Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Famous Fictional Spies: the men


And here are the men (as yet incomplete... I will post the filled-out version soon):



1.
Mr. John Steed (aka:  Major The Hon. John Wickham Gascoyne Beresford Steed, agency: unnamed branch of British intelligence, The Avengers, actors: Patrick Macnee, and by Ralph Fiennes in the 1998 film; British spy drama series, 1961-1969, total of 161 episodes in six seasons, created by Sydney Newman.)  "A scion of a noble family, Steed attended Eton (like Macnee), where he once got into a fight with the school bully, James Bond, and was eventually expelled (like Macnee)... (he) drove a variety of elaborate, old-fashioned cars, including a Rolls Royce and several different models of Bentley, one of which he calls Fido. In one episode also a Vauxhall 30/98 can be seen" (Wikipedia).  “The show singlehandedly started the Spy Catsuit and Action Girl tropes” (tvtropes.org).  The series “initially focused on Dr. David Keel (1961) and his assistant John Steed” (Wikipedia).  Mrs. Emma Peel was but one of three female assistants, including Honor Blackman (played by Cathy Gale) and Linda Thorson (played by Tara King). The series showed in more than 90 countries.

2.
Derek Flint (agency: ZOWIE, the Zonal Organization World Intelligence Espionage., Our Man Flint, 1965 film, In Like Flint 1967, actor: James Coburn, written as a spoof of James Bond and Doc Savage; his achievements were extensive, including “a black belt in Judo, Olympic medals in at least 5 different events, degrees from 17 different universities, creation of highly prized paintings, and the ability to speak fluently in 45 various languages and dialects;” created by Hal Fimberg.  In the comic book That Man Flint, he is called upon by the agency known as M.A.C.E. (Mandated Actions for Covert Enforcement) to find the bad guys and fix the world’s problems.
3.
Simon Templar (Aliases: many, including those from the names of Catholic-ordained saints, but also those which mirror ST, such as "Sebastian Tombs" or "Sugarman Treacle;" Agency: solo/private agent, The Saint, 1997 film, actor: Val Kilmer, written by Leslie Charteris.)  The Saint remains one of the most extensively filmed espionage characgers in history, going back to a 1938 movie entitle The Saint in New York (starring Louis Hayward), followed by 15 more that culminated in the 1997 Val Kilmer film.  Besides film, three TV series have featured the Saint: The Saint (1962–1969, starring Roger Moore); Return of the Saint (1978–1979, starring Ian Ogilvy); and the TV film series that was included in Mystery Wheel of Adventure (1989, starring Simon Dutton). 
Charteris published between 1928 and 1963.  “After that date, other authors collaborated with Charteris on books until 1983; two additional works produced without Charteris’s participation were published in 1997” (Wikipedia).  “The Saint has a dark side, as he is willing to ruin the lives of the "ungodly", and even kill them, if he feels more innocent lives can be saved. In the early books, Templar refers to this as murder, although he considers his actions justified and righteous, a view usually shared by partners and colleagues. Several adventures centre on his intention to kill (for example, "Arizona" in The Saint Goes West has Templar planning to kill a Nazi scientist)” (Wikipedia).
4.
James Bond (Agency: MI6, numerous films, latest: Skyfall, 2012, actors: numerous, currently Daniel Craig; created by Ian Fleming, the first novel being Casino Royale, 1953; his writings include 12 novels and 2 short-story collections).  Over the course of his cinematic portrayal, Bond’s actors have included: (1) Barry Nelson, 1954, (2) Sean Connery, 1962–1971 & 1983, (3) David Niven, 1967, (4) George Lazenby, 1969, (5) Christopher Cazenove, 1973, (6) Roger Moore, 1973–1985, (7) Timothy Dalton, 1986–1993, (8) Pierce Brosnan, 1995–2002, (9) Daniel Craig, 2006–present).  The James Bond films are “the longest continually running and the second-highest grossing film franchise to date, which started in 1962 with Dr. No” (Wikipedia).
5.
James West (US Secret Service, The Wild Wild West, series, actor: Conrad, written by
6.
Maxwell Smart (aka: Agent 86, series, actor:
7.
Ethan Hunt (IMF, Impossible Mission Force, Mission Impossible 1-4), actor: Tom Cruise,
8.
Jack Ryan (CIA, Red October, films, actors: Harrison Ford, written by:
9.
Jason Bourne (CIA, Bourne Identity, Bourne Supremacy, Bourne Ultimatum, films, actor: Matt Damon, writer: Robert Ludlum.
10.
Harry Tasker (Omega Sector, under chief Spencer Trilby, True Lies, film, actor: Arnold Schwarzenegger, written by:
11.
Spencer Trilby (chief of Omega Sector, True Lies, film, actor: Charleton Heston, written by:
12.
Jack Bauer (CTC, 24, series, actor: , written by:
13.
George Smiley (MI6, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, film, actor: Gary Oldman, written by John Le Carré,
14.
Aaron Cross (CIA, The Bourne Legacy, 2012 film, actor: , written by
15.
Roy Miller (CIA, aka: Matthew Knight, Knight and Day, film,
16.
Frank Moses (CIA, RED, Retired Extremely Dangerous, 2012 film, actor: Bruce Willis, written by:
17.
Bryan Mills (CIA, Taken, 20 film, actor: Liam Neeson, written by:
18.
John Smith (unknown US agency, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, film, actor: Brad Pitt, written by:
19.
Alex Rider (MI6, Alex Rider, film, actor:  , written by
20
Ian Rider (MI6, Alex Rider, film, actor: , written by:
21.
Jack Reacher (unknown, One Shot, 2012 film, actor: Tom Cruise, written by Lee Child, pen name for Jim Grant):
22.
Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin (U.N.C.L.E., The Man From Uncle, TV series from 1964 to 1968, actors: Robert Vaughn, who played Solo, and David McCallum, who played Kuryakin; written by David McDaniel).  U.N.C.L.E. was an acronym for the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement.  The British head of U.N.C.L.E. (Number One of Section One) was Alexander Waverly (played by Leo G. Carroll).  “U.N.C.L.E.'s chief adversary was a vast organization known as THRUSH (originally named WASP in the series pilot movie). The original series never divulged what the acronym THRUSH stood for, but in several of the U.N.C.L.E. novels written by David McDaniel, it appears as the Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity, and is described as having been founded by Col. Sebastian Moran after the death of Professor Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls in the Sherlock Holmes story, The Final Problem” (Wikipedia).
23.
Nick Fury (SHIELD, The Avengers, 2012 film, actor: Samuel Jackson, creator/writer:  ).
24.
Johnny English (, , film, actor: , creator/writer:  ).

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