Fellow Agent: Wolfgang Thürauf / James Bond Club Deutschland

Fellow Agent of 007 Travelers:

Who: Wolfgang Thürauf, James Bond Club Deutschland  

When: 7 August 2015

1. Please introduce yourself  

Hello, my name is Wolfgang Thürauf. I live in Germany near to Frankfurt am Main and my greatest hobby is James Bond, despite I am singing in a choir over 30 years, I like also in the last 10 years to act in Hobby Theatre Group and I am a cinemaniac and going over 100 times a year into the cinema.

2. How long have you been involved in your 007 activities and what do you want to tell us and other Fellow Agents about it? 

I saw my first James Bond film 1974 "The Man with the Golden Gun" in the classic age of 12 years. But I became a Bond fan 1977 with "The Spy Who Loved Me". Since that time I collected every magazine and every article I could reach about James Bond. Nowadays I am collecting books about James Bond and posters, pictures and soundtracks.

In 1979 I joined my first German James Bond Club, but it took till 1991 since I first met a group of other German James Bond fans. Since 1983 I have been travelling nearly every Bond year to London, to stay outside of the Odeon at the Leicester Square on the premiere night of a new James Bond film. Only in 2002 I had luck and got a ticket for the premiere of "Die Another Day" at the Royal Albert Hall.

From 1997 till 2008 I was the President of the German James Bond Club "Bondklub Deutschland" and since 2014 I am the Vicepresident of the new German James Bond Club Deutschland. I like to travel to James Bond locations or James Bond events and to talk with James Bond fans from all over the world. My greatest moment as Bond fan was in 2008, when I could meet in a Press Junket Marc Forster, Daniel Craig and Barbara Broccoli & Michael G. Wilson and could interview them about "Quantum of Solace" (2008) and some other things around James Bond. Fantastic have been also the visits of the filming of "Casino Royale" (2006) in Karlovy Vary and of "Quantum of Solace" in Bregenz at the Lake Constantine.

Desmond Llewelyn in the middle

3. Have you ever met Bond stars? If you have, who? If you have not, who do you want to meet the most?

My first meeting with some Bond stars was in 1993 in Stuttgart at a German James Bond Convention with director Guy Hamilton and "Q" Desmond Llewelyn. That was amazing and made my Bond fandom a big start. I was very lucky to meet Mr. Llewelyn again in 1998 and in 1999 at the opening of the James Bond Exhibtions in Hildesheim und Ludwigsburg in Germany. I was very lucky, because I also strolled with Q through the exhibtion for the German television. I accompanied him going and watching the exhibition.

Sir Ken Adam (left)

In 2002 I met with Sir Ken Adam at the opening of the exhibtion about his work at the Deutsches Filmmuseum in Frankfurt am Main. I met him again in 2014 at the new exhibition about his work at the Deutsche Kinemathek Berlin and I could make an interview with him in February 2015 at the Berlinale. 

Sir Roger Moore in the middle

Later I met some Bond stars private such as Michael Mellinger ("Goldfinger", 1964), Terence Mountain ("On Her Majesty's Secret Service", 1969) & "Diamonds Are Forever", 1971) and Jan Williams ("From Russia with Love", 1963). In the year 2000 I was introduced to Sir Roger Moore at the memorial for Desmond Llewelyn, together with my longtime Bond friend Oliver Bayan by Gareth Owen.

Around the premiere of "Die Another Day" in 2002 I met several Bond stars at the Memorabilia in Birmingham as Maud Adams, Maryam d'Abo, John Glen or Richard Kiel. One of the greatest moments in my Bondfanlife was, that Oliver and I could be in the BBC Studios in London, when they filmed the BAFTA Tribute to 40 Years of James Bond. In that night we were surrounded by more than 100 Bond stars, with 4 Bond actors altogether, directors, composers, musicians and Bond girls. 3 days later I met at one of the first events organised by Gareth Owen 5 Bond girls and George Lazenby, whom I had also the luck a few days later in Hamburg to have dinner with. Since then I have been several times at different events at the Pinewood Studios and the London County Hall.

Britt Ekland (left) and Maud Adams (right)

Wolfgang with Nikki van der Zyl

In 2005 I first met Nikki van der Zyl. She is a good friend of mine and we have met quite often. She dubbed most female stars such as Ursula Andress, Daniela Bianchi, Shirley Eaton and Corinne Clery in the first 10 Bond films. She also was a voice coach for Gert Fröbe, at the filming of "Goldfinger" in 1964.

Jesper Christensen (left)

In 2010 I was very happy to meet some actual Bond stars like Jesper Christensen and Sebastian Foucan at the Fanfest in London. I also met 3 German Bond stars. I met first Richard Sammel ("Casino Royale", 2006) in 2007 in Paris at an event of the French James Bond Fanclub and later in a private meeting.  In 2010 I met Andreas Wisniewski ("The Living Daylights", 1987) at the Fanfest in London and  Götz Otto ("Tomorrow Never Dies", 1997) I met in 2012 near Frankfurt.

4. Your favourite Bond actor? (leading male role) Why?

I have no favourite James Bond actor. Since today I think every of the very different 6 persons made an important part for the James Bond series. I started as a Bond fan in the 70s with Sir Roger Moore and I like his smooth way very much, but I also like the very different ways of portrayal by Timothy Dalton and the actual actor, Daniel Craig.

5. Your favourite Bond film? Why?

My favourite Bond film is "For Your Eyes Only" (1981). I like this more classic agent and "back to earth story", with great locations in Cortina d`Ampezzo and Corfu. It is an action loaded film, but with good eyes for the scenery, I also like the plot with the irritation about the real villain. I like the most earthier Bond films ("FRWL", "OHMSS" or "TLD") or the films with great locations ("A View to a Kill", 1985), "Casino Royale", 2006), because this was my first interest about the exotic locations of the Bond films.

6. Which is the best place where you have traveled so far? Why?

I have not traveled much to Bond places till now, but I like the most Schilthorn in the Swiss Alps, because it breathes till today the spirit of filming of "OHMSS" at this place. I was also several times at the Greek island Corfu and once at the Meteora Cloisters in Greece. I love Corfu. It is sunny and green and makes me feel good.

But I like mostly London. I love this city and its spirit and like that London was so massively used in "Skyfall" (2012)." In London I like the College of Arms and the Somerset House. Very great was a trip with our club to Paris this year (2015). We visited the Eiffel Tower and the Centre Pompidou, but the highlight was my first visit to the 3 James Bond castles around Paris: Chateau d`Anet ("Thunderball", 1965), Vaux le Vicomte ("Moonraker", 1979) and Chantilly ("A View to a Kill", 1985).

7. Which is the place where you would like to visit but have not yet been? Why?

I have three equal places, I would like to see in the future. They are Rio de Janeiro (fascinating place of differences) and the Iguazu-Waterfalls. I would also like to go to Portugal to the locations of "OHMSS", because this is my second favourite film. And third I would like to go to Egypt, to the Pyramids, because it represents a great culture and was the location of my Bond film "TSWLM", with which I started as a Bond fan in 1977.

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