Michael Bond | |
|---|---|
| Born | Thomas Michael Bond (1926-01-13)13 January 1926 Newbury, Berkshire, England |
| Died | 27 June 2017(2017-06-27) (aged 91) London, England |
| Resting place | Paddington Old Cemetery |
| Occupation | Author |
| Years active | 1945–2017 |
| Notable work | Paddington Bear series |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2 |
Thomas Michael BondCBE (13 January 1926 – 27 June 2017) was an English author. He is best known for a series of children's books featuring the character ofPaddington Bear. More than 35 million books in the series have been sold worldwide, and the characters have also appeared in several animated television series, afilm series, and astage musical.
Thomas Michael Bond was born on 13 January 1926 inNewbury, Berkshire.[1] He grew up inReading, where his visits toReading railway station to watch theCornish Riviera Express pass through at speed started a love of trains. His father was a manager for the post office.[2] He was educated atPresentation College in Reading. His time there was unhappy. He toldThe Guardian in November 2014 that his parents had chosen the school "for the simple reason [that his] mother liked the colour of the blazers ... she didn't make many mistakes in life, but that was one of them." He left education aged 14, despite his parents' wishes for him to go to university.[2] TheSecond World War was under way and he went to work in a solicitor's office for a year, and then as an engineer's assistant for theBBC.[3]
On 10 February 1943[4] Bond survived an air raid in Reading. The building in which he was working collapsed under him, killing 41 people and injuring many more.[5][6] Shortly afterwards he volunteered foraircrew service in theRoyal Air Force as a 17-year-old, but he was discharged after being found to suffer from acuteair sickness.[citation needed] He then served in theMiddlesex Regiment of theBritish Army until 1947.[7]
Bond began writing in 1945, when he was stationed with the Army inCairo, and sold his first short story to the magazineLondon Opinion. He was paid sevenguineas and thought that he "wouldn't mind being a writer".[2] After he'd produced several plays and short stories and had become a BBC television cameraman (he worked onBlue Peter for a time), his first book,A Bear Called Paddington, was published by Collins in 1958.Barbara Ker Wilson had read his draft at one sitting and she then phoned Bond at the number given. She was put through toLime Grove Studios. Bond had to tell her that he wasn't supposed to take calls at work.[8]
This was the start of Bond's series of books recounting the tales ofPaddington Bear, a bear from "darkest Peru", whose Aunt Lucy sends him to the United Kingdom, carrying a jar ofmarmalade. In the first book the Brown family find the bear atPaddington Station, and adopt him, naming the bear after the station.[7] By 1965 Bond was able to give up his BBC job to work full time as a writer.[9]
Paddington's adventures have sold over 35 million books, have been published in nearly 20 countries, in over 40 languages, and have inspired pop bands, race horses, plays, hot air balloons, movies and adaptations for television.[7][10] Bond stated in December 2007 that he did not plan to continue the adventures of Paddington Bear in further volumes,[11] but in April 2014 it was reported that a new book, entitledLove From Paddington, would be published that autumn. InPaddington, a 2014 film based on the books, Bond had a credited cameo as the Kindly Gentleman.[12]
Bond also wrote another series of children's books, telling of the adventures of aguinea pig namedOlga da Polga, who was named after the Bond family's pet,[2] as well as the animated BBC television seriesThe Herbs (1968).[13] Bond also wrote culinary mystery stories for adults, featuringMonsieur Pamplemousse and his faithfulbloodhound Pommes Frites.[3]
Bond wroteReflection on the Passing of the Years shortly after his 90th birthday. The piece was read bySir David Attenborough, who also turned 90 in 2016, at the national service of thanksgiving to commemorateQueen Elizabeth II's 90th birthday atSt Paul's Cathedral in June 2016.[14]
On 20 June 2016StudioCanal acquired the Paddington franchise outright. Bond was allowed to keep the publishing rights to his series,[15] which he licensed in April 2017 toHarperCollins for the next six years.[16]
Bond wrote two short films for theBBC:Simon's Good Deed, which was shown on 11 October 1955,[17] andNapoleon's Day Out, shown on 9 April 1957.[18] He also wrote one episode of the seriesThe World Our Stage, an adaptation of the short story "The Decoration" byGuy de Maupassant, which aired on 4 January 1958.[19]
His best known television work is as the creator and writer of thechildren's television seriesThe Herbs andThe Adventures of Parsley, again for the BBC.[13][20]
Bond was appointed anOfficer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), for services to children's literature, in the1997 Birthday Honours[21][22] andCommander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the2015 Birthday Honours.[23][24] On 6 July 2007 theUniversity of Reading awarded him anHonoraryDoctor of Letters.[25]
On 10 January 2018GWR named one of theirClass 800 trains "Michael Bond / Paddington Bear".[26]
Bond was married twice: to Brenda Mary Johnson in 1950, from whom he separated in the 1970s before divorcing in 1981; and to Susan Marfrey Rogers in 1981.[27] He had two children.[28] He lived inLittle Venice, London, not far from Paddington Station, the place that inspired many of his books.[9][28][27]
Bond died at home on 27 June 2017, at the age of 91, following a brief, undisclosed illness.[27] The filmPaddington 2 (2017) was dedicated to his memory.[1] In accordance with his wishes, he is buried inPaddington Old Cemetery.[27] The epitaph on his gravestone reads "Please look after this bear. Thank you."
In 2022, on the ITV programmeDNA Journeys, it was discovered that Bond is a relative of the television presenterKate Garraway.[29]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
| Television series |
|
|---|---|
| Films |
|
| Theatre |
|
| Music | |
| Related | |
