Subscribe to Print Edition | Mon., November 24, 2008 Cheshvan 26, 5769 | | Israel Time: 02:18 (EST+7)   Back to Homepage web haaretz.com Haaretz Toolbar Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Car Rental Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate GA 2008 Travel Week's End Anglo File

The World Is Not Enough By Tahel Frosh Tags: Israel News, Dudu Niv In the home of Gesher theater actor Dudu Niv, 40, James Bond is usually in the closet. Sometimes he takes him out and plays with him, and sometimes he brags about him to guests. And he has reason to boast: It really is James Bond, a beautifully made doll modeled after actor Roger Moore, with all the necessary accessories such as bombs, a pistol and a three-piece suit. And that's not all. Niv also has model cars from Bond films at home (for example, the white car from "Goldfinger") together with their wrappings, because that's how you know to which film and which year each car belongs; miniatures of Bond; all the works of Ian Fleming in English and rare editions in Hebrew; Bond buttons from the British fan club; hard-cover albums almost as big as coffee tables, with all of Bond's women such as Christina Wayborn, the beautiful Swedish actress from "Octopussy," wearing a pastel pink bathrobe, gazing indifferently into the camera - at the time that was considered sexy; soundtracks of Bond films; all the films, in special and regular editions; Bond pistols (plastic) and, of course, a tuxedo. Niv's passion for James Bond began in 1973. Israeli television's only channel used to broadcast the British series "The Saint," about a private detective who introduced himself as "Templar, Simon Templar." He was played by Roger Moore, and Dudu Niv, a child of five at the time, became addicted to the action. That same year Moore began to play James Bond (in the film "Live and Let Die"), and Niv's father offered to take him "to see Simon Templar in the movies." Advertisement So they went to the Hod Cinema in Tel Aviv (which has closed since) to see detective Simon Templar turn into James Bond, and Niv was very pleased. But when his father took him a short time later to the Cinema Theater on the Tel Aviv promenade (which also no longer exists) to see earlier James Bond movies starring Sean Connery, Niv was annoyed. "I came and saw a picture of Sean Connery and he looked to me like a fraud and an imitator. I didn't understand how he was standing with the pistol. I started to cry and didn't want to go inside. But my father convinced me and I went in, and it was the most wonderful thing in the world," he recalls. Since then, he has been addicted, or as he puts it: "As long as a James Bond comes out every year or two, there's hope in life." Niv, whose blue eyes sparkle with happiness when he talks about Bond, and whose mobile phone plays the James Bond theme song (composed by Monty Norman), says that the character captivated him because he is so different from the average Israeli. "Israel is hot, strident and sweaty. James Bond, on the other hand, is dressed in a tailored tuxedo, with not a hair out of place, holding an excellent martini in one hand and the hand of a beautiful girl in the other, and saying the right word to make her fall for him. It seemed to be the most marvelous thing imaginable." So marvelous that Niv did not smoke pot or cigarettes because Bond didn't smoke, but began to drink alcohol and smoke cigars because Bond did so. "It's masculinity that I yearn for. I would like to be a man who enters a fancy lounge in a restaurant or hotel and everyone turns to look at him, because he's walking like a panther on the fancy carpet. A man who can figure out what his rival is thinking in a poker game. I always lose at poker - I only win at backgammon." After the army he was filmed for video clips in which he played James Bond; this reinforced his decision to study acting. In 1995, after a visit to England, he discovered that he is not the only fan in the world, as he had feared until then, and joined the British fan club. The club has a gala evening every year, attended by all the generations of actors in Bond films. At the parties the guests are obligated to dress like Bond, drink a martini like him and eat his favorite foods. "One of the nicest evenings," says Niv, "was in 1997, when actor Desmond Llewelyn, who played Q, the inventor of the advanced technologies in the Bond films, gave me a lift. He was a charming man and after we arrived in London we sat in a pub and talked about Israeli theater. Two years later he died in a collision with a truck." Bond has also rescued him in many situations, says Niv, mainly when his mother was ill. "I'm an only child and the person closest to me was my mother. She fell ill and for four or five years I was with her at home or in hospitals. I was afraid of the day when she would no longer be alive, and my only way of escaping that was to imagine scenes from James Bond films. I used to go to the bathroom in the hospital, look into the mirror and say 'My name is Bond, James Bond.' Amazingly, it helped." Bookmark to del.icio.us   Trailblazer Haula Abu-Bakar named first Arab female professor in Israel. Hills of hostility A stranger coming to Hebron Saturday would be confused.   1.   Roger Moore as James Bond 21:00  |  Fehmida 17/11/08

Read & React Defense establishment paper: Golan for Syria peace, plan for Iran strike Responses: 109 Candidate for U.S. security adviser wants NATO force in the West Bank Responses: 134 Gideon Levy: America elects Obama, Israel elects its Bush Responses: 58 Report: Ya'alon said Israel must 'consider killing Ahmadinejad' Responses: 33 More Headlines 01:29 Report: Gaza militants agree to cease rocket fire if Israel opens crossings 01:27 Aide: Ex-IDF chief's Ahmadinejad remarks taken out of context 23:04 Olmert wants to generate 'final tailwind' on Syria, says aide 00:34 Israel jails neo-Nazi gang members for up to seven years 18:15 Barak: Israel is working day and night to bring Shalit home 02:00 U.K. urges Gulf states to press Iran over nuclear program 18:13 Israel appoints first Arab female professor in country's history 02:08 Poll: 70% of Israeli Arab women think slaps are not domestic abuse 22:56 Barak: Who will save the economy, Netanyahu? He took your pensions 20:44 Fearing attack, Iran militia holds massive defense drill 00:35 VIDEO / Shas Rabbi Ovadia Yosef: Secular teachers are 'asses' 22:41 Egyptian guards shoot and kill Sudanese migrant at Israel border 21:45 State given another year to scrap 'discriminatory' education budget system 14:56 Poverty at 10-year low, but nearly 1 in 4 Israelis still poor 22:21 PLO unanimously elects Abbas president of future Palestinian state Previous Editions Select Day 23 nov 21 nov 20 nov 19 nov 18 nov 17 nov 16 nov 14 nov 13 nov 12 nov 11 nov 10 nov

Special Offers Advertisement Living in Israel Studying in English Click & Meet our students from all around the world Living in Israel Studying in English Click & Meet our students from all around the world Dan Boutique Jerusalem New Dan Hotel in Jerusalem Young, Fun & Distinctively Dan Book Now Online! Fattal Hotel Chain Perfectly located hotels on best resorts of Israel. Car rental in Israel Shlomo Sixt Receive $15.00 from our low rates. Dial 013 for your long-distance calls and get all your money back US CITIZENS Vote for real change. Request your ballot today! Eldan Rent a Car Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on all online reservations Jewish Singles Personal Ads Find the love of your life on JDate.com Israel's Premier Real Estate Website www. israel-property.com Hebrew Summer courses From $39.95 Junkyard Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt

Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Underground | Site rules |

Real Estate in Israel | Travel to Israel with Haaretz | Hotels Israel | Restaurants Israel | Tourist attractions Israel | Shops Israel

birthright Israel | Search engine marketing

Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.

© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved