Judy + Maggie = There’s No Place Like Home

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Studios was the last major movie studio to add talking to their movies, doing so with the movie-musical The Broadway Melody (1929), which became the very first movie-musical to win the Best Picture Academy Award. The ‘30s was the decade that MGM began hiring child stars to perform in their movies, i.e.: Mickey Rooney, Deanna Durbin, and Jane Powell. Many of the stars they hired at that time are considered legends in the history of film. Judy Garland and Margaret O’Brien were two of those popular child stars who got there start at MGM. While both these performers led different career paths, there actually are some intriguing similarities between the two of them.

Judy Garland became under contract to MGM at age 13 in 1935. While she did possess a beautiful singing voice, her singing voice was the only thing conspicuous about her. She was neither tall nor noticeably attractive, both of which were qualities that MGM looked for in talented people back then. That being said, MGM wasn’t entirely sure what to do with her once they signed her. She started to gain attention when she began starring in a series of B movies known as “The Hardy Family Movies series,” where she starred opposite close friend, Mickey Rooney, who portrayed the main character of Andy Hardy in the films Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938), Andy Hardy Meets Debutante (1940) and Life Begins for Andy Hardy (1941). In between the first two Hardy movies, Garland was cast in the role that she would be identified with the rest of her life: Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz (1939). 

MGM had originally considered Shirley Temple for the role, but she was under contract to Fox at the time and Fox wouldn’t let Temple out, so Garland was cast. Although the film was a flop in its initial release, it became a huge success when released worldwide, and Garland won the Best Juvenile Oscar as a result. Two things from that movie became permanently identified with Judy Garland: the song “Over the Rainbow,” which she would sing in a great deal of future concerts, and also the famous line she delivered “There’s no place like home.” While Garland would make several more movies throughout her career, none are quite as remembered by the public today as “The Wizard of Oz,” and Meet Me in St. Louis (1944).

Margaret O’Brien, on the other hand, came to MGM at just four years of age. She made her first film appearance Babes on Broadway (1941), which ironically happened to be another film that starred Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney. Her role in that film was small, but the following year she earned a starring role in the film Journey for Margaret (1942). Two years later, O’Brien reunited with Garland in “Meet Me in St. Louis,” portraying the role of “Tootie” Smith, the younger sister to Garland’s “Esther Smith.” The character of “Tootie” Smith was based on Sally Benson, who wrote about her life in St. Louis, Missouri in her book Meet Me in St. Louis, which is what inspired the movie. Benson answered to the nickname of “Tootie” as a child. (While no one speaks the line “There’s no place like home” in “Meet Me in St. Louis,” the theme of that line is depicted in the film, though from a realistic rather than fantastic perspective in “The Wizard of Oz.”) And just like Judy Garland five years prior, Margaret O’Brien won the Best Juvenile Oscar for her performance as “Tootie.”

O’Brien and Garland got along well during the filming of the movie, though Garland was concerned for the young actress playing her little sister. She feared that O’Brien could wind up having a life destroyed by insecurity and fame, as Garland herself was already struggling with it at just 21 years of age. Garland had been prescribed a regular does of amphetamines from the time she came to MGM along with Mickey Rooney and others, addiction to which led to her unfortunate death at the age of 47 in 1969. O’Brien, however, continues to maintain a healthy personal life along with a career that continues even today. Five years after “Meet Me in St. Louis,” O’Brien made Little Women (1949) with June Allyson, Janet Leigh, and Elizabeth Taylor. The film also reunited her with her “Meet Me in St. Louis,” co-stars, Mary Astor, Leon Ames, and Harry Davenport. In the former, Astor and Ames played her parents, while Davenport played the grandfather and in the latter Astor and Ames again played the parents and Davenport played the doctor. Most recently, O’Brien acted in Disney’s direct-to-video sequel Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 (2017) and also appeared in a remake of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (2017).

Judy Garland and Margaret O’Brien both created legacies as some of our most famous child stars. In the end, Judy Garland achieved more fame and popularity thanks to her incredible singing voice, but Margaret O’Brien managed to have a longer career. Neither will ever be forgotten for making movies that reminded us all:  “There’s no place like home.”  

