Richard Maibaum

 Posted on August 30, 2024  |  3 minutes  |  639 words  |  Jenniffer Sheldon

Richard Maibaum, 81, who wrote or co-wrote screenplays for 12 James Bond films, died Jan. 1 in Santa Monica, Calif., after a short illness.

Maibaum, who shared screenwriting credits on the first James Bond feature, “Dr. No,” was the sole screenwriter for “From Russia With Love” and “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.”

He shared screenwriting credits on “Goldfinger,” “Thunderball,” “Diamonds Are Forever,” “The Man With The Golden Gun,” “The Spy Who Loved Me,” “For Your Eyes Only,” “Octopussy,” “The Living Daylights” and “Licence To Kill.”

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Maibaum became associated with James Bond producer Cubby Broccoli in 1954 when he went to England to write “Paratrooper” for Broccoli and Irving Allen.

Maibaum went to Hollywood in 1936 under contract to MGM after a career as a Broadway playwright. His plays include “Birthright,” “The Tree” and “Tirade.”

In Hollywood, he wrote several films for MGM, including “20 Mule Team” and “The Bad Man Of Brimstone.” At Fox he wrote “Ten Gentlemen From West Point.”

After serving in the Army Signal Corps’ combat film division during World War II, Maibaum became a writer/producer at Paramount, working on such films as “The Great Gatsby,” “OSS” and “Capt. Carey, USA,” all starring Alan Ladd. He also produced “The Big Clock” and “No Man Of Her Own” for Paramount.

His other screenwriting credits include “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” “Killers Of Kilimanjaro,” “Bigger Than Life” and “Hell Below Zero.”

Survived by his wife, Sylvia; sons Mathew and Paul, latter a director of photography; a sister, Gladys Gould; a granddaughter; and a daughter-in-law, Julie Dresner, a costumer.

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