22. A James Bond fan gave his name to the books and films
In the first five James Bond novels, 007 is equipped with a Beretta as his standard sidearm. Fleming received a letter from a noted British firearm expert and fan of the series, Geoffrey Boothroyd. Boothroyd suggested the Beretta was insufficient for Bond’s work, and the agent should be equipped with a Walther PPK, a firearm of larger caliber and stopping power. Fleming thanked Boothroyd, and from that point on sought his advice on firearms used by villains, silencers, other weapons carried by Bond and his fellow agents, and the accurate portrayal of weapons used by agents of Smersh and other enemy agencies.
He also, as he so often did, appropriated the fan’s last name. Bond’s armorer and supplier of devices used in the field, became Major Boothroyd beginning in Dr. No, and continued through the series. In From Russia With Love (film), Major Boothroyd and the head of Q Branch become the same person. Bond’s Walther PPK became as iconic as his phrase, “Bond, James Bond”, which was also created by Fleming, not Sean Connery nor the screenwriters for the Bond films which began with Dr. No.