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The Sixties: Espionage Entertainment

This guide covers the decade 1960 - 1970

Overview

During the Cold War, entertainment audiences became fascinated with the spy business. Soon movies and television shows as well as books were being presented as entertainment. The most famous of these spies was James Bond. But there were others.

Memorable Fictional Spies of the 1960s

  • Agent 99 (Get Smart, tv series)
  • James Bond (British secret agent in Ian Fleming novels and movies)
  • April Dancer (The Girl from U.N.C.L.E., tv series)
  • John Drake (Secret Agent Man, tv series)
  • Derek Flint (Our Man Flint, movie)
  • Matt Helm (The Silencers & Donald Hamilton novels)
  • Illya Kuryakin (The Man from U.N.C.L.E., tv series)
  • Alec Leamas (The Spy Who Came in From the Cold novel and movie)
  • Felix Leiter (CIA agent in James Bond novels and movies)
  • Number Six (The Prisoner, tv) series
  • Harry Palmer (The Ipcress File novel and movie)
  • Mrs. Emma Peel (The Avengers tv series)
  • Jim Phelps (Mission Impossible tv series)
  • Alden Pyle (CIA agent in The Quiet American novel and movie)
  • Kelly Robinson (I Spy tv series)
  • Alexander "Scotty" Scott (I Spy tv series)
  • Maxwell Smart (Get Smart tv series)
  • George Smiley (The Spy Who Came in From the Cold novel and movie)
  • John Steed (The Avengers, tv series)
  • Napoleon Solo (The Man from U.N.C.L.E. tv series)
  • James West (The Wild Wild West tv series)

Source: imdb.com.

Nonfiction Spy Reading

President Kennedy's Favorite Spy

President John F. Kennedy was a James Bond fan. From Russia With Love was a favorite book, according to Salon.com and other sources.

IAN FLEMING'S JAMES BOND NOVELS
  • Live and Let Die (1954)
  • Moonraker (1955)
  • Diamonds Are Forever (1956)
  • From Russia With Love (1957)
  • Goldfinger (1959)
  • For Your Eyes Only (1960)
  • Thunderball (1961)
  • The Spy Who Loved Me (1962)
  • On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1963)
  • You Only Live Twice (1964)
  • The Man With the Golden Gun (1965)
  • Octopussy and The Living Daylights (1966)

Eight Cold War Spy Novels

  • Day of the Jackal by Frederic Forsyth (1971)
  • The Ipcress File by Len Deighton (1962)
  • The Manchurian Candidate by Richard Condon (1959)
  • Our Man in Havana  by Graham Greene (1958)
  • The Spy Who Came In From the Cold by John Le Carre (1963)
  • Six Days of the Condor by James Grady (1974)
  • The Third Man by Graham Greene (1949)

Other Espionage Films & TV Shows