The Death Of THE James Bond Movie Icon You Probably Don’t Know
In 1962 The President of the United States was John F. Kennedy. He was young, dashing, charismatic and a World War II hero. He had a beautiful, young wife and a growing family. He also had revealed that he was a fan of the spy novels of England’s Ian Fleming. These books featured a spy named, “James Bond.” That year, this opening credit scene ushered in the most amazing run of success in cinematic history.
The gun-barrel siting. The turn, the gunfire, the blood, and the music. Yes, that music. There have been a lot of iconic themes in movie history. I can make you a pretty good argument that NONE are more iconic than the “James Bond Theme” by Monty Norman. Seriously, the moment you hear it, you know EXACTLY what you’re hearing and who/what it is associated with. I remember the first “Bond” film my dad took me to see in a theater (“The Spy Who Loved Me”) and I’ve never missed one since. I own them all either on Blu-Ray or digital and my love of the character is shared by my son. It’s yet something else we do together (never enough of these). So, when I learned yesterday of Monty Norman’s passing at the age of 94, it was a sad moment. I mean we’ve had 7 different actors play “Agent 007”, but they’ve all done so to Monty Norman’s music. Hopefully, The Academy Award won’t forget him in their “In Memorial” segment next year. His legacy is more than deserving of acknowledgement.
