James Bond And Drugs

What is it with James Bond and drugs?.I read somehwere that the early Bond namely Moore and Connery were on LSD at the time. James Bond is supposed to be a role model and not a drug user.

Comments

  • HardyboyHardyboy Posts: 5,882Chief of Staff
    Normally I hate Netspeak, but for once I think it's completely appropriate:

    WTF?!!?

    I've been an avid follower of Bond for well over 20 years and I've never once heard that any Bond actor was heavily into drugs. Drinking, yes; smoking, you bet--but LSD? I'm afraid if you're going to make a claim like that, you need to produce your sources.

    . . .That said, on the off-chance one of the actors was indeed tripping, it doesn't harm James Bond's status as a role model (if he ever was one)--he is separate from the actor who plays him.
    Vox clamantis in deserto
  • wordswords Buckinghamshire, EnglandPosts: 249MI6 Agent
    edited September 2006
    Hardyboy wrote:
    Normally I hate Netspeak, but for once I think it's completely appropriate:

    WTF?!!?

    I've been an avid follower of Bond for well over 20 years and I've never once heard that any Bond actor was heavily into drugs. Drinking, yes; smoking, you bet--but LSD? I'm afraid if you're going to make a claim like that, you need to produce your sources.

    . . .That said, on the off-chance one of the actors was indeed tripping, it doesn't harm James Bond's status as a role model (if he ever was one)--he is separate from the actor who plays him.

    I think there is a case to say the producers of some of Rogers films were on something :v , but Roger and Sean themselves? That's surely nonsense.
  • Dan SameDan Same Victoria, AustraliaPosts: 6,054MI6 Agent
    edited September 2006
    Also keep in mind we are talking about the 60's and 70's. If Connery, or even Moore, was into drugs, it was hardly that unusual. But I personally doubt it. I think it's just a rumour that was created to sell newspapers (or whereever you read it.)
    "He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. and then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory." Death of a Salesman
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,238MI6 Agent
    Well in the recent Connery ex-wife expose (forget her name now, mind blank) she says he dabbled in LSD in the 60s.

    So did Cary Grant, but no word of Moore as far as I know...
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • emtiememtiem SurreyPosts: 5,686MI6 Agent
    edited September 2006
    Well in the recent Connery ex-wife expose (forget her name now, mind blank) she says he dabbled in LSD in the 60s.

    Yes indeed: she says he was advised by a psychologist to take it:
    http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=753822006

    And Bond himself didn't mind using drugs in the novels- benzedrine being a favourite.
  • wordswords Buckinghamshire, EnglandPosts: 249MI6 Agent
    Geez, Connery on LSD must have been a scary thing to witness. I just cannot imagine Roger doing drugs (but im here to be proved wrong!)
  • HardyboyHardyboy Posts: 5,882Chief of Staff
    em, thanks for the link, and I stand corrected. Still, I think there's a huge difference between "being on LSD" and being given a tab of it once by a psychologist, at a time when its effects weren't fully known. It also looks as though LSD wasn't something Connery enjoyed, if he had to spend several days in bed after taking it, and if it brought back bad memories of his days as a child shoplifter!

    Interesting, though, that we're paying all this attention to allegations that Connery once took LSD (and how did Roger Moore get pulled into this conversation?) and saying nothing about Diane Cilento's charges that he beat her.
    Vox clamantis in deserto
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,238MI6 Agent
    I believe the avenue of that discussion has been ventured down once before on this site, HB...
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • Dan SameDan Same Victoria, AustraliaPosts: 6,054MI6 Agent
    Is it really such a big deal? So Connery may have taken drugs. Why does it matter? HB mentioned the domestic violence allegations. Those are surely a much bigger deal. Anyway what I'm saying is that wether or not Connery or Moore or whomever took drugs, considering that it obviously didn't affect their performances and considering that the character has never taken drugs, what is the big deal about this?
    "He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. and then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory." Death of a Salesman
  • emtiememtiem SurreyPosts: 5,686MI6 Agent
    Dan Same wrote:
    considering that the character has never taken drugs

    You really need to read the books, Dan :)
  • Dan SameDan Same Victoria, AustraliaPosts: 6,054MI6 Agent
    emtiem wrote:
    You really need to read the books, Dan :)
    True. ;) I was speaking about the films. Anyway, if Bond did take drugs in the novels, it only reinforces my view that it doesn't make any difference wether Connery or Moore ever took drugs.
    "He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. and then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory." Death of a Salesman
  • LoeffelholzLoeffelholz The United States, With LovePosts: 8,988Quartermasters
    The literary James Bond turned to benzedrine quite frequently; nothing like mixing an upper with your booze... :o
    Check out my Amazon author page! Mark Loeffelholz
    "I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
    "Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
  • taitytaity Posts: 702MI6 Agent
    Look, Ill jump up and say Diane Cilento (Connery's ex) did say that he used LSD during he reign as James Bond, so it could be true.

