Licenced to thrill

Possessed of one of the most seductive speaking voices in acting history, the lovely Timothy Dalton is - gulp - 80 years old today!

In his long and enviable career, Mr Dalton has played alongside most of the greats of theatre and movies - Peter O'Toole, Katharine Hepburn and Anthony Hopkins in The Lion in Winter, Richard Harris, Alec Guinness, Robert Morley, Charles Gray, Dorothy Tutin, Hugh Griffiths, Harry Andrews, Vanessa Redgrave and Glenda Jackson amongst them.

Another in a long line of Welsh acting maestros, with his piercing green eyes and 6ft 2" frame Timothy Dalton has always been a commanding (and extremely sexy) figure on screen. I had a major crush on him for years...

Just check out his debut screen performance:

Timothy Dalton - The Lion In Winter

Of course, the most lucrative role in his four-decade career, and the one for which he is likely to be most remembered worldwide, is his stint as James Bond in the 80s. Licence to Kill was one of the best of the series, as a result:

Timothy Dalton - Licence To Kill

Inevitably, there are always some less salubrious points in any actor's career. Here are a couple of them...

Timothy Dalton and Mae West in Sextette - Love Will Keep Us Together

Timothy Dalton - TV advert for Brains Faggots

Many happy returns, Timothy Leonard Dalton Leggett (born 21st March 1946)!

We know when to kiss and we know when to kill

Heavens! Possibly one of Britain's greatest exports, James Bond is 60 today! [Well, the film franchise is, anyhow...]

Any excuse, methinks, to indulge ourselves in the greatness of some of my favourite Bond themes over the last six decades!

Shirley Bassey - Moonraker (1978)

Matt Monro - From Russia With Love (1963)

Duran Duran - A View To a Kill(1985)

Shirley Bassey - Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

Gladys Knight - License to Kill (1989)

Garbage - The World Is Not Enough (1999)

Shirley Bassey - Goldfinger (1964)

Oh, I needed that wallow...

Read Peter Bradshaw on Bond at 60, in The Guardian

Tomorrow Never Dies

And so, farewell then, Mr Monty Norman.

Who?, I hear you ask.

If the man was mainly famous for just one thing, it was one helluva good one - for he composed this!

John Barry Orchestra - James Bond Theme [from Dr No]

RIP, Monty Norman (born Monty Noserovitch, 4th April 1928 – 11th July 2022)

Pussy no more

RIP, Miss Honor Blackman. You were our favourite "Bond Girl" by far.

Such style, such elegance - and what a voice! She knew how to make an entrance...

The Avengers: Enter Cathy Gale

Goldfinger: Pussy Galore

And then, there is this - our favourite moment from her oft-overlooked musical career [as first featured here way back in 2009]...

Honor Blackman - The Star Who Fell From Grace

Honor Blackman (22nd August 1925 – 5th April 2020)

Read my previous tribute to the great lady

Reassurance

Producers of the James Bond franchise have confirmed that there will never be a ginger Bond for as long as they have any say in the matter.

After clarifying that there will never be a female Bond the statement on gingers was rushed out to reassure fans left wondering by the omission.

Bond enthusiasts have traditionally strong opinions about the canonical integrity of the totally made-up spy.

To fans, 007 may be able to survive falling from a helicopter into a glass factory, but it would be unrealistic if he was from France – or had ginger hair.

A source said: “In this world of PC gone mad, Bond is one constant. He enables his most devoted fans to feel like some things will be there forever, and that they will never get old or get cancer and die.

“So, no girls and no gingers, ever. And definitely no ginger girls. Adele doing the theme song is as close as we’re ever going to get.”

The Daily Mash

Of course.

“Keeping the British end up, sir.”

Today, the best of all "James Bonds" Sir Roger Moore would have been 90 years old.

By way of a little tribute, here are some of his "best bits" from that long (twelve-year) tenure in the role...

Roger Moore's best James Bond lines

Shaken, not stirred, indeed.

Sir Roger George Moore, KBE (14th October 1927 – 23rd May 2017)

Read my blog on the occasion of Sir Roger's death

Nothing to kill or die for, and no religion, too

It's been a horrible couple of days, with the slaughter of innocents in Manchester, the savage return of Mediaevalism in Indonesia - and the death of my favourite James Bond too.

RIP Sir Roger Moore.

The Saint:

The Saint intro

The Persuaders:

The Persuaders opening titles

James Bond:

The Spy Who Loved Me

However, there is always some good news among the sadness. In Taiwan, they are celebrating the fact that their nation is the first in the whole of Asia to legalise same-sex marriage. Birthday boy (and comedy drag icon) Stanley Baxter is still with us (91 today). Chocolate is good for you, after all. The weather is gorgeous at the moment, and looks likely to stay that way through the Bank Holiday weekend. The Chelsea Flower Show has provided a beautiful diversion.

And speaking of birthdays, here's another of today's celebrants Miss Patti LaBelle, with an appropriate song of hope, written by another musical genius John Lennon:

Patti LaBelle - Imagine

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

We can but hope.

On Her Majesty's Human Resources Service

Bloody brilliant.

And for those among us who are, like me, "public servants" - so true...