Felix Leiter

Felix Leiter
James Bond character
Many of the faces of Felix Leiter: from top-left: Jack Lord, Cec Linder, Rik Van Nutter, Norman Burton from bottom-left: David Hedison, John Terry, David Hedison, Jeffrey Wright.
First appearance	Casino Royale (1953)
Last appearance	Carte Blanche (2011)
Created by	Ian Fleming
Portrayed by	Michael Pate (as "Clarence Leiter") (1954) Jack Lord (1962) Cec Linder (1964) Rik Van Nutter (1965) Norman Burton (1971) David Hedison (1973 & 1989) Bernie Casey (1983) John Terry (1987) Jeffrey Wright (2006–2008)
Information
Gender	Male
Occupation	CIA operative DEA agent Private investigator
Spouse(s)	Della Leiter (nee Churchill) (wife, deceased)
Children	Cedar Leiter (daughter)
Nationality	American
Classification	Ally

Felix Leiter is a fictional character created by Ian Fleming in the James Bond series. The character is an operative for the CIA and Bond's friend. After losing a leg and his hand to a shark attack, Leiter joined the Pinkerton Detective Agency. The name "Felix" comes from the middle name of Fleming's friend Ivar Bryce, while the name "Leiter" was the surname of Fleming's friend Marion Oates Leiter Charles, then wife of Thomas Leiter.

Leiter also appeared in novels by continuation authors, as well as ten films and one television programme, Casino Royale, where the character became a British agent, Clarence Leiter, played by Michael Pate. In the Eon Productions series of films, Leiter has been portrayed by Jack Lord, Cec Linder, Rik Van Nutter, Norman Burton, David Hedison, John Terry and Jeffrey Wright; in the independent production Never Say Never Again, the part was played by Bernie Casey. Leiter has also appeared in the video game 007 Legends.

Felix Leiter, James Bond's CIA ally and friend, played a part in six of the Fleming novels; he is introduced in Casino Royale as being thin, tall, about thirty-five years old and a former U.S. Marine who was working with the Joint Intelligence Staff of NATO. Fleming named the character after two of his American friends: "Felix" was Ivar Bryce's middle name, whilst Tommy Leiter was a mutual friend.Academic Kerstin Jütting describes Leiter as "a cool and quiet no-nonsense character who knows 007's strengths and weaknesses well". Physically, Fleming describes Leiter in Casino Royale: "a mop of straw-coloured hair lent his face a boyish look which closer examination contradicted".