The Family Bond

Which actor, who played James Bond had family members playing 007 like characters in other movies? If your a radical Bond fan, like myself, you might have guessed it already but for the casual Bond fan I thought this would be pure fun to bring up.
Enterprising filmmakers and TV producers around the world have capitalized on the Bond theme and persona of the characters who played James Bond. Unfortunately, there are just so many Bond’s to go around and most of the actors who portrayed Bond are old enough to be today’s James Bond grandfather (actually that would be an interesting set up for a future movie!).
During the 1960’s there was a wave of Bondmania. Dean Martin drank his way through four spy spoofs, giving a new meaning to the production’s ad line “America’s Loaded Weapon”.
While there were American knockoffs as well as many European knockoffs the one I’ve seen recently that reminded me of the Connery family business was an Italian production called Operation Kid Brother with Sean Connery’s younger brother Neil Connery. The producers hired Neil, an out of work plasterer, to play a hypnotist and plastic surgeon called upon by Her Majesty Secret Service with the tag line “his brother is out on a routine mission”.
Unfortunately, Neil couldn’t act his way out of a wet paper bag and the movie helped launch the video bargain bin at Blockbusters.
Believe it or not, the producers actually was able to persuade several actors from the Bond Franchise to play in this monstrosity. Bond alumnus Bernard Lee and Lois Maxwell ham it up alongside From Russia with Love’s Bond girl Daniela Bianchi, and Thunderball villain Adolfo Celi. Better than that is the soundtrack by Ennio Morricone, which unlike the rest of the film, is on par with a real Bond film.
Thankfully Neil recognized the sin of bad imitations and soon retired but he would not be the last. Brits now know Jason Connery as a decent actor who played numerous characters on television and film but he got his start by portraying the Bond creator in The Secret Life Of Ian Flemming.