    Also said, some details of Diane Cilento's autobography are different to how others remember it. She talks about how she was kicked out of high school during world war 2 - and the reason she gives in her book was different to the one that happened.
  • ohmss1969ohmss1969 EuropePosts: 141MI6 Agent
    Didya know Walken did acid...it was no biggie back then ;)
  • royalmileroyalmile Station CPosts: 115MI6 Agent
    I question the accuracy of a report that suggests Connery was aged 25 around the time of Goldfinger, though................

    That said, a simple typo may have nothing to do with the rest of the info, and I would not be surprised to find this had occured in the early '60's either, but this is very different from suggesting that Sir Sean was "on LSD", and extremely different from the thought he was "on" it whilst being James Bond.

    I'm sure he was acid-free during filming!
    B-)
  • superadosuperado Regent's Park West (CaliforniaPosts: 2,651MI6 Agent
    Hardyboy wrote:
    em, thanks for the link, and I stand corrected. Still, I think there's a huge difference between "being on LSD" and being given a tab of it once by a psychologist, at a time when its effects weren't fully known. It also looks as though LSD wasn't something Connery enjoyed, if he had to spend several days in bed after taking it, and if it brought back bad memories of his days as a child shoplifter!

    Interesting, though, that we're paying all this attention to allegations that Connery once took LSD (and how did Roger Moore get pulled into this conversation?) and saying nothing about Diane Cilento's charges that he beat her.

    Wow, I have 2 things in common with Sir Sean, and neither of them is wife beating!
    "...the purposeful slant of his striding figure looked dangerous, as if he was making quickly for something bad that was happening further down the street." -SMERSH on 007 dossier photo, Ch. 6 FRWL.....
  • ohmss1969ohmss1969 EuropePosts: 141MI6 Agent
    No biggie if he used drugs...Elvis did em but I still love the guy.

    Besides , it was like a bazillion yrs ago and today people know more about them.
  • taitytaity Posts: 702MI6 Agent
    Look Diane Cilento made numerous claims, some a more far fetched than others. Take alot she says with a grain of salt.
  • MoniqueMonique USAPosts: 696MI6 Agent
    superado wrote:
    Wow, I have 2 things in common with Sir Sean, and neither of them is wife beating!

    What...you're cheap and you're bald?

    :)) :)) :)) :))

    Just a little joke supes...
  • superadosuperado Regent's Park West (CaliforniaPosts: 2,651MI6 Agent
    Monique wrote:
    superado wrote:
    Wow, I have 2 things in common with Sir Sean, and neither of them is wife beating!

    What...you're cheap and you're bald?

    :)) :)) :)) :))

    Just a little joke supes...

    With the way young people are dressing nowadays, those things are fashion statements!
    "...the purposeful slant of his striding figure looked dangerous, as if he was making quickly for something bad that was happening further down the street." -SMERSH on 007 dossier photo, Ch. 6 FRWL.....
  • MoniqueMonique USAPosts: 696MI6 Agent
    I meant cheap in the fact he won't pay his taxes, but I got ya... :)) His tattoos are quite in style as well. :)

    So tell..are you an LSD fan?
  • superadosuperado Regent's Park West (CaliforniaPosts: 2,651MI6 Agent
    edited October 2006
    Monique wrote:
    I meant cheap in the fact he won't pay his taxes, but I got ya... :)) His tattoos are quite in style as well. :)

    So tell..are you an LSD fan?

    It was more of the paper variety. Let's just say that as a kid I succumbed to peer pressure...oh...a few times!