Miracle on 34th Street 70th Anniverary Blog part 2

This blog continues our tribute to George Seaton’s Miracle on 34th Street (1947) with “34 thing you didn’t know” about it. The second in our series contains the last 17 fun facts. Please feel free to comment if you’d like.

1. At the very beginning of the movie, during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade scene, all of the cameras that were used in that scene froze and it became impossible for the crew to transition them in any way, shape, or form. So they just filmed it as positioned based on where they started. 
2. There is a scene in Home Alone (1990) where Kevin turns on the tv and sees “Miracle on 34th Street,” on the screen. Chris Columbus, who directed “Home Alone,” and its first sequel, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) was a big fan, and directed Maureen O’Hara in her last theatrical film appearance in the dramatic/romantic comedy Only the Lonely (1991), which was released in between the “Home Alone,” movies.
3. Natalie Wood was Maureen O’Hara’s favorite child actor of all the child actors that she worked with throughout her whole career. She specifically said “I have been the mother to almost forty children in movies, but I have always had a special place in my heart for little Natalie. She always called me Mamma Maureen and I called her Natasha, the name her parents had given her.”
4. To this day, “Miracle on 34th Street,” “It’s a Wonderful Life,” and The Bishop’s Wife (1947) remain the only three Christmas movies ever to receive Best Picture Oscar Nominations. (While “Miracle on 34th Street,” and “Bishop’s Wife,” both won trophies in other categories, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” didn’t win any at all.)
5. Percy Helton, who played the drunk Santa at the beginning of the film, also played the Train Conductor in both White Christmas (1954) and The Music Man (1962).
6. Meredith Wilson, who was the composer and lyricist for “The Music Man,” adapted “Miracle on 34th Street,” as a Broadway musical entitled “Here’s Love.”
7. Edmund Gwenn’s (who played Kris Kringle) cousin, actor Cecil Kellaway, had been offered the role of Kris Kringle in the film, but declined.
8. Like Natalie Wood, Maureen O’Hara also made other films that were released the same year as “Miracle on 34th Street.” The films were: Sinbad, the Sailor (1947), The Homestretch (1947), and The Foxes of Harrow (1947). The latter two were distributed by Fox. (Rex Harrison acted in “The Foxes of Harrow,” with O’Hara and “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir,” with Wood.)
9. The working title of the film was actually called “The Big Heart.”
10. Gene Lockhart, who played the authoritative Judge Henry X. Harper in the film, had just nine years earlier played the humble and timid Bob Cratchit in MGM’s A Christmas Carol (1938).
11. While Macy’s Department Store was willing to have its name used in this film, they were unwilling to re-donate their name to the 1994 remake. Thus, the producers of the remake came up with the fictional name of Cole’s Department Store.
12. The original “Miracle on 34th Street,” was released in 1947 and the theatrical remake was released on November 18th 1994, 47 years after the original. When the remake was released, Fox offered a full refund to any audience member who didn’t enjoy the film. Roughly, 1,500 tickets were returned to the studio. 
13. Co-writer Valentine Davies was inspired to write the story for the movie as he was shopping to find a Christmas gift for his wife—while struggling through huge crowds. He wondered what the real Santa Claus would think about all the commercialization of Christmas.
14. George Seaton, who won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for his screenplay for the film, seven years later won another Best Original Screenplay Oscar for writing The Country Girl (1954) which starred Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, and William Holden. (He also directed “The Country Girl,” earning him his only Best Director Oscar Nomination.)
15. In the film’s climatic scene, where Fred Gailey presents a bunch of mailbags to Judge Harper, there are a total of 21 mailbags in the scene.
16. Maureen O’Hara and Alvin Greenman (who played Alfred the janitor) were the last two surviving cast members of the movie. O’Hara passed away on October 24th, 2015 at the age of 95 and Alvin Greenman passed away on July 14th, 2016 at the age of 86.
17. Edmund Gwenn gained a total of 30 pounds to prepare for his role as Kris Kringle.

“Miracle on 34th Street,” is a true classic and has remained beloved by film audiences for almost three quarters of a century. It is remarkable that, at the time, Fox chief Darryl Zanuck initially loathed the film and didn’t believe that it would be a success. Today the film is neither included in AFI’s Top 100 Films, nor is it included in any of AFI’s other lists, but it is still considered a classic, primarily because of its powerful story.  

