Can We Get Some Cake with That?

This is certainly an occasion for celebrations. First up, we must pay tribute to California novelist Bill Pronzini, who turns 70 years old today. Pronzini is, of course, the Grand Master Award-winning creator of the long-running “Nameless Detective” series, the most recent installments of which were all released in 2012: Hellbox, Femme, and Kinsmen. Since I’ve written before on this page about Pronzini’s literary virtues, let me point you to two blog posts elsewhere that acknowledge the start of this author’s seventh decade, one by TomCat in Beneath the Stains of Time, the other by Patrick Ohl, sharing his respect for Pronzini’s knowledge of this genre.

Today would also have been the 90th birthday of Don Adams, the actor who starred with Barbara Feldon in the 1965-1970 TV spy spoof Get Smart. Unfortunately, Adams died in 2005 from a lung infection.

And let’s not forget that it was 60 years ago today--April 13, 1953--that UK publisher Jonathan Cape released Ian Fleming’s first novel, Casino Royale. That book introduced the world to a certain British super-spy, James Bond (aka Agent 007), who would become famous not only through Fleming’s novels and short stories, but as a consequence of his appearances on television and in a series of films. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to say that this is Bond’s 60th birthday, and that he’s holding up well for his age. Very well, indeed.