    P.S. Though I can't sport bangs anymore, I still have my hair :D
    "...the purposeful slant of his striding figure looked dangerous, as if he was making quickly for something bad that was happening further down the street." -SMERSH on 007 dossier photo, Ch. 6 FRWL.....
  • Klaus HergescheimerKlaus Hergescheimer Posts: 332MI6 Agent
    Dan Same wrote:
    emtiem wrote:
    You really need to read the books, Dan :)
    True. ;) I was speaking about the films. Anyway, if Bond did take drugs in the novels, it only reinforces my view that it doesn't make any difference wether Connery or Moore ever took drugs.

    And yet, if the literary Bond is an emotionally complex, choleric, not-so-much-a-one-line-ey-brow-raising-machine, ruthless killer in the novels, then **** on the actor who generally chooses to play the character this way!
  • Dan SameDan Same Victoria, AustraliaPosts: 6,054MI6 Agent
    edited October 2006
    And yet, if the literary Bond is an emotionally complex, choleric, not-so-much-a-one-line-ey-brow-raising-machine, ruthless killer in the novels, then **** on the actor who generally chooses to play the character this way!
    What is your problem? :s Are you just trying to pick a fight? I mean, have I insulted the novels in this thread? No. Have I insulted the novels in any thread? No. Have I also said '**** on the actor who generally chooses to play the character this way' in this or any othe thread? No. I may not like Dalton but I would never use that kind of language. You know, in the 'Dalton' thread in the film forum, you stated 'This is the last response I am going to give to Dan and JFF on the topic, because quite frankly, I'm tired of having this debate' which is fine and I wasn't going to respond to your comments on that thread, yet you bring up this bizarre theory about me insulting the novels or saying '**** on Dalton. 8-) Anyway, it seems to me, that like always, you simply want to pick a fight becuase this topic is actually about drugs! Fine, whatever. I will respond to one thing though that you wrote in the previous thread which is appropiate here:
    Firstly Dan, I personally think you are indeed subscribing to anti-Dalton bias and a bit of a passion for slamming the man in your evaluations of the quality of his acting in the role. You have said before in criticizing Dalton that, while he was the best in portraying the literary 007 (and you have said this; I will be more than happy to drag out the thread in which you did), he wasn't your idea of the literary incarnation. Now, when the topic is his actual acting in the role, you slam it; whereas before, by saying he was the best in portraying the literary 007, you implied otherwise. How can he be, as you have said, the epitome of the literary 007, and yet at the same time have given a subpar performance strictly in terms of acting? You may not have liked the tone of his performance, if you say that he is good at doing what he was trying to do, then you think he acted well in the part.
    It has nothing to do with an anti-Dalton bias and I am just as passionate about attacking Datlton as you and other people are about attacking other actors and certain other performances. I have never denied that he was the best at potraying the literally Bond (I wouldn't really know), however since we are talking about a film, I am judging it on cinematic terms. On cinematic terms, I think he both made the wrong acting choice and I think he executed it terribly. I don't care if you agree with me or like what I say but this is what I think: The novels are almost certainly terrific. I have never read them but I will eventually. Dalton's acting style in LTK was undoubtfully very Fleming-like. However, in terms of his acting choices from a cinematic point of view and in terms of the way he actually executed his choices, I think it was a terrible performance. Does that mean I don't respect Dalton? No, I think he's the third best actor to have played Bond and I enjoy some of his non-Bond work. He's also a great guy. However I do not like his performance in LTK, both from a Bondian and cinematic viewpoint, and comments from Ebert and Brosnan aren't going to change my view on this. Respond, don't respond, but stop trying to provoke me into these arguments (I notice that on one of the other threads you made a provocative comment about De Niro yet never responded to my question 8-)) because I personally am sick of them.
    "He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. and then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory." Death of a Salesman
  • Moonraker 5Moonraker 5 Ayrshire, ScotlandPosts: 1,821MI6 Agent
    Dan, Klaus - we're not having this argument here. It's become tedious enough on the other thread, let's leave this one to it's natural topic, OK? Take it up on PM, whatever, just don't continue it on this thread.
    unitedkingdom.png
  • Absolutely_CartAbsolutely_Cart NJ/NYC, United StatesPosts: 1,740MI6 Agent
    LSD was legal in the 60's during Connery's first few movies. I wouldn't doubt that Connery and plenty of other people tried it.

    There isn't a binary of either you are completely sober or you're a junkie. There's lots of in betweens. And it's possible that a few of the actors tried stuff when they were younger.
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