Miracle on 34th Street 70th Anniversary Blog part 1

Last year Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) celebrated its 70th anniversary. This year, another holiday classic celebrates the same. But unlike “It’s a Wonderful Life,” George Seaton’s Miracle on 34th Street (1947) was a huge hit when it was released! It was critically acclaimed, won accolades, and remains a classic today. To celebrate, these next two blogs will be a “walk down 34th Street,” with 34 interesting facts about this treasured holiday film. Please feel free to comment if you’d like!

1. When the film’s co-writer/director George Seaton pitched the idea of “Miracle on 34th Street,” to 20th Century Fox Studio Chief Darryl Zanuck, Zanuck detested the idea and did not want to allow Seaton to make it. Seaton was determined, however, and continued to persist, so Zanuck ultimately agreed to grant the film a medium-sized budget. BUT…only if Seaton would write/direct three other film projects assigned by Zanuck unconditionally. The films were Apartment for Peggy (1948), Chicken Every Sunday (1949), and The Big Lift (1950). “Apartment for Peggy,” starred “Miracle on 34th Street,” actors Edmund Gwenn and Gene Lockhart and “Chicken Every Sunday,” starred “Miracle on 34th Street,” actors Natalie Wood, William Frawley, Porter Hall, and Percy Helton.

2. Although the film takes place in New York at Christmastime, the film had its premiere in New York on June 4th, 1947. 20th Century Fox Studio Chief Darryl F. Zanuck claimed that more people go to the movies in hotter weather.

3. Maureen O’Hara, who played Doris Walker, initially did not want to make the film. She had recently returned to Ireland after having been prevented by the United States Government, along with a great deal of other immigrants, to return to her home country due to the breakout of World War II. She reluctantly came back to America, but fortunately changed her attitude and was very delighted that she was going to make it once she read the script.

4. The film won three Oscars: Best Supporting Actor Edmund Gwenn as Kris Kringle, Best Writing, (Original Story), Valentine Davies, and Best Writing, (Screenplay), George Seaton. The film was also nominated for Best Picture, but lost to Gentlemen’s Agreement (1947). The film also received the Golden Globes for Best Supporting Actor and Best Screenplay.

5. Maureen O’Hara and John Payne (who played Fred Gailey) in the film were very close friends in real life. They made a total of four films together: “Miracle,” To The Shores of Tripoli (1942), Sentimental Journey (1946), and Tripoli (1950), where they were both directed by O’Hara’s then-husband, Will Price.

6. John Payne specifically said that “Miracle on 34th Street,” was his personal favorite of all his films. 

7. William Frawley played the bit role of Judge Harper’s friend Charlie Halloran in the film. This was just four years prior to when Frawley became best known as Fred Mertz in I Love Lucy (1951-1957).

8. In the first courtroom scene, there is a moment where Fred Gailey is interviewing Thomas Mara Jr. (played by Robert Hyatt), the son of Gailey’s prosecuting lawyer opponent. Gailey asks “junior” how he knows that there is a real Santa Claus and his now famous reply “Because my daddy told me so.” was a line the young actor came up with himself.

9. Natalie Wood simultaneously made two films for 1947. “Miracle,” and “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir,” with co-stars Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison.

10. Although there is a scene in the film where Natalie Wood’s character, Susan Walker, discovers that Kris Kringle’s beard is real, Edmund Gwenn’s “beard” was not real. Gwenn improvised his reaction in the scene when Wood pulled on it to see if it was real or not.

11. This film was the feature film debut of six-time-Oscar-nominee Thelma Ritter, who played Peter’s mother.

12. “Miracle on 34th Street,” was only the second film distributed by 20th Century Fox to be shot on-location in New York City. The first film was The House on 92nd Street (1945).

13. On an audio commentary for the film, Maureen O’Hara specifically recalled that when they were halfway through shooting the film, the entire cast and crew believed that Edmund Gwenn was, in fact, the real Santa Claus.

14. When Edmund Gwenn accepted his Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance as Kris Kringle, his acceptance speech was “Now I know there’s a Santa Claus.”

