Michael Pate
February 26, 1920 – September 1, 2008
Australian actor Michael Pate is best known as Clarence Leiter, Jimmy Bond’s British counterpart in the 1954 American television adaptation of Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale. Clarence Leiter, you ask?
In 1954, CBS paid Ian Fleming $1,000 to adapt Casino Royale into a television adventure as part of its Climax! series. Since it was for an American audience, CBS turned James Bond into the Americanized Jimmy Bond played by Barry Nelson. CIA ally, Felix Leiter, was turned into Clarence Leiter, a British spy played by Michael Pate.
Pate didn’t play our favorite Leiter but we here at FelixLeiter.com still hold a special place in our hearts for Clarence. If you’ve never seen the Climax! adaptation of Casino Royale, get your hands on the 2002 DVD edition of the 1967 spoof, Casino Royale, because it’s one of the DVD’s special features.
CommanderBond.net has a great article on the Climax! adaptation here.
Mr. Pate passed away last September.
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