Kevin McClory

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Kevin O'Donovan McClory (born June 8, 1926 in Dublin , Ireland , † November 20, 2006 in London , England ) was an Irish film producer , director and screenwriter . His most famous production is the James Bond film Never Say Never Again ( Never Say Never Again , 1983), the result of a dispute between McClory and Ian Fleming to the rights to Fleming's book action fireball ( Thunderball ).

life and work

McClory's parents were Irish actors. He was serving in the Merchant Navy during World War II when his ship was hit by a torpedo on February 21, 1943. McClory drifted in a lifeboat in the North Sea for two weeks before being rescued.

He began his film career as a film technician at Shepperton Studios . He was John Huston's personal assistant on African Queen (1951) and Moulin Rouge (1952) and assistant director to Moby Dick (1956). Also in 1956 he was assistant director and co-producer on Michael Todd's film in 80 days around the world ( Around the World in 80 Days ), which the Oscar winning Best Picture of the year.

In 1958 he worked with Ian Fleming on a series of drafts for a planned film adaptation of the James Bond novels. When McClory's film The Boy and the Bridge (competition entry at the Venice Film Festival ) became a financial failure, Fleming lost interest in the collaboration. Fleming reworked the script for the novel Aktion Feuerball without permission, not mentioning McClory's collaboration. A lawsuit followed. On November 20, 1963, the court ruled that Fleming McClory had to pay £ 35,000 in damages and his court costs. Future editions of the novel had to mention McClory's collaboration.

In 1976 McClory announced plans to produce an original James Bond film, after which the family of the James Bond film producer Albert R. Broccoli threatened McClory with legal action. The US producer Jack Schwartzman took over the project: 1983 result was a remake of the Bond film Thunderball ( Thunderball ) and Never Say Never Again , which McClory was named as executive producer. The main role was played by Sean Connery after a 12 year hiatus from the role. Further plans by McClory to obtain permission to produce further film versions of Aktion Feuerball in court were not successful.

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personal data
SURNAME McClory, Kevin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES McClory, Kevin O'Donovan
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Irish film producer and screenwriter
DATE OF BIRTH June 8, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Dublin
DATE OF DEATH November 20, 2006
Place of death London