What’s even stranger is the fact that Nelson wasn’t an American playing a Brit as this particular adaptation makes Bond an American agent working for the “Combined Intelligence Agency.”Īired as an entry in the CBS dramatic anthology series Climax! this adaptation of Casino Royale does follow the source material fairly closely, well, as close as you can be for an hour-long show that changes the nationality of James Bond from Brit to American.
If you are out for a pub trivia night and the question arises “Who was the first person to play James Bond?” do not be so quick to yell out Sean Connery because back in 1954 CBS televised a live broadcast of an adaptation of Ian Fleming’s novel Casino Royale which starred American actor Barry Nelson, the only American to date to play Britain’s greatest spy.
