BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., June 28 -- Producer Albert R. 'Cubby' Broccoli, best known for bringing the James Bond stories to the big screen, has died at his Beverly Hills home, MGM officials said Friday. He was 87. Broccoli died Thursday night after a long illness, MGM spokeswoman Lea Porteneuve said. During the past three decades, Broccoli produced more than a dozen James Bond movies, including 'Goldfinger,' 'From Russia With Love,' 'You Only Live Twice,' 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service,' 'Diamonds Are Forever,' 'Live and Let Die,' 'The Spy Who Loved Me,' 'Moonraker,' 'For Your Eyes Only,' 'Octopussy,' 'A View To A Kill,' 'Licence to Kill' and 'Goldeneye.' Broccoli, who co-owned the Bond films, teamed up with Harry Saltzman to begin the James Bond series in 1962 with 'Dr. No,' starring a then- unknown actor named Sean Connery. The series featured Connery and later four other actors -- George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan -- in the role of Bond. The Bond films, particularly 1964's 'Goldfinger,' gave birth to the whole genre of modern action films, and vodka martinis ('shaken, not stirred') became indelibly associated with Bond. The influence of the Bond movies was so pervasive that critics noted much of the 1994 movie 'True Lies' borrowed heavily from the Bond themes, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger stepping out of a wetsuit already wearing a tuxedo. 'Goldeneye,' released by MGM last November as the 17th Bond movie, continued Broccoli's string of successes with the series, originally based on Ian Fleming's novels.
Broccoli also produced several dozen other movies, including 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,' 'How to Murder a Rich Uncle,' 'Killers of Kilimanjaro,' 'Red Beret (The Paratrooper)' and 'Johnny Nobody.' On Oscar night in 1982, Moore presented Broccoli with the Irving Thalberg Award for a life of achievement in film. 'Cubby was my friend for 35 years, and for 14 of those he was my producer,' Moore said in a written statement. 'He was a fine human being -- an extremely talented producer, loved by every single member of any crew he employed. And he did employ many thousands. I have lost a dear friend.' Broccoli also was honored with an Order of the British Empire and named Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres by the French government. The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy andHorror films, which also recognizes action films, gave Broccoli a lifetime achievement Saturn Award on Tuesday. Broccoli's daughter, Barbara Broccoli-Zollo, accepted the award on his behalf at a Los Angeles ceremony. A native of Long Island, N.Y., Broccoli is survived by his wife of more than 40 years, Dana, daughters Barbara Broccoli-Zollo and Tina Brewer, sons Michael G. Wilson and Tony Broccoli and five grandchildren. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Monday at the Good Shepherd Church in Beverly Hills, followed by a private family interment. Broccoli's family has asked that donations be made to the Variety Boys and Girls' Club of Queens in Long Island in lieu of flowers. Broccoli and his wife were honored in 1988 with the dedication of the Dana and Albert Broccoli Building, which houses the club's girls' wing, near where Broccoli was raised.
