Visit our 2019 Las Vegas Bond Event!
The second annual Bond Collectors’ Weekend, held July 2 – July 5, 1999, was a dynamite event with nearly fifty top 007 collectors from sixteen states and Canada attending in Las Vegas, Nevada. Our meeting rooms were beautiful with a once-in-a-lifetime view of Las Vegas, and filled with great conversation and great collectibles.
The silent auction had marvelous 007 items from the 1950’s through the 90’s, and the casinos sparkled with noise and action over the holiday. Special guests Don and Marsha McGregor (Don wrote and produced the GoldenEye and The Quasimodo Gambit James Bond comics) were delightful, and Lana Wood (Plenty O’Toole, Diamonds Are Forever) was an elegant star who lit up our Planet Hollywood luncheon. We toured Diamonds movie locations for two days including a wild mystery trip that wound up at Slumber, Inc. And a Diamonds Aston Martin DBS visited the fun!
Early arrivals toured The Strip with its amazing mega-hotels, including the pyramidal Luxor which whisks guests to its top on “inclinators,” the glamorous Mandalay Bay and The Mirage with live volcano and white tigers show. Meanwhile, the Weekend crew worked for many hours to prepare our meeting rooms, a top-floor double suite at Las Vegas’ Four Queens hotel.
With submachine gun in hand, “Bruno” (a mannequin in henchman’s costume from The Spy Who Loved Me) kept a careful eye on Grace Jones’ sunglasses from A View To A Kill, a mint Thunderball diver and snowglobe, the famous and ultra-rare pewter Aston Martin, a letter from Mr. Ian Fleming thanking his co-collector and business partner, Percy Muir, for their association over the years, and other unique collectibles.
On Thursday, co-host Alan Stephenson and I visited Kathy’s Collectibles, a Vegas hot spot. We asked for Bond items and were told a lovely person bought the last of the classic Corgis in the store. I said, “So, this is where my mother bought cars and Gilbert figures last month in Vegas!” Great families think alike! We then headed across the desert for a quick peek at Willard Whyte’s Techtronics laboratory.
Sneaking out to Whyte’s lab in a van seemed appropriate! No moonbuggy wheels were in evidence, though gypsum samples and breathtaking vistas resembling the lunar surface cheered us on our adventure in the desert. We returned along Tiffany Case’s avenue of escape into Las Vegas. Looking for Diamonds Are Forever-related cars, The Imperial Palace car show had on display Sammy Davis Jr.’s Stutz ’72 Blackhawk, a gorgeous custom ’29 Duesenberg made for the real Mr. Willard Whyte, Howard Hughes, plus Juan Peron’s car, suitable for Elliot Carver himself, Jonathan Pryce, to have used as Peron in Evita. Later, “Elvis Presley” cheered our event when he saw The Vegas Sun’s front page story on the Bond Weekend. The town was hopping for 007!
Weekend guests arrived Friday and talked shop. Collectors met again who had been to the first Bond Collectors’ Weekend and to Spy-Fi Con with Lois Maxwell and Lee Pfeiffer, the On Her Majesty of the Seas cruise, Let’s Bond in Britain, Pinewood Studios and the NY and LA events, and more.
Some traveled to lunch together (and heard a suite of James Bond music played) at the awesome Bellagio hotel. Others traveled to photograph the giant artist’s portrait depicting scenes from all the Bonds, placed next to glamour photos of Brosnan, Connery, Moore and Dalton, at the huge MGM Grand.
Later that night, everyone donned their best smiles for The Learning Channel, there to film our event specially for a documentary. Austin Powers and Dr. Evil joined Diamonds Are Forever Bonds in both evening wear and famous pink tie. 007 also appeared that night in black tuxedo, white tuxedo, GoldenEye and The Man With The Golden Gun leisure outfits, and in kimono ready to wed Kissy Suzuki.
Bond’s women, including a dramatic appearance by the late Mrs. James Bond, were in evidence. Still in costume, we saw the sights on Fremont Street, home to the famous Mustang car chase. A favorite Weekend moment remains the sight of flustered casino staff handling requests from a number of James Bonds wanting their pictures taken as they sat at the Baccarat, Blackjack and Roulette tables!
Weekend Host Alan Stephenson debuted at the costume party his “Guess that Sound Effect” game. (You heard it here first, pun intended!) Alan watched the Bonds for 24 hours to choose sound bites not covered over by soundtrack music. Sitting through every Bond film in a straight session to identify sounds was worth a prize. Our thanks to Alan! We opened a suite window, offered him a piton gun, and invited him to ascend to our roof for a thrill as a special thank you! He declined, and we offered him hearty applause and a champagne toast instead. “Top Bondian Sound Guy” Tom Stroud dominated the competition as he was able to discern in an instant the differences between Karl Stromberg’s rocket gun and say, Dr. No’s claw crushing a statue or 007 receiving a beep from Univex. Way to go, Tom!
Saturday morning dawned on our silent auction. Special Guest, Lana Wood, provided her ostrich-leather bound script holder given her from EON for Diamonds, a beautiful necklace from the film and her original script from Always Say Always, which she starred in with spy Bond gals Britt Ekland and Joanna Pettit.
Other special items included a complete set of first edition Capes from FEL, author signed books and comics, standees and posters owned by the stars themselves, Corgis and Bond toiletries mint in box from the 60s, rare British firsts, The Golden Gun from SD Studios, never published interview manuscripts with Bob Simmons, John Glen and Maurice Binder, items from Piz Gloria, original scripts, treatments and artists’ illustrations, and more.
Following the auction, we set for a day of sightseeing, beginning with a lunch forum with Don McGregor, author and project coordinator of the comic adaptations of GoldenEye and The Quasimodo Gambit. Weekend attendees were welcomed into the door of Fellini’s restaurant through a gate marked “closed.”
The restaurant, closed on Saturday afternoons, was open specially to accommodate our Weekend group. Inside the beautiful Fellini’s banquet room over a four course lunch, Don, a fan since the 50s himself, shared with us stories of working with the Bonds over many years. He made us laugh aloud at anecdotes from his friendships with John Glen, Tom Carlile, (Cubby Broccoli’s publicity coordinator) genre stars like Robert Culp of I Spy, and many others.
Don’s The Quasimodo Gambit was the culmination of a six-year creative effort to do an outstanding Bond graphic novel. Don’s lengthy career as one of comicdom’s most famous names also includes groundbreaking work with Stan Lee as a Spiderman author and the creation of the Zorro daily newspaper strip. Don cleared the mystery of why the final issues of the GoldenEye epic comic, although completed, failed to see publication. Bond comics are tricky–his team needed to work simultaneously with Glidrose, Topps and MGM to honor the Bond legacy as written story, graphic novel and film at once! Bond movie comics also need to be prepared months before the film production completes so they may be released with the final film. Final scenes were completed from EON’s pre-production storyboards, and when shared with MGM, the response was often, “Looks like a great comics scene, Don! Is that in the movie?” referring to lost scenes like the Arecibo dogfight and skydive between Bond and Xenia that did not make GoldenEye from early treatments!
After the luncheon, we were escorted atop The Stratosphere’s 100-story tower for a breathtaking view of Las Vegas and the surrounding mountains and desert. We then took the gang on a “mystery trip” out of town, which disembarked at our surprise location, “Slumber, Inc.” The mortuary’s director, Mr. Rick Ver Planck, gave Weekend guests a guided tour of Palm Mortuary’s chapel, grounds, meeting room and yes, the famous “Garden of Remembrance,” (!) which have changed little since 1971, and still overlook the nearby mountains and a breathtaking view to Las Vegas ten miles away. We chose the restful chartreuse curtains and took some oddly satisfying photos of the grounds.
Weekend guests were then taken to MGM for a look at this incredible hotel and what can only be described as massive video screens which show film clips featuring a ten-minute look at Bond trailers and Bond compilations. Some visited The Tropicana for a look at Bond`s lush setup after his “cremation” and then we visited Circus Circus for gorilla action. A croupier near the circus acts slipped us a note reading, “Why don’t you play the water balloons?” and so we did. Nearby we took photos where Bond rented a Mustang from Hertz once upon a time, and we also saw the old Vegas glories of The Stardust and the tiny Thunderbird, two of Mr. Fleming’s favorite hot spots for a little blackjack and fine dining way back when.
Sunday morning began with a sale and trade in the suite, filled with collectibles and a fantastic view of the city of Las Vegas. On display were fabulous acquisitions from the latest Christie’s sale, including Tracy Bond’s wedding ring, Klaus Maria Brandauer’s white dinner jacket and a working architect’s model of the 007 stage with the Liparus and captured submarines inside. Q sent a Polaris missile to the premises, and books, clothing, magazines, posters, music, toys, vehicles, figures and food and drink of every Bondian kind changed hands. Unique items included GoldenEye storyboards and EON scripts, color proof sheets for Bond trading cards, the GoldenEye 318 Champion Car, Holmes Meets 007, Diamonds Are Forever firsts awaiting Lana Wood’s signature, limited, signed and numbered comics, artist’s color proofs, “all five” Bonds posters from the German exhibition, numerous mint in box 60s and 70s toys and clothing and too many more items to count. Everyone went home with piles of rare goodies.
The Weekend group then visited Caesar’s Palace and its forum shops and thrill rides for several hours before meeting with Lana Wood and Jan Turner (The Astronaut’s Wife) at Planet Hollywood. Our private room overlooked the main dining areas, and with the Octopussy Jet to one side and the Diamonds mobile on the other, we were in heaven between Bede and Buggy! Also on display were Roger Moore’s Live and Let Die tuxedo and Karl Stromberg’s vicious rocket gun from The Spy Who Loved Me, besides Bondian tidbits everywhere. Only London’s Planet Hollywood has more James Bond collectibles on display. Many great photos were taken, and collecting stories were shared by the group.
Lana and Jan were gracious stars who inscribed numerous stills and collectibles while meeting with fans and answering questions. Weekend guests then opened a special gift: their copy of “World’s Greatest Marches,” actually a compilation of Shirley Bassey Bond cover tunes. A beautiful, custom Aston Martin then arrived to escort our special guests to The Riviera hotel! Jim and Jennie Sieff and their astounding Aston Martin cars appear in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and The Spy Who Shagged Me, and the Sieffs are looking ahead eagerly to beginning production soon on Austin III. Sean Connery would have looked right in place for a spin inside the DBS blue beauty they drove from California to Las Vegas for our event!
At The Riviera, where Plenty O’Toole’s principal casino scenes were filmed, Lana delighted us with anecdotes about achievements in front of and behind the camera (she works today as a producer and casting coordinator). She spoke at length about her Emmy-nominated performance alongside a half-dozen Bond actors in QB VII, and yes, about her affair with Mr. Sean Connery himself. How many Bond fans get to chat with Lana Wood about Diamonds Are Forever in The Riviera? Not many, for this was her first visit to Las Vegas since 1971!
We then traveled together to the pinnacle of Diamonds sights, the “Willard Whyte House,” better known as the spectacular Las Vegas Hilton. (Lana remembered the Hilton as its former name of The International.) Lana and Jan shared memories with the crowd (no, we did not reenact the throw into the pool!) before our photo shoot outside the gazebo beside the world famous Hilton golf course. Our very happy but exhausted group traveled together afterward to see The Star Trek Experience and Independence Day fireworks, before departing for home!
Thanks to everyone who helped us sparkle in the City of 1,000,000 lights, especially Paul Scrabo and George Ann Muller, Nancy Gunn from Film Garden, Mobilia Magazine and Cigar Lifestyles, Backburner Productions, The Vegas Sun and numerous Bond websites who helped advertise our event. Special thanks also to the Ian Fleming Foundation, Greg Bechtloff, John Cork, John Flynn, Gary Giblin, Michael Kersey, Ben Miller, Joe Payne, Lee Pfeiffer, Nate Sears, Jim and Jennie Sieff, and Steve and Kathy Kulakoski of For Your Eyes Only books.
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–Matt Sherman is one host of the annual Bond Collectors’ Weekends, which means he has been asked to leave Las Vegas casinos for being overdressed.
Some unsolicited comments from the second annual Bond Collectors’ Weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada:
“…I brought back a lot of memories from the BCW in Las Vegas and I have to tell you again how much I appreciate all that you did as hosts, can`t wait for next year.”
“The most important part of collecting Bond is the friends you meet along the way…what`s the use in having Bond stuff, if you can`t share it?”
“How many Bond fans get to talk with “Plenty O`Toole,” Lana Wood, in Las Vegas’ “The Riviera Hotel” about the movie “Diamonds Are Forever?” How cool is that?” (Very cool! Lana hadn’t visited Las Vegas since making “Diamonds” almost thirty years before!)
“My collection got a lot of new plus very rare items! I also want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to meet Lana Wood and my now good friends, guests Don and Marsha McGregor!”
“I enjoyed Bond Weekend 1999 tremendously.”
“I had a great time in Vegas. Thanks for the Collectors’ Weekend. I will treasure the items I purchased over the Weekend, not due to value, but the memories that I have of the Weekend.”
“I wanted to tell you again what a great time I had over the 1999 Bond Weekend. It really was so much fun to get to see old friends and make new ones…so many people mentioned to me that they had a really good time and I wanted to let you know…next time for sure!”
Keep 007Forever bookmarked for the next year, plus send an eMail to BCW Productions to get on our Bond Weekend mailing list for regular email updates on Bond events and memorabilia, worldwide or call today for more information or to register.