UPDATE: Mr. Pfeffer posted an e-mail I sent him in a follow-up article, From the Mail Bag.

The cinematic Felix Leiter was recently profiled on a cool website called Blessed are the Geeks, a blog operated by Donald W. Pfeffer. Not only is the article a great read but FelixLeiter.com was mentioned as a great source for information on Leiter. Thanks to Donald for honoring our favorite Company man and for giving FLc a shout out!

Much appreciated, brother.

ARTICLE #1: BOND BIOS: FELIX LEITER

ARTICLE #2: FROM THE MAIL BAG

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’70s Leiters Norman Burton and David Hedison came thisclose to meeting on screen in an episode from the second season of Wonder Woman, “The Queen and the Thief.”

Burton played series semi-regular (he was only around for eight episodes) Joe Atkinson, boss to agents Diana Prince and Steve Trevor Jr. in IADC (Inter-Agency Defense Command), a government agency headquartered in Washington, D.C. In this episode they are assigned to capture the suave and sophisticated international thief Evan Robley (Hedison) who is in Palm Beach to steal the crown jewels of Malakar, which were brought there by the Queen as goodwill collateral for a loan from the United States.

Since Burton doesn’t accompany his agents to Palm Beach, he and fellow Leiter Hedison never meet.

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Bond Allies

BA26 – Felix Leiter in Live And Let Die
BA29 – Felix Leiter in Thunderball
BA30 – Felix Leiter in Goldfinger
BA35 – Felix Leiter in Diamonds Are Forever

Costume/Prop Relic Cards

DC04 – Felix Leiter from Casino Royale (Double)

Autograph Cards

A116 – John Terry as Felix Leiter in The Living Daylights (40th Anniversary Style) (Very Limited)

The James Bond: Dangerous Liaisons and The Complete James Bond trading cards from 2006 and 2007, respectively, also contain the following Felix Leiter cards:

James Bond: Dangerous Liaisons

Bond Allies

BA01 – Felix Leiter in Dr. No

The Complete James Bond

Casino Royale: Dangerous Liaisons

DL3 – James Bond-Felix Leiter

Casino Royale Expansion Cards

BA19 – Felix Leiter in Casino Royale

I noticed there is a “Bond Allies” card for 6 of the 7 “official” Felix Leiter actors (Jack Lord, Cec Linder, Rik Van Nutter, Norman Burton, David Hedison and Jeffrey Wright). I don’t think a John Terry “Bond Allies” card exists yet but he does have an “Autograph Card” that matches Rittenhouse’s 40th Anniversary cards. As I mentioned above, this specific card is included in the new James Bond in Motion set.

On March 4, 2009, Rittenhouse will release James Bond Archives. It will retail for $84.00. Since I only care about the Felix Leiter trading cards, I will avoid the extravagantly priced sets and just buy the individual Leiter cards on eBay. I’m already in possession of the ”Bond Allies” cards for Jack Lord, Cec Linder, Rik Van Nutter and Jeffrey Wright.

(Older trading cards featuring David Hedison as Felix Leiter can be viewed at DavidHedison.net, FYI)

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Norman Burton

December 5, 1923 – November 29, 2003

Last week, FelixLeiter.com posted a tribute to Mr. Burton on the fifth anniversary of his death. Today would have been his 85th birthday. Please read our tribute to him if you have not already done so.

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Norman Burton

December 5, 1923 – November 29, 2003

00Twelve and I would like to apologize for neglecting FelixLeiter.com lately. We’ve both been very busy with our lives outside of the Internet but today we want to break our silence and honor Norman Burton on the fifth anniversary of his death. In 2003 he was tragically killed in a car crash on the California/Arizona border while returning to his home in Mexico at age 79.

Mr. Burton was cast as the fourth cinematic Felix Leiter in 1971′s Diamonds Are Forever. Most Bond fans consider Diamonds Are Forever to be one of Connery’s worst outings as James Bond due to Maibaum and Mankiewicz’s campy script and Connery’s over the hill appearance among other reasons. At 41 years old, Connery looked more like a high school math teacher than the suave and sophisticated James Bond 007 and Felix Leiter didn’t look much better.

According to a poll called Favourite Felix Leiter II at CommanderBond.net, Burton has only one vote out of 94 votes. He’d be dead last (out of eight Felix Leiter actors) if it weren’t for John Terry (The Living Daylights). Wikipedia reinforces these results by saying, “In the movies, he [Burton] is best-known for his unconventional (and frequently disparaged) performance as Felix Leiter.” I’m not a big fan of his portrayal either but was he really miscast?

Remember, the cinematic Felix Leiter has never truly matched Ian Fleming’s description of the character:

“Felix Leiter was about thirty-five. He was tall with a thin bony frame and his lightweight, tan-coloured suit hung loosely from his shoulders like the clothes of Frank Sinatra. His movements and speech were slow, but one had the feeling that there was plenty of speed and strength in him, and that he would be a tough and cruel fighter. As he sat hunched over the table, he seemed to have some of the jackknife quality of a falcon. There was this impression also in his face, in the sharpness of his chin and cheekbones and the wide wry mouth. His grey eyes had a feline slant which was increased by his habit of screwing them up against the smoke of the Chesterfields which he tapped out of the pack in a chain. The permanent wrinkles which this habit had etched at the corners gave the impression that he smiled more with his eyes than with his mouth. A mop of straw-coloured hair lent his face a boyish look which closer examination contradicted.”

Casino Royale, Chapter Seven

Excluding John Terry, Leiter has never been younger than James Bond in the films therefore the actor that played him in Diamonds Are Forever had to be 41 years old or older. Since Connery looked like a high school math teacher in 1971, casting director Weston Drury Jr. took the liberty of complementing his James Bond with a man reminiscent of a college biology professor, 48 year old Norman Burton. The only trait Burton had that matched Fleming’s description of the character was that he was a white male yet he was the perfect counterpart to Connery’s worn out James Bond.

Jeffrey Wright is my favorite cinematic Felix Leiter but I love all eight actors. Each actor brought something unique and new to the role and Norman Burton certainly did both in 1971. As I stated above, Mr. Burton’s portrayal of Leiter wasn’t the series’ best but he wasn’t miscast as many believe. He would certainly be miscast if put opposite Daniel Craig’s James Bond today but opposite Sean Connery in 1971, Norman Burton was Captain Felix Leiter, James Bond’s brother from Langley.

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According to our friends at CommanderBond.net, 1971′s Diamonds Are Forever will be screened at the Billy Wilder Theater in Los Angeles, California on July 18, 2008 at 7:00 PM. There’s no cost to attend the screening, however, tickets are required and are available at the Billy Wilder Theater box office one hour prior to start time. Limit one ticket per person on a first come, first served basis and members receive priority seating (subject to availability).

Diamonds Are Forever, Sean Connery’s final official James Bond film, features Norman Burton as Felix Leiter and Jill St. John as Tiffany Case. It’s not Connery’s best Bond film but it features Felix Leiter so it gets respect in my book. Make sure to mark your calendar if you’re going to be in LA next month!

For further information, call 310-206-FILM (3456) or visit the official website.

Here’s a sexy picture of Tiffany Case (Jill St. John) for your viewing pleasure.

The FelixLeiter.com Forums is the only place on the Internet dedicated to the discussion of James Bond’s brother from Langley, Felix Leiter.