by Jule Selbo
Maybe like any other James Bond movie lover, the question of who will be taking over the role from Daniel Craig (No Time to Die was his swan song) has popped into my mind. A few days ago, in a random wonder-wandering on this topic, I came upon a name – one I was not familiar with: Porfirio Rubirosa.
Several amateur-sleuth articles point to this Rubirosa (1906-1965) as a man of Afro-Latino or Creole/Criolo or Meszita descent as the real inspiration. He was in Fleming’s orbit before and during the creation of the James Bond tales. Who was he? A Dominican Republic soldier, a diplomat representing his country, a daredevil, a race car driver, a polo player, an international playboy, a man who earned the title of ‘Caribbean Casanova’, a spy, an assassin – a man of action (ethical and unethical?) in politics, world finance and famous for personal relationships with beautiful women.
Sir Ian Lancaster Fleming (pictured here) never mentioned Rubirosa as an inspiration. In an interview in the London Times, Fleming claimed his popular character was an amalgam of a few individuals: ones he came across during his time in Naval Intelligence during WW II, his own brother, a skiing spy (with the odd name Conrad O’Brian-ffrench), and a combination of MI6 operatives that Fleming had met during the war. The character’s name, he claimed, was chosen because of a book Fleming had on his bookshelf in Jamaica, one written by an American ornithologist named James Bond. In the ornithologist’s NY Times obituary (1989) it was reported that Fleming told the bird-maven’s wife that the name ‘struck me as brief, unromantic, Anglo-Saxon and yet very masculine – just what I needed, and so, a second James Bond was born”.
Others have suggested Bond came together in Fleming’s mind through his reading of British Phyllis Bottome’s 1946 spy novel, The Lifeline, (she had been one of Fleming’s teachers) and characters created by Nigel West, another Brit spy writer. But these two conjectures seem to be just that – dots being strung together by outsiders that don’t really have much “juice” to them.
Handsome, charming Porifirio Rubirosa (Rubi) is a compelling notion – mostly because his life is the stuff that inspires movies and novels. Fleming and Rubi knew each other and enjoyed many aspects of the suave, Caribbean island-hopping life and being bon-vivants along with Errol Flynn, Noel