Who was the first actor to portray Ian Fleming’s James Bond?

Born in San Francisco on April 16, 1917, Barry Nelson became the first actor to play Fleming’s James Bond character, in an adaptation of “Casino Royale” on the US television show “Climax!” The episode was broadcast in 1954, eight years before Scotsman Sean Connery portrayed Bond on the big screen in “Dr. No”. In the teleplay, which was broadcast live, the agent was referred to as “Jimmy Bond”, and was an American agent, rather than an English one.

Mr. Nelson began life as Haakon Robert Neilsen, son of Norwegian immigrants. He began acting at age 15, in school. After his 1943 graduation from the University of California, Berkeley, he signed a film contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and then enlisted in the US Army. During his service, he acted on Broadway. His turn as “Bobby Gillis”, in Moss Hart’s “Winged Victory” in in 1943, was Mr. Nelson’s stage debut. His first film role was in 1941’s “Shadow of the Thin Man”. Between 1963 and 1966, he was a host on NBC Radio’s “Monitor” program.

Mr. Nelson acted in the movies, on television, and on the stage, through 1990, when he effectively retired, planning to travel with his second wife and write books. He died on April 7, 2007, days short of his 90th birthday, while traveling in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, of unknown causes.