James Bond
Known as 007, James Bond is a very popular secret agent that was created in 1952. Since that time the role has been placed by several different men that women absolutely adore for their good looks, charm, and of course the accent. The original writer of the James Bond books and movies died in 1964. However due to the popularity of the character other writers continued the process.
Sean Connery was the first Bond Man from 1962 until 1967. George Lazenby had a brief role as the character in 1969. Roger Moore had the longest run as James Bond. He filled the shoes of the character from 1973 to 1985. Timothy Dalton was James Bond from 1987 to 1989. Pierce Bronson played the character from 1995 to 2002. The current James Bond is Daniel Craig who has been in the role since 2006.
All of the James bond books were authorized to be made into feature films in 1950 but the process of doing so took many years. The popular novel Casino Royale was not released for making into a film until 1992 for undisclosed reasons. The public loves the James Bond films though regardless of who is playing the leading man in them. Of the 21 total Bond movies the gross earnings from them is more than $4 billion. The only film series to earn more is Star Wars.
In addition the different collectible items from the different James Bond movies have brought in millions more in revenues. People love to collect the posters and the die cast cars from the various films. There are plenty of Bond action figures as well as those to represent the different villains.
The soundtracks for the Bond movies generally are top sellers as well. For younger generations, the love of James Bond is dominate as well. There are plenty of video games featuring this popular secret agent as well as comic books.
James Bond is definitely an icon in the history of not only America but all over the globe. All generations it seems can remember seeing a new James Bond movie at one time or another. While the stories have changed and the role of Bond himself have changed over the years, the quality of the story lines continue to intrigue viewers of all ages.
