Too many “Bonds” for Moore’s death to be definitive blow to film franchise

I’ll state one fact up front – when it comes to James Bond films, I do enjoy “Live and Let Die.” Particularly for its use of Paul McCartney on its film soundtrack, and its inclusion of the New Orleans scene for its storyline.
 

Moore at his Bond best

But I’ll have to confess that when I heard the headlines Tuesday of “Bond actor dies,” my gut reaction was to think “Sean Connery finally passed.” When I learned it was British actor Roger Moore instead, my reaction was along the lines of, “Oh, well.”

I KNOW I’M going to trigger a brawl amongst film buffs, particularly those who get into the Bond series of adventure films that we’ve been getting off-and-on for the better part of a half-a-century.

Yet those six films that starred Connery as the British secret agent with the license to kill people reach a certain standard that none of the other Bond film actors manage to do.

In terms of pure fantasy (and when you come down to it, how else should you view a guy who hangs around the casinos of Monaco, jets all over the world for adventure, and always finds time to romance the local fair maiden no matter how old he gets), they don’t get any more out-of-this world than Connery’s vision of the role.

So as for the death of Moore, I’m not going to say it doesn’t matter. But it’s not THE DEFINITIVE PASSING that we should think of. Although I’ll admit it’s more significant than the eventual passing someday of actor George Lazenby – who also took on the Bond role.

OR PERHAPS THAT of actor Pierce Brosnan, whose performance in the film “Goldeneye” always manages to capture the spirit of the Connery versions of the “Bond” films.

Pierce has his 'Bond' moments

As for the most recent Bond, I’ll confess that Daniel Craig’s take on the role just doesn’t do as much for me. Although he probably does appeal to the people who are most interested in action sequences rather than the Bond-like campiness leading up to them.

I always figured Craig’s Bond was the kind of guy who would stand up to actor Clint Eastwood’s “Dirty Harry” Callahan character (bearing his gaudy Smith & Wesson .44 caliber “hand cannon”), disarm him, then show the “superiority” of the Walther PPK.

Pit Craig's 'Bond' in a boxing ring ...

Whereas Connery’s Bond was the kind of guy who managed to get out of a jam by planting his “Playboy Club card” on a corpse – thereby giving the brief impression that he was dead, and thereby able to leave the scene undetected.

ALTHOUGH I’LL GIVE Moore’s “Bond” character one bit of praise. Like I already mentioned, it gave McCartney a prominent place that led to him getting one of his post-Beatles hits with the title theme song to “Live and Let Die.”

... against 'Dirty Harry'

Considering that Connery’s “Bond” was the guy who in the film “Goldfinger” said that lukewarm Dom Perignon champagne was, “as bad as listening to the Beatles without earmuffs.”

Yes, this commentary is a collection of fluff and trivia. Although perhaps it also is a way of coping with the misery of the British explosion at a concert this week that managed to kill 20-plus people.

Religious fanatics in the form of ISIS, thinking they have accomplished something grand in the name of Allah, have taken credit for that attack. Although I suspect if we had a real-life “Bond,” he’d already be on his way to the Middle East to infiltrate the group, commit an act of vengeance, and perhaps taste for himself a few of those unspoiled virgins who supposedly are the prize for those kind of nutcases.

SO WHAT SHOULD we do to pay tribute to Moore, who admittedly starred in seven “Bond” films – one more than the six Connery did.

Do we have a collection of Bond actors throughout the years gather together to pay tribute to Moore – drinking a “shaken, not stirred” martini in his honor? Even though fans of televisions “The West Wing” remember when actor Martin Sheen’s “President Bartlett” character mockedP such a martini, saying, “James is ordering a weak martini and being snooty about it.”

Now that's the real "Bond, James Bond"

Perhaps they’ll then gather around and watch “Live and Let Die,” writhing in excitement as Moore’s “Bond” avoids being eaten by crocodiles while also trying to bed the mystic “Solitaire.”

Although if they want the ultimate Bond experience, they’d have to tune in to my personal favorite – none tops “From Russia with Love,” and no Bond girl (in my mind) tops the loveliness of Italian actress Daniela Bianchi!

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Do celebrity backings mean much to pols? Or just to their wallets?

