Shaken, not stirred

UWE BROSAMLE stands next to a collection of James Bond movie posters he collected as a teenager in Germany, which now are on display in his dental office on Suncast Lane in El Dorado Hills. Democrat photo by Shelly Thorene

As a teenager growing up in Germany, Uwe Brosamle was enthralled by James Bond movies. Ask the El Dorado Hills resident his favorite of the seven men who played Bond and the answer is quick: “Sir Roger Moore, that’s the one I grew up with in the ’70s.” “The Spy Who Loved Me” is his favorite Bond movie because the opening scene shows 007 in a downhill ski chase in Austria that ends with Bond parachuting off a cliff. At the time, Brosamle was a 15-year-old freestyle skiier. Favorite Bond girl? This takes more thought. “There are so many,” said Brosamle. “I’d have to say Barbara Bach.”

Brosamle, 50, says he isn’t a hardcore Bond enthusiast, just a person who loves the Bond movies and who likes to pick up Bond items of interest. There could be some denial there. The walls in his El Dorado Hills dental studio boast Bond movie paraphenalia. One special wall is covered with original Bond movie posters that Brosamle collected as a teenager and his recent Bond extravaganza sounds suspiciously hardcore.

He and wife Karin celebrated 30 years of being together by going to London and recreating their first vacation. It just happened to coincide with the premiere of  ”Skyfall,” the newest James Bond movie and the 50-year anniversary of the James Bond film franchise.

During their week in London, the couple revisited some of the sights of their first vacation. “Thirty years ago we snuck into the Pinewood Studios where the Bond movies were filmed,” said Brosamle. “We spent the day there and took a lot of pictures before we were caught and kicked out.” Modern security didn’t allow sneaking in this time, but the Brosamles took the same photos they had taken before. It was a Bond vacation the first time too.

The Brosamles toured all over the greater London area visiting Bond movie and set locations, like the St. Giles churchyard where 007′s wife is fictionally buried. (Hardcore enthusiasts know that Bond was married to Teresa “Tracy” Draco in “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.”)

While in London, the couple went to the filming of the Graham Norton Show. Celebrity guests were the stars of “Skyfall,” — Daniel Craig, Judy Dench and Javier Bardem. Audience members are  invited to sit in chairs facing the celebrities and tell a story. If the story fails to meet with celebrity guest approval, they are unceremoniously ejected from the chair. Brosamle’s story about a mishap on a Greek vacation kept him in the Red Chair.

The premiere for each of the 25 Bond movies has always been held at the Odeon Theater in London, but because of the intense hype of  ”Skyfall,” the venue was changed to the larger Royal Albert Hall. Brosamle’s tickets, bought two months earlier, were not usable at the Royal Albert so he and his wife were compensated by getting to sit in the royal box at the Odeon to watch the movie.

They were invited to a dinner at the Pinewood Hotel, next to the Pinewood Studios. Caroline Munro, a Bond girl from “The Spy Who Loved Me” and Norman Wanstall, Academy Award winner for ” Goldfinger,” sat at the Brosamle’s table. Even better, they posed for photos with the couple and Munro is still a hottie.

“We also got tickets to see Sir Roger Moore  perform in ‘Evening with Roger Moore,’” said Brosamle. They snuck a few photos of Moore performing and added them to their Bond collection.

Of “Skyfall” Brosamle said, “Hardcore enthusiasts are going to think this is the best Bond ever. Daniel Craig is much more like the original Bond character in Ian Fleming’s books.” He’s read all the books.

Hardcore enthusiasts and others can recreate  part of Brosamle’s Big Bond Adventure by seeing “Skyfall,” which premiered in the United States on Nov. 9 and is now at local theaters.

Contact Wendy Schultz at 530-344-5069 or wschultz@mtdemocrat.net. Follow @WSchultzMtDemo. 

Wendy Schultz

Wendy Schultz has been a columnist for the Mountain Democrat since 2002 and a staff writer since 2005. She covers Placerville city events and City Council meetings, writes feature stories and reports on things of interest in El Dorado County.

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