BORN ON THIS DAY: Barry Nelson (April 16, 1917 – April 7, 2007) was an actor, noted as the first actor to portray James Bond. Nelson was born Robert Haakon Nielsen in San Francisco, California. He began acting in school at the age of fifteen. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1941 and was immediately signed to a contract by Metro Goldwyn Mayer. As an MGM contract player, Nelson made his screen debut in the role as Paul Clark in Shadow of the Thin Man (1941) starring William Powell and Myrna Loy. He was the first actor to play James Bond on screen, in a 1954 adaptation of Ian Flemings novel Casino Royale on the TV series Climax! (preceding Sean Connerys interpretation in Dr. No by eight years). Reportedly this was considered a pilot for a possible James Bond television series, though its not known if Nelson intended to continue playing the character. Nelson played James Bond as an American agent whom some in the program call Jimmy. In 2004, Nelson said, At that time, no one had ever heard of James Bond ... I was scratching my head wondering how to play it. I hadnt read the book or anything like that because it wasnt well-known.
Posted on: Wed, 16 Apr 2014 20:39:10 +0000
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