Category: Miscellaneous

“OHMSS50”: Exclusive pictures from Piz Gloria (2019)

This year marks the 50-year anniversary of the release of EON Productions' "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (1969).

From May 25 to June 2, around 250 James Bond fans from 17 countries gathered for the fan event "OHMSS 50". The ambitious unofficial celebration, arranged by journalist and expert Bond travel guide Martijn Mulder from the web site On the tracks of 007, covered several of the film's locations in Portugal and Switzerland.

Eleven of the cast and crew members from "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" returned to the scene as the caravan of fans reached Piz Gloria on the Schilthorn mountain in the Bernese Alps. Bond•O•Rama's Brian Iskov had the privilege of being an accredited member of the press for the concluding Swiss part of OHMSS50.

● On the tracks of 007 (external link)
● Schilthorn Piz Gloria (official site)

The rotating alpine restaurant Piz Gloria, only accessible by cable car, is of course famous as Bleuchamp's (Blofeld's) Institute for Allergy Research in EON's "On Her Majesty's Secret Service". Nearly all of the film's scenes in The Alpine Room were shot on location after the film crew discovered the half-finished building on the Schilthorn peak during a recce in 1968. Construction had come to a standstill due to financial woes. EON Productions saw that the location perfectly matched the script's demands and agreed to pay for the completion.

When the restaurant opened its doors to the public in 1969, around the time of the film's worldwide release in cinemas, Piz Gloria wisely took its name from the film. The site has capitalized greatly on the 007 connection ever since. In recent times an interactive exhibition (Bond World), a Bond Cinema and an outdoor Bond Walk of Fame has been added to the attractions at the Schilthorn. The crafty Swiss even got away with a unique clause in the contract which allowed them to promote Piz Gloria as an official Bond location - a right that EON Productions has never before or since granted anyone. Thus the gift shop is packed with 007 merchandise not available elsewhere.

The anniversary celebration "OHMSS50" culminated on Saturday June 1 with a stupendous party at Piz Gloria. George Lazenby (007) led the starry VIP line-up, and the magnificent-sounding cover band Q the Music incorporated several of John Barry's musical cues from "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" into their triumphant live concert in the low-ceilinged foyer.

Theser are Bond•O•Rama.dk's exclusive pictures from OHMSS50 at Piz Gloria.

All photos on this page © Brian Iskov/Bond•O•Rama.dk. DO NOT PUBLISH, EDIT OR REDISTRIBUTE ANY PICTURE CONTENT WITHOUT SOURCE REFERENCE.

Journey to Blofeld's Hideaway. The cable car from the mountain village of Mürren is the only way to reach Piz Gloria on the Schilthorn peak. From the mid-station Birg (where Bond's colleague, Agent Campbell, is seen in the film) onwards you get a clear view of the fabled Bond location. A sight that will inevitably give any 007 fan an immense thrill.

On June 1, 2019 George Lazenby returned to Piz Gloria where he spent several months shooting "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" in late 1968. He has visited the alpine location several times and attended the opening of the Bond Walk of Fame in 2015.

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“Live and Let Die”: Signed pin-up photo of Roger Moore (SE og HØR 1973)

The eighth James Bond 007 film from EON Productions, "Live and Let Die", was released in Danish cinemas on December 17, 1973. Six weeks earlier the new James Bond star, Roger Moore, passed through Copenhagen on his way to visit Sweden's Princess Christina in Stockholm. The weekly gossip magazine SE og HØR caught up with Roger Moore for a brief chat and an autograph. The signed pin-up photo in which Moore "shoots from the hip" was featured in issue no. 45 on November 9, 1973.

"I swear by heroic parts because that's where the money is. I'd prefer not to elaborate on my financial interests and sex life although there is no doubt whatsoever that I am a hero: I have been married three times."
– Roger Moore

The accompanying text was written by the magazine's royal reporter Mogens "Mugge" Hansen. Three years later he had his own unauthorized James Bond pastiche, "Gun with the Wind", published in paperback in Denmark.

● More about Mogens Mugge Hansen's unofficial James Bond novel "Gun with the Wind"

Sir Roger Moore (1927-2017): Rest in peace.

OBITUARY

Sir Roger Moore (1927-2017). Publicity photo

James Bond 007 can never die.

And that makes Sir Roger Moore's passing feel all the more unreal. The iconic English actor died peacefully in his home in Switzerland, as reported by Variety on May 23, 2017.

I had the good fortune of catching Sir Roger Moore On Tour at London's Royal Festival Hall on November 27, 2016. This would turn out to be the legendary Sir Roger's very last public performance. His knees wobbled, and his voice cracked, but Moore's recall and the ironic twinkle were undiminished, as was his taste for telling bawdy jokes which cheerfully contrasted with his noble appearance. The highlight of the show: The classic line "My name is Bond, James Bond" spoken by James Bond himself.

Fun fact: During the show Roger Moore spoke of his wife, Kristina "Kiki" Tholstrup, as being Swedish – and not Danish, as the Danish gossip rags would have it.

A million thanks for 007, "The Saint", "The Persuaders!" and for being the very best Roger Moore in the world. Rest in peace, Sir Rog.