Long-time women’s activist Gloria Steinem plans to be in Chicago on Friday to throw her backing to Gov. Pat Quinn in his bid to get one more term in elective office.

Which might seem to be a bigger deal, except that Quinn has been going hog-wild in recent days on the appearances by celebrity pols and activists to try to draw attention to his campaign.

WE GOT TO see President Barack Obama earlier this week in town for Quinn, although the president seemed to have got more attention for the incident at an early polling place when some guy told him to keep his hands off his girlfriend – who happened to be in the voting booth right next to the president.

Both former President Bill Clinton and possible future president Hillary R. Clinton have been in town to tell us we should vote for Pat come Nov. 4.

Vice President Joe Biden (who deep down has to be miffed that he’s NOT regarded as the automatic front-runner for president come the 2016 election cycle) was in Chicago to be seen with the “Mighty” Quinn.

And now Steinem, who according to the Chicago Sun-Times will be hosting a rally to sway female voters and a fundraiser to collect campaign cash for Quinn.

ALTHOUGH I’M WONDERING if she’s going to get more attention for the fact if she actually shows up for this event.

Let’s not forget that she was supposed to be in Chicago in late September to tout Pat Quinn – only it turned out to be the same day of the incident at the FAA facility in suburban Aurora that knocked both O’Hare International and Midway airports out of commission.

If Gloria Steinem can’t get a flight to Chicago on Friday for some yet-to-be-known reason, should we take it as a sign from the heavens above that she is not meant to be as a backer of the Quinn campaign?

That’s a lot of heavy-duty names to show up in Chicago in such a short time span. Perhaps actor Martin Sheen should have held off a bit longer so he could have been squeezed into this week.

JUST THINK OF how much of a hissy fit Republican gubernatorial challenger Bruce Rauner could have if all those people had touted Pat Quinn during a seven-day span of time? Then again, he’s managed to throw enough hissy fits about Quinn just the way things are.

Perhaps Rauner wishes he could get his share of “names” to come out and say how wonderful he is. Unless he’s satisfied that newspaper publishers, a usually GOP-leaning group, are all uniting in support of him. Ho-hum!

What has me wondering about these appearances is that I question how much they really work? And I don’t mean just these particular individuals. Do any “celebrity” offerings really make much of an impression on the electorate?

I’ll be the first to admit that they enable the candidates to justify charging ridiculous sums of money for people to attend the fund-raising events that all of these stunts were.

WHICH MEANS THEY have helped Pat Quinn come up with the kind of cash that almost lets him keep up with the tens of millions of dollars of his own financial wealth that Rauner has been able to spend on his attempt to gain a political office.

Be honest. Do you know anyone who seriously would pay the thousands of dollars per plate to attend one of these events? Insofar as the average voter is concerned, what matters is the television footage of the candidate with the so-called “name.”

It creates a trivial impression that perhaps these people really have some contacts with each other. Even though I have found in my own contact with political people that they usually detest each other privately and will say some of the most mean-spirited things about each other when they think no one else is listening!

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EXTRA: What would "Bartlet" do?

How would 'President Bartlet' get a minimum wage hike? And can he educate Pat Quinn on the matter? Photograph provided by state of Illinois

Am I the only one who learned of Gov. Pat Quinn's stunt Thursday to promote the idea of raising the minimum wage, and thought to myself, "Gee, has President Bartlet got old-looking!"

For Quinn made an appearance at a South Side church, with actor Martin Sheen (he is 73) in tow.

SHEEN DID HIS part to tout the idea of boosting the minimum wage in Illinois from $8.25 an hour to at least $10. Although I still think the Barack Obama rhetoric about making the minimum $10.10 is a bit cute.

I just wonder how much Sheen's presence really added to the event. How many got distracted.

And how many let their ideological leanings become so disgusted wiht the old "West Wing" program that they're going to disregard anything that got said? (Has that program really been off-the-air for seven years now?)

Maybe he'd be more persuasive if he could adopt his "Capt. Willard" persona from "Apocalypse Now." At the very least, maybe people would think they'd better vote for a higher minimum wage to avoid suffering the fate of actor Marlon Brando's "Col. Kurtz" character.

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