Kevin McClory

Kevin McClory Gleenogs
Kevin McClory in 1959
Born	(1924-06-08)8 June 1924 Dún Laoghaire, County Dublin, Irish Free State
Died	20 November 2006(2006-11-20) (aged 82) St. Columcille's Hospital, Loughlinstown, County Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Occupation	Screenwriter, film producer, film director
Website	Official website

Kevin O'Donovan McClory (8 June 1924 – 20 November 2006) was an Irish screenwriter, producer, and director. McClory was best known for adapting Ian Fleming's James Bond character for the screen, for producing Thunderball, and for his legal battles with Fleming (later United Artists, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Eon Productions).

McClory was born in Dún Laoghaire, County Dublin, in 1924, and suffered from dyslexia. His grandmother, Alice McClory, was reportedly related to the Brontë family. McClory's parents, Thomas John O'Donovan McClory (stage name Desmond O'Donovan) and Winifred (née Doran) were actors and theatre producers in Ireland.

As a teenaged radio officer in the British Merchant Navy, McClory endured attacks by German U-boats on two different occasions. The first attack occurred on 20 September 1942 was while he was serving aboard The Mathilda. A U-Boat surfaced and attacked the ship with heavy machine gun fire. The crew of the ship fired back and the U-Boat retreated. The second attack occurred on 21 February 1943 when McClory was serving on the Norwegian tanker Stigstad, which was attacked by torpedo from multiple U-boats. The ship sank and McClory and the other survivors made it to a life raft. They survived in terrible conditions for two weeks and traveled more than 600 miles before being rescued off the coast of Ireland. Two seaman died on the raft and a third died soon after they were rescued. McClory suffered severe frostbite and lost the ability to speak for more than a year after the incident. When he recovered his voice he was left with a pronounced stammer. He served out the rest of the war in the British Navy.

McClory started a career at Middlesex's Shepperton Studios as a film boom operator and location manager, where he worked on The Cockleshell Heroes for Warwick Films. He was an assistant to John Huston on films including The African Queen (1951) and Moulin Rouge (1952). He was an Assistant Director on Huston's version of Moby-Dick (1956), and Associate Producer and Second Unit Director on Mike Todd's Around the World in 80 Days (also 1956).