New Spy History Reveals Real "James Bond"

[Blowfeld]

A new history of the famously secretive British intelligence agency MI6 is shedding light on the real-life inspiration behind James Bond, reports the Telegraph.

Professor Keith Jeffery’s book, “MI6, the History of the Secret Intelligence Service,” reveals that a Commander Wilfred Dunderdale is the most likely model for Ian Fleming’s super spy. While a photo of a fake I.D. shows that he lacked the dashing good looks associated with the big screen incarnations of Bond, Dunderdale befriended Fleming and later claimed to have seen traces of his exploits in the books.

“A man of great charm and savoir-fair, in old age he became an incorrigible raconteur,” Jeffery said of Dunderdale.

The love of cars and beautiful ladies are characteristics attributed to the MI6 man.

“When head of the Secret Intelligence Service Paris station in the 1930s, he had a penchant for pretty women and fast cars,” said Jeffery.

The book says that an iconic scene from the Sean Connery-era Bond movie “Goldfinger” was grounded in reality. In the movie, Bond emerges from the water and takes off his wetsuit, revealing a dinner suit underneath. In real life, an M16 agent wearing a special rubber suit came ashore near a casino in Nazi-occupied Holland. He was met by another agent who sprayed him with brandy to finish off the disguise as a party attendee, and the tuxedoed man slipped into the crowd unnoticed.

Another interesting tidbit is that the spy agency admitted for the first time that several famous English authors, such as Graham Greene, Arthur Ransome and W. Somerset Maugham, were staff members for M16 during World War II.

this story can be found at http://www.nbcwashington.com/entertainm ... 13164.html

[Kristatos]

How many "real-life inspirations for James Bond" does this make now?

[Goldeneye]

http://www.asylum.com/2010/09/23/wilfre ... ames-bond/

Real-Life James Bond's Friends Called Him Biffy, Was Still Cool
Given that James Bond is the epitome of cool, it could be disappointing to learn that his real-life inspiration was a dude called Wilfred "Biffy" Dunderdale.

But as a new book about the British MI6 spy service reveals about Dunderdale, we're pleased to report that ol' Biffy was a pretty interesting character himself. Here are some of the cooler facts about Dunderdale ... Biffy Dunderdale.

He Lived a Thrilling James Bond Lifestyle Himself
Years into his career, Dunderdale was married to a gorgeous blond American woman named June Morse, who told anyone who asked that her husband worked in "passport control," a common euphemism for military intelligence. The two lived in a luxury flat near the Eiffel Tower while stationed in Paris.

Dunderdale delighted in introducing his friends to the owners of nightclubs he frequented, insisting that they be given free champagne. The book's author, Keith Jeffrey, told the British Telegraph that "when head of the Secret Intelligence Service Paris station in the 1930s, he had a penchant for pretty women and fast cars."

It's been said that being married to a beautiful American in Paris provided a cover asset, and this is probably part of why Ian Fleming, in creating the character of 007, gave him all of those Bond Girls. Well, that and to give future Bond fans the chance to see Olga Kurylenko in that dress.

Keep reading to learn more about the ways Biffy stuck it to the Nazis and looked good doing it.


That Scene in "Goldfinger" Where Bond Removes His Wet Suit, Revealing a Tuxedo? That Actually Happened
It didn't happen to Dunderdale himself, though he's widely described as a "raconteur" and was reportedly thrilled to see his experiences appear in Fleming's work. But Dunderdale did relay the story to Fleming of a Dutch spy named Pieter Tazelaar. Not only did Tazelaar emerge from his rubber suit in fine evening wear before entering a waterfront casino, he even splashed a few drops of Hennessey onto his tie in order to make sure that everybody knew he'd been partying.

He Was Born in Odessa and Spoke Fluent Russian
In fact, one of Dunderdale's favorite stories of his early years involved working as a translator for a Tsarist general. In a scene that we're stunned never made it into a Bond flick, he was tasked with translating between the Russian general and his British mistress, from outside of a train's sleeping compartment. While helping another dude hook up may not sound particularly Bond-like, consider this: He was still a teenager at the time.

He Was a Pretty Good Boxer
The British have weird names for things, and apparently you don't get called something like "Biffy" without some serious inside-the-ring boxing prowess. (Just ask Muhammad "Biffy" Ali.) During World War I, Dunderdale served in the British Navy, and he was a good enough fighter that he bore the nickname proclaiming skills in the sweet science for the rest of his days.

He Didn't Have a "License to Kill" and His Codename Wasn't 007, But He Did Place Almost 60 Agents in France During WWII
Apparently no one had a license to kill, though MI6 did have a list of potential assassination targets that they opted against acting on, realizing that the risks of German retaliation outweighed the reward of a few more dead Nazis. Dunderdale instead managed to help 57 spies into France to fight the good fight. Fleming similarly made up 007 as a codename; British Intelligence agents aren't given numbers, but names.

We're not sure what Dunderdale's codename was, but we're willing to bet it was cooler-sounding than "Biffy."

[Goldeneye]

AHN News Staff

London, United Kingdom (AHN) - News has come in that the story of James Bond, that suave, ultimate icon for men throughout the world, is actually based on real-life exploits of an MI6 spy, who was active during the Second World War.

Among the most famous scenes from James Bond series of films is the one from the 1964 movie, "Goldfinger," where Sean Connery, playing Bond, emerges in his wetsuit but seconds later, discards it for a spotless dinner suit.

According to 'MI6, The History of the Secret Intelligence Service,' the first official history of the SIS, written by Professor Keith Jeffery, this scene was inspired by the real life incident that took place when Dutch secret agent Pieter Tazelaar was sent by sea 70 years ago, to establish contact with agents in Holland.

Professor Jeffrey, who teaches at the Queen's University in Belfast, had access to the historic documents recording the goings on of the SIS. However, his book talks of the period only upto 1949 and he has also been disallowed to reveal the identities of spies not already in the public domain.

Another inspiration for James Bond could be Commander Wilfred "Biffy" Dunderdale, a friend of Bond's creator, Ian Fleming, and a lesser known name among the spies. Professor Jeffrey reports in his book, "When head of the SIS Paris station in the 1930s, he had a penchant for pretty women and fast cars and has been proposed as one of the possible models for Bond. He was a great friend of Ian Fleming and claimed that he found parts of his own stories in the James Bond novels."

Jeffrey says of Dunderdale, "A man of great charm and savoir-fair, in old age he became an incorrigible raconteur."


Read more: http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles ... z10Nouu5tF

[katied]

How many "real-life inspirations for James Bond" does this make now?

Ain't that the truth-it's like Spartacus- "I was the inspiration for James Bond! "No, *I* was the inspiration for James Bond!" You get the idea.