The James Bond Collector - with Mike VanBlaricum

Summary

Mike VanBlaricum (X; LinkedIn) joins Andrew (X; LinkedIn) to discuss his journey as a James Bond fanatic and collector. Mike is the President of the Ian Fleming Foundation.

What You’ll Learn

Intelligence

• How Mike became an obsessive James Bond collector with 10,000 artifacts
• Mike’s favorite Bond cars, movies, and books
• How From Russia with Love was one of John F Kennedy’s favorite books
• Mike’s tips on the best place to start if you want to read the Bond novels

Reflections

• The passion of a collector
• Pop culture influencing the “real” world

And much, much more …

Episode Notes

This week on SpyCast, Andrew was joined by James Bond collector, fanatic, and President of the Ian Fleming Foundation Mike VanBlaricum to celebrate the opening of the Bond In Motion exhibition at the International Spy Museum. The exhibition is a celebration of six decades of 007 vehicles and features 17 iconic pieces from the EON Productions Archive and the Ian Fleming Foundation. In this episode, Andrew and Mike discuss his lifelong interest in James Bond and his journey to owning around 10,000 Bond-related artifacts. How did Mike first get into the business of collecting, and how has his life been shaped by the original work of Ian Fleming? Tune in to find out!

And…

Mike is a graduate of the University of Illinois where he received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering. His collection of original Fleming Bond books will eventually find its home at the University’s Rare Book and Manuscript Library. The University of Illinois is also the birthplace of everyone’s favorite fictional sentient artificial general intelligence computer, HAL 9000 from the classic 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Quotes of the Week

“I've always been fascinated about the study of creativity. And so, between wanting to understand spy craft and that whole human side as well as creativity, creativity like Fleming – How one person can change popular culture, you know, ultimately, something that came out of his mind can change popular culture is just fascinating to me.” – Mike VanBlaricum

Resources 

SURFACE SKIM

*SpyCasts*

• 70th Anniversary of James Bond, Special with Alexis Albion on 007, Part 1 of 2 (2023)
• 70th Anniversary of James Bond, Special with Alexis Albion on 007, Part 2 of 2 (2023)
• CIA Officers Turned Authors with David McCloskey and James Stejskal (2022)
• My Life Looking at Spies and the Media with Paul Lashmar (2022)

*Beginner Resources*

• How to Watch All the James Bond 007 Movies in Order, P. Saperstein, Variety (2023) [Short article]
• Bond In Motion Exhibition at the International Spy Museum! International Spy Museum (2024) [2 min. video]
• Ian Fleming Life Timeline, Ian Fleming Publications (n.d.) [Timeline]

DEEPER DIVE

Books

• For Your Eyes Only: Ian Fleming + James Bond, B. Macintyre (Bloomsbury USA, 2008)
• Licence to Thrill: A Cultural History of the James Bond Films, J. Chapman (I.B. Tauris, 2008)
• Ian Fleming, A. Lycett (St. Martin’s Press, 1995)

Articles

• ‘The safety of the realm’: fact, fiction, and wartime trauma in Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels, O. Buckton, Journal of Intelligence and National Security (2024)
• American Airlines Begins New Ocho Rios, Jamaica Flights, With a Nod to James Bond, A. Britell, Caribbean Journal (2024)
• Spy Into James Bond’s Collection of Cars and Submarines at This New DC Exhibit, M. Weinfield, Thrillist (2024)
• Alum Mike VanBlaricum combines passion for James Bond, University of Illinois to create media scholarship, K. Youngblood, UofI College of Media (2023)
• James Bond, Ian Fleming and intelligence: breaking down the boundary between the ‘real’ and the ‘imagined’, T. McCrisken & C. Moran, Journal of Intelligence and National Security (2018)
• A Bond Affair: the Cultural Politics of Ian Fleming and 007, C. Lindner, Journal of British Cinema and Television (2004)

Video

• The Bond Community: The Ian Fleming Foundation, The Bond Experience, YouTube (2019)

Primary Sources 

• FBI Targeted a Fictional Spy (1980)
• E. Germany Brands 007 As ‘Fascist’ (1965)
• Memorandum For the Record from Marshall S. Carter (1964)
• Our Spy-Boss Who Loved Bond by Allen Dulles (1964)
• A Spy’s Spy, a Knight vs. Dragon – That Was the Image of James Bond (1964)

*Wildcard Resource*

• Who’s The Deadliest Bond? Pierce Brosnan – And by a high margin! Brosnan’s 007 had an average of 27 kills per movie. His runner-up, Roger Moore, clocked in an average of 16.6.

o Read the stats by movie here. License to Kill indeed...