Jack Lord

December 30, 1920 – January 21, 1998

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“For me, Jack Lord sprung to mind. I mean the shades. And outside of Miles Davis, he was the coolest cat on the planet.”

- Jeffrey Wright, current Felix Leiter

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Jack Lord was the first cinematic interpretation of Ian Fleming’s Felix Leiter in 1962′s Dr. No. He was approached for Goldfinger but had to decline due to the producers’ unwillingness to pay him an amount equal to what Sean Connery was making for the picture. Despite his greed, he is still considered one of the series’ best Felix Leiters. He had the potential to make the character truly special by giving the character continuity but unfortunately the producers had to recast thus establishing the tradition of casting a new Felix Leiter every subsequent time the character was needed in a Bond film. As you know, Jeffrey Wright has broken the trend with his appearances in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.

VISIT THE JACK LORD FAN CLUB ON MYSPACE

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According to EW.com, CBS is developing a remake of Hawaii Five-O for next fall.

The original series ran from 1968 to 1980 and starred Jack Lord and James McArthur as detectives Steve McGarrett and Dan Williams. Set in Hawaii, the detectives worked for a fictional Hawaiian state police department. The hugely popular show set the template for the many police dramas that have followed and held the record for longest running crime drama on American television until 2003, when Law and Order surpassed it.

Ed Bernero, the executive producer of Criminal Minds and self-proclaimed Hawaii Five-O fan, is currently writing the project. According to TVSeriesFinale.com, the new version will star Chris McGarrett, son of Jack Lord’s Steve McGarrett. The site goes on to say, “although the storytelling will be updated, the spirit of the original will be maintained as much as possible including a re-vamped version of the iconic theme song and some form of the famous closing line “Book’em Danno.” The new Hawaii Five-O, like its predecessor, will take place at a fictional Hawaii state police department (Hawaii is the only US state without a statewide police agency) and will be filmed on the islands.”

There is still no word on who will star in this new adaptation.

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“I do try to bring, particularly to the first one (Casino Royale), my own thing to it,” Wright said of the influence past Bond movies had on “Quantum’s” production. “For me, Jack Lord sprung to mind. I mean the shades. And outside of Miles Davis, he was the coolest cat on the planet. And I was just very excited to bring some fresh life into the character and into the series to the extent that I could.”

Wright continued, “I think we are influenced only in that there is a previous history to these films. It’s a Bond film. There is an element of style and slickness. But at the same time, there has always been an intelligence to these films that cuts through as well.”

And what’s next for Felix Leiter, newly appointed section chief of South America?

Felix Leiter’s promotion at the end of Quantum of Solace foreshadows what will hopefully be a much larger role in the next Bond film. Wright continues, “I don’t think anything has been written yet, but I hear some interesting things…rumblings.”

This is probably my favorite Jeffrey Wright interview yet. “For me, Jack Lord sprung to mind. I mean the shades. And outside of Miles Davis, he was the coolest cat on the planet” is one of the coolest quotes ever!

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David Hedison was interviewed by Dr. Sky last week. I just listened to it here and I highly recommend it! Steve Kates aka Dr. Sky asked a lot of great questions about Mr. Hedison’s career (including questions about The Fly, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and Felix Leiter).

During the interview, it is mentioned that the song, “The Movies” by the Statler Brothers, name-checks David Hedison. This is a wonderful tidbit that was news to me. What a nice tribute to Mr. Hedison to be mentioned in a song entitled, “The Movies.”

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO “THE MOVIES”

Listen closely and you’ll hear Dr. No and Thunderball name-checked also. I don’t think I have to remind you that Jack Lord and Rik Van Nutter played Felix Leiter in those films, respectively. What a great song!

Stay tuned to FelixLeiter.com because we will be conducting our very own David Hedison interview very soon…

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CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE ‘HAWAII FIVE-O: THE FOURTH SEASON’

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE SEASONS 1-3

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Discuss this Dr. No spoof in this thread on the FelixLeiter.com Forums, the only place dedicated to the discussion of Felix Leiter on the Internet.

It was only $25.40 (including S&H) to ship to Ohio so place your order today at Tiki Farm for a chance to own a tiki mug based on the likeness of one of the coolest actors to ever play Felix Leiter, Jack Lord!

I found the link to this obscure item at the Jack Lord Fan Club MySpace profile. It’s pretty cool so check it out!

Dr. No, the first official James Bond film, stars Sean Connery as James Bond and Jack Lord as Felix Leiter. It’s set in Jamaica and see 007 investigating a mysterious island inhabited by an evil megalomaniac named Doctor Julius No (Joseph Wiseman).

The Inwood Theatre is located at 5458 West Lovers Lane at Inwood, Dallas, Texas 75209.

For further details about this upcoming screening or to purchase tickets, call 214-764-9106 or visit the official website.