Ernst Stavro Blofeld

Template:James Bond Character Ernst Stavro Blofeld is a fictional character in the James Bond universe. He is the archenemy of MI6 secret service agent James Bond and head of the evil terrorist organization, S.P.E.C.T.R.E..

Blofeld usually appears accompanied by a white Angora cat in the films (but not in the novels). It was also briefly a trademark of the Bond films to not show Blofeld's face, only a closeup of Blofeld stroking his cat. This "trademark" was later broken in the film You Only Live Twice and subsequent films.

Blofeld appears in six official James Bond movies as well as Never Say Never Again, the 1983 remake of Thunderball, which makes him the most persistent and arguably greatest of James Bond's enemies.

Contents

1 Bio 1.1 Novels 1.2 Films 2 Blofeld Portrayals 3 Trivia

Bio

Ernst Stavro Blofeld was born on May 28, 1908 to a Polish father and a Greek mother in Gdynia. Blofeld attended the University of Warsaw where he studied economics and political history. He later went to the Warsaw Technical Institute to study engineering and radionics. He spent the years during which World War II took place in Turkey, where he worked for Turkish radio and set up an intelligence organization.

Despite the fact that he is perfectly willing to murder millions to further his goals, Blofeld has a few professional scruples. For instance, in Thunderball he learned that during a standard fundraising kidnapping mission of a young girl, the responsible agent sexually molested her. In response, Blofeld had the agent killed as punishment and returned the girl and half the ransom to her father as compensation. His reasons had nothing to do with morality, but rather with the importance of S.P.E.C.T.R.E. being known for keeping their word to those they did their "business" with.

Novels

In the novel series by Ian Fleming, Blofeld makes three appearances in what is considered the 'Blofeld Trilogy'. Blofeld first appears as the leader of S.P.E.C.T.R.E. in Thunderball, however, his role is reduced to a minor character. The plot, formulated by his organization and by him is carried out by his henchman Emilio Largo.

After an absence in The Spy Who Loved Me, during which Bond is searching for him, Bond learns Blofeld is in hiding in Switzerland under the guise of Comte de Bleuville in On Her Majesty's Secret Service and defeats his plans to destroy Great Britain's agricultural economy. In the final sequence of the novel, Blofeld gets revenge by murdering Bond's wife, Tracy Bond.

In You Only Live Twice, Blofeld returns and is found by Bond to be hiding in Japan under the name 'Dr. Shatterhand'. Blofeld is killed at the end of the novel, making it his last appearance.

Films

In the film series Blofeld first appears in From Russia With Love and has a very small role. Similarly, he also plays a minor role in Thunderball after a one film absence. Afterwards, Blofeld takes on the role of the main villain in You Only Live Twice and again in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, the latter being virtually identical to the novel. Blofeld returns once again in Diamonds Are Forever, seeming independent of S.P.E.C.T.R.E.. Blofeld's final appearance is in the pre-title sequence of 1981's For Your Eyes Only where he finally receives his comeuppance for the murder of Bond's wife. For copyright reasons involving Kevin McClory and the film rights to Thunderball (see the controversy over Thunderball) Blofeld's name was never mentioned either verbally or in the final credits of For Your Eyes Only. The only indications that this wheelchair-bound character is Blofeld are the presence of the Angora cat, baldness and the original trademark of not showing Blofeld's face.

In the films, Blofeld's physical appearance and personality varies wildly due to the change of actors (i.e. Blofeld's scar does not appear in On Her Majesty's Secret Service or Diamonds Are Forever, and in On Her Majesty's Secret Service it is revealed that Blofeld has removed his earlobes, but they return in Diamonds Are Forever along with a full head of hair). This is actually in keeping with the Blofeld of Fleming's novels, who is described as drastically changing his personality and appearance in order to hide from Bond.

Blofeld Portrayals

Actors who have played Blofeld in the films (order of appearance):

• Anthony Dawson — (From Russia With Love) (uncredited; only his hands stroking his cat are shown)
• Eric Pohlmann — (From Russia With Love) (uncredited; voice)
• Anthony Dawson — (Thunderball) (uncredited; again his face is not shown)
• Eric Pohlmann — (Thunderball) (uncredited; voice)
• Jan Werich — (You Only Live Twice) (he filmed a number of scenes before illness forced him to be replaced)
• Donald Pleasence — (You Only Live Twice) (replaced Jan Werich)
• Telly Savalas — (On Her Majesty's Secret Service)
• Charles Gray — (Diamonds Are Forever)
  • Max Latimer — plays Blofeld's double in Diamonds Are Forever.
• John Hollis — (For Your Eyes Only) (uncredited)
• Max von Sydow — (Never Say Never Again)

Trivia

• Blofeld's birthdate, May 28, 1908, is Ian Fleming's birthdate.
• The name Blofeld was inspired by the father of English cricket commentator Henry Blofeld, with whom Fleming went to school.
• Ernst Stavro Blofeld and S.P.E.C.T.R.E. were set to be the villains in the 1977 film The Spy Who Loved Me, but because of copyright issues between Ian Fleming and Kevin McClory the villain was changed to Karl Stromberg.
• The look of Donald Pleasence's Blofeld in You Only Live Twice inspired the look of Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers films, down to the Nehru jacket and facial scar.de:Ernst Stavro Blofeld

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