Happy birthday Raymond Benson! The 007 continuation author was born on this day in 1955.

Raymond Benson, who first published the seminal James Bond Bedside Companion in 1984 and went on to write a series of continuation titles and novelizations, was born in Texas on 5th September 1955.

Approached by Glidrose Productions (now Ian Fleming Publications) following the retirement of John Gardner, Benson became the fourth James Bond continuation author and the second to write a series of title. During his tenure with Glidrose, Benson wrote six novels, three film novelizations, and three short stories:

Blast from the Past (short story, 1997)
Zero Minus Ten (1997)
Tomorrow Never Dies (novelization, 1997)
The Facts of Death (1998)
Midsummer Night’s Doom (short story, 1999)
Live at Five (short story, 1999)
The World Is Not Enough (novelization, 1999)
High Time to Kill (1999)
DoubleShot (2000)
Never Dream of Dying (2001)
The Man with the Red Tattoo (2002)
Die Another Day (novelization, 2002)

Apart from his work with 007, Benson has published a number of novels, including his Black Stiletto series, short stories, non-fiction titles, developed computer games and produced stage plays.

Photo: Raymond Benson in Milan in 2005, public domain.