22nd Sep 2025
Trivia: Before Patrick Macnee's John Steed became the face of The Avengers, the show's original lead was Ian Hendry as Dr. David Keel. Hendry also appeared in Casino Royale (1967), but nearly all his scenes were cut. His only surviving moment is as the corpse Vesper throws down the chute. It's a meta gag: the original Avengers star literally discarded in a Bond spoof. The Avengers debuted over a year before Dr. No, kicking off the 60s spy craze.
18th Sep 2025
Trivia: When Ian Fleming first wrote Casino Royale and many of the subsequent Bond books, he designed the character with the actor David Niven in mind. It wasn't until this movie in 1967, a spoof of Bond no less, that having David Niven as Bond would actually happen. And this was after Ian Fleming had died in 1964, so he never got to see this casting realised.
Suggested correction: Not quite correct. Fleming recommended Niven to play Bond in Doctor No, the first Bond feature film. However, Albert Broccoli thought Niven was too old for the role. Fleming wrote James Bond with several influences in mind: particularly actor Hoagie Carmichael for his appearance, and various servicemen he met during the Second World War for Bond's attitudes and abilities.