went with the name of the author of Birds of the West Indies, James Bond. 

Note: You can watch a video of the classic Bond introduction via the below link:    

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