15. The film has received numerous re-adaptations throughout the years. It was first re-adapted in 1955 by Fox as a television series, with Thomas Mitchell from “It’s a Wonderful Life,” as Kris Kringle. There were also two made-for-television movie adaptations in 1959 with Ed Wynn as Kringle and in 1973 with Sebastian Cabot as Kringle. Fox readapted the film theatrically in 1994 with Sir Richard Attenborough as Kris Kringle, Elizabeth Perkins as Dorey Walker, Dylan McDermott as Brian Bedford and Mara Wilson as Susan Walker. Sadly, none of the remakes were quite as successful as their original predecessor.

16. There is a scene in the film where Kris Kringle speaks Dutch to a little Dutch girl with no subtitles shown on screen. The English translation for the Dutch spoken in that scene is Santa is asking what the little girl wants for Christmas and she replies nothing because Santa already got her the wonderful gift by being adopted by her new mother.

17. Alvin Greenman who played the young janitor, Alfred in the film also makes a cameo as the doorman named Alfred in 1994 remake.

“Miracle on 34th Street,” is a film that depicts that there truly is a Santa Claus, or it rather just depends on how you look at it. Furthermore, it’s a beautiful reminder that although we do live in a very realistic world, the world is full of mysterious, controversial things that no one fully understands or has ever been able to fully explain. But what we don’t realize too easily is that faith in those things provides the motivation that everyone needs to have good attitudes towards the crudeness that real life often brings and to not grow up feeling like depressed, cynical failures. As they say in the film “Faith is believing in something when common sense tells you not to,” or in other words we should all carefully balance common sense with faith in our lives.

That’s the first half of our “walk down 34th Street”—more to come in next week’s blog.  

Adam Driver: Slacker to Star Wars

Has curly hair, towering height,….and a mischievous grin. Adam Driver has gained fame playing unreliable, lazy, slacking, goof-offs, but it has taken him all the way to a three-time-Emmy-nominated role as Adam Sackler, the love interest to Lena Dunham’s Hannah Horvath on Girls (2012-2017) and Jason Bateman’s youngest brother in This Is Where I Leave You (2014). 

Right now, he has become known throughout the world as Kylo Ren, one of the latest villains created especially for the new Star Wars (2015-2019) trilogy produced by Walt Disney Pictures. Adam Driver definitely has a promising future ahead of him in motion pictures, though he also has gotten off to a remarkable start, having worked with several of Hollywood’s best directors and appearing in television, and theater too.

Adam Driver was born on November 19th, 1983 in San Diego California. He developed an interest in acting, appearing in plays in high school. After 9/11, he enlisted in the Marines, where he served for two years and eight months, but after breaking his sternum, he was medically discharged. As a result of his service, however, he created the AITAF (Arts in the Armed Forces), a non-profit organization that performed theater for every branch of the military both in the United States and abroad.

Later, he attended University of Indianapolis, but ultimately decided to move to New York to study Drama at Juilliard. In 2010, he appeared on Broadway in two different plays called The Retributionists and Mrs. Warren’s Profession. He also made appearances in television shows like The Unusuals (2009) and Law & Order (1990-2010) before winning the role of Adam Sackler in “Girls.” Prior to getting that role, Adam Driver also had bit parts in the movies J. Edgar (2011) directed by Clint Eastwood, and in Touchstone’s Lincoln (2012) directed by Steven Spielberg. During his time on “Girls,” he also made the romantic-comedy What If (2013) opposite Daniel Radcliffe and “This Is Where I Leave You.”

Believe it or not, Adam Driver was not Disney’s first choice to play Kylo Ren in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015). Academy-Award-Winner Eddie Redmayne auditioned for the part and so did Lee Pace. (Michael Fassbender and Hugo Weaving were both also considered). Finally, Driver was cast, though he had to fly back and forth between New York and London to film both “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” and Seasons 3 and 4 of “Girls.” Although he did enjoy portraying the character of Kylo Ren, he disliked his character’s mask, because it affected his vision during filming. Despite that, he never broke character throughout filming and even kept the mask on when cameras weren’t rolling. “The Force Awakens,” was also a reunion for Adam Driver and Oscar Isaac who plays Poe Dameron in “The Force Awakens.” Driver previously worked with Isaac in Inside Llewyn Davis (2013), which was co-written, co-produced, and co-directed by Ethan and Joel Coen. Both Driver and Isaac will be reprising their roles in Disney’s upcoming Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017). In between both “Star Wars,” movies, Adam Driver also made Silence (2016) starring opposite Andrew Garfield and directed by Martin Scorsese and Logan Lucky (2017) starring opposite Channing Tatum and directed by Steven Soderbergh.

Adam Driver has become almost ubiquitous in the entertainment industry despite a young career. No doubt he will go on to much more success, but will probably remain most often recognized as Kylo Ren. (Whether or not he will be in Star Wars Episode IX (2019) remains to be seen.) Whatever he does next, his track record so far indicates that it will be great!

Cuba Gooding Jr.: Show Me The Disney!

“Show Me The Money!” is the trademark line spoken by Cuba Gooding Jr., in his Oscar-winning performance as Rod Tidwell in Jerry Maguire (1996). But Cuba Gooding Jr. has starred in a variety of popular films and television shows: comedies, dramas, biopics, and even two films for the Walt Disney Studios. Through every role he has played he brings a boundless amount of energy, along with a good sense of humor.

Cuba Gooding Jr. was born in The Bronx, New York on January 2nd, 1968. His parents, Cuba Gooding Sr. and Shirley Sullivan were both singers of two different groups (Gooding Sr. for “The Main Ingredient,” and Sullivan for “The Sweethearts.” His family relocated to Los Angeles when Gooding Jr. was four years old. At the age of six, his father unfortunately abandoned the family. As Gooding Jr. and his siblings (two brothers and one sister) were raised by their mother, they consistently were changing schools throughout different parts of California. Gooding Jr. attended four different high schools. Amidst the chaos, he did well in school and became class president for three of the four high schools where he attended. Although he was a good student, he was interested in pursuing a career in entertaining like his parents.  

He originally began his career as a breakdancer, performing with Lionel Richie at the closing ceremony of the 1984 Summer Olympics. He was also a backup dancer for Paula Abdul but he decided to pursue acting after high school. As a result, he was fortunate enough to earn guest spots on Hill Street Blues (1981-1987), Amen (1986-1991), and MacGyver (1985-1992). He made his film debut in Eddie Murphy’s Coming to America (1988) and starred in the film Sing (1989) before landing his first leading role in Boyz in the Hood (1991). The success of this film led to him also having roles in A Few Good Men (1992), Lightning Jack (1994), and Outbreak (1995). Then, in 1996, his big hit (which reunited him with “A Few Good Men,” co-star Tom Cruise. After “Jerry Maguire,” Gooding also had a small part in As Good as it Gets (1997), which was co-written, co-produced, and directed by “Jerry Maguire,” producer James L. Brooks.      

In 2001, Cuba Gooding Jr. was cast in the role of Dorie Miller in Touchstone’s Pearl Harbor. The very next year he played Ted Brooks in live-action Disney comedy Snow Dogs (2002). Two years after that, he was the voice of Buck the Horse in Home on the Range (2004). In between “Snow Dogs,” and “Home on the Range,” Cuba Gooding Jr. starred in the biopic Radio (2003), based on the true story of James Robert “Radio” Kennedy and his friendship with Coach Harold Jones (played by Ed Harris in the film). In 2002, Cuba Gooding Jr. made Boat Trip with Roger Moore. Interestingly, Moore thought Gooding would be a good successor to Pierce Brosnan as James Bond, but that did not work out. In 2007 he starred in both Norbit and Daddy Day Camp.

More recentlty, Gooding Jr. made his Broadway debut in a revival of the play The Trip to Bountiful opposite Cicely Tyson and Vanessa Williams. He also played Civil Rights Movement Attorney Fred Gray in Selma (2014) and received a Primetime Emmy Nomination for playing O.J. Simpson in the miniseries The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story (2016).

Cuba Gooding Jr. has had a career that spans almost 30 years. He has created many characters on stage and screen but will forever remembered as the football-playing Rod Tidwell, and his famous quote: “Show me the money!”   

The Redgraves

The Barrymores, the Fondas, the Cusacks…just some examples of talented families representing generations of talent show business. Another name on that list would be the Redgrave family. Beginning with the family patriarch, Sir Michael Redgrave and his wife Rachel Kempson (also known as Lady Redgrave), their children are even more famous. Vanessa Redgrave and her daughters Natasha and Joely Richardson are all accomplished actors as well as her sister Lynn Redgrave, and brother Corin.  Corin Redgrave’s daughter Jemma Redgrave, and Joely’s daughter, Daisy Bevan are continuing the tradition. Did you know that in addition to being an incredibly talented family, the second and third generations of the Redgraves all have connections to the Walt Disney Studios?

Vanessa Redgrave, the eldest child of Michael and Rachel, provided the voices of Mama Topolino and the Queen Car in Cars 2 (2011). She also starred in the Touchstone Pictures film Cradle Will Rock (1999). Vanessa was first married to director, Tony Richardson, who directed both his mother-in-law, Lady Redgrave and sister-in-law, Lynn Redgrave, in the film Tom Jones (1963). She had two daughters with Richardson, Natasha and Joely. After divorcing Richardson, Vanessa Redgrave appeared opposite Franco Nero in the movie-musical Camelot (1967), based on the Broadway musical of the same name, with Redgrave as Lady Guinevere and Nero as Sir Lancelot. They began a long-term relationship which produced a son, Carlo Gabriel Nero, who later directed them in film Uninvited (1999). They officially became husband and wife on New Year’s Eve of 2006. (Nero, also was the voice of Uncle Topolino in “Cars 2.”) To this day, Vanessa Redgrave is the only British actress ever to win an Oscar, a Golden Globe, a Tony, and a Screen Actor’s Guild. Most recently, Nero and Redgrave reunited together on-screen, opposite Amanda Seyfried in Letters to Juliet (2010). 

Lynn Redgrave was the youngest child of the Redgrave family. She made a guest star appearance as herself in the third season of The Muppet Show (1976-1981). She also starred opposite Kirstie Alley in the made-for-television film Toothless (1997). Like her sister, Lynn Redgrave received Oscar and Golden Globe nominations, but disappointingly never won. In 1993, she also received a Tony Nomination for the one-woman play “Shakespeare for My Father,” based on her relationship with her father. While she was never the voice of any Disney cartoon, she did lend her voice to the Nickelodeon series, The Wild Thornberrys (1998-2004) as the voice of Cordelia Thornberry, who is the mother of Nigel Thornberry, the family’s patriarch (voiced by Tim Curry). She reprised that role for The Wild Thornberrys Movie (2002).

Interestingly, Vanessa’s daughters from her first marriage, Joely and the late Natasha Richardson, both starred in remakes of classic Disney films. Joely played Anita Dearly in 101 Dalmatians and Natasha played Elizabeth James, the mother of the twins in The Parent Trap (1998). After making “The Parent Trap,” Natasha went on to star in the leading role of Fraulein Sally Bowles in the 1998 Broadway revival of Cabaret opposite Alan Cumming as the Master of Ceremonies. She and Cumming both won Tonys for their performances. (Ironically, Natasha won her Tony before her mother, Vanessa won her Tony for her performance in Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night in 2003.) Joely, also appeared under the direction of Bonnie Hunt in Return to Me (2000) and starred in the series Nip/Tuck (2003-2010) which earned her two Golden Globe Nominations. Joely’s daughter Daisy Bevan has acted in film and television, including Elizabeth (1998) with Cate Blanchett, which was produced by her father, Tim Bevan. (Bevan also was an executive producer on the film Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) which his former brother-in-law, Corin Redgrave acted in.)

From Broadway, to Disney, to movie-musicals, to Nickelodeon Cartoons, and beyond, the Redgraves were all entertaining in their own ways. They each created incredible performances on screen and on stage, resulting in well-deserved accolades . While many of them are no longer with us, the legacy of their family will live on for years to come.  

The Name’s Disney, James Disney

Ian Fleming first created the character of James Bond in 1953 in a series of novels and two short-story collections. Since his unfortunate death in 1964, Ian Fleming’s character of James Bond has been readapted for other novelizations as well as television, radio, comic strips, video games, and of course, film. The James Bond film franchise consists of 24 films. And Agent 007 has been portrayed by a total of 13 actors in television, radio, and video game adaptations. However, several of the actors who have portrayed Bond, long before they donned the smashing tuxedos, massive weaponry and technological gadgetry, starred in films for the Walt Disney Studios? In this blog, I would like to acknowledge that.

Pierce Brosnan played James Bond in the films: GoldenEye (1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World Is Not Enough (1999), and Die Another Day (2002). Brosnan’s only connection to Disney is spoofing the character of James Bond in the ABC show Muppets Tonight (1996). Pierce Brosnan is the only actor to play James Bond who has also appeared in a movie-musical in Mamma Mia (2008). (He will also appear in Universal’s upcoming sequel to “Mamma Mia,” Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again (2018)). 

Sir Daniel Craig is the sixth actor who has portrayed Bond, though the first and so far only actor to portray him in the 21st century. His Bond movies are: Casino Royale (2006), (which was remake of an earlier film of the same name, Casino Royale (1967), which was a comedic/parody portrayal of James Bond where he was acted by David Niven), Quantum of Solace (2008), Skyfall (2012), and Spectre (2015). Before he was known as Bond, at just 27 years of age, Craig starred in Disney’s A Kid in King Arthur’s Court (1995). Craig also made a cameo as one of the First Order Stormtroopers in Disney’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015).        

Sir Sean Connery is the very first actor to play James Bond on film. His Bond films include: Dr. No (1962), From Russia with Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball (1965), You Only Live Twice (1965), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), and Never Say Never Again (1983). Just three years before “Dr. No,” Sean Connery was cast by Walt Disney in the film, Darby O’Gill and the Little People (1959). Bond film producer, Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli, saw this film and knew right of the bat that Connery would be the perfect James Bond. (Connery also starred in the Disney-owned Hollywood Pictures films, Medicine Man (1992) and The Rock (1996)). To this day, Connery, along with David Niven, are the only two actors portraying James Bond to win an Academy Award, having won Best Supporting Actor in The Untouchables (1986). 

Timothy Dalton originally had been offered the role of James Bond for the film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1968), but declined, believing himself to be too young for the part. He was approached again around 1979-1980, but declined once more, having disliked the direction the films were taking. He received a third offer in 1986, after Roger Moore retired and Pierce Brosnan had been considered, but couldn’t be released from commitments to Remington Steele (1982-1987). Dalton decided to accept that time and made the films The Living Daylights (1987) and License to Kill (1989). He was under contract to make a third film, though that did not work out, due to a lawsuit the film’s producers got into with MGM. After his brief run as James Bond, Dalton starred as the villainous Neville Sinclair in Disney’s The Rocketeer (1991). He also lent his voice to Mr. Pricklepants the porcupine in Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story 3 (2010), and continues that voice for every “Toy Story,” spin-off today. He also lent his voice to the Disney/Studio Ghibli film, Tales from Earthsea (2006) and the Disney Faires direct-to-video film, Secret of the Wings (2012).

Sir Roger Moore played James Bond in: Live and Let Die (1973), The Man With the Golden Gun (1974), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Moonraker (1979), For Your Eyes Only (1981), Octopussy (1983), and A View to Kill (1985). Roger Moore’s Disney connections include guest starring as himself in the final episode of The Muppet Show (1976), and after his run as Bond, starred in The Magic Snowman (1987). Just like his predecessor, Sean Connery, Roger Moore played James Bond in seven movies. Roger Moore’s daughter, Deborah Moore, acted alongside Pierce Brosnan in “Die Another Day.”

David Niven’s appearance as James Bond in the aforementioned original version of “Casino Royale,” was his only appearance as the character. Ironically, Ian Fleming originally had Niven in mind for the role in first Bond film “Dr. No,” but “Cubby” Broccoli thought he was too old.  In the ‘70s, Niven starred in the Disney films No Deposit, No Return (1976) which co-starred Darren McGavin and Don Knotts and Candleshoe (1977), which also starred a virtually unknown Jodie Foster. (Both those films were directed by Norman Tokar and produced by Walt Disney’s son-in-law, Ron Miller.) Prior to portraying Bond, Niven won his Oscar, in the category of Best Actor, for Separate Tables (1958). Niven is also the only actor whose name receives any acknowledgment in an Ian Fleming novel. His name is written in Chapter 14 of You Only Live Twice, which is the 11th novel in the book series.

The James Bond film franchise has grossed more than $7.040 billion dollars and is currently the fourth-highest-grossing-film franchise of all time. Daniel Craig is currently attached to make one final film appearance as Agent 007 in a film set for release in 2019, making it his fifth appearance as the character and the 25th film in the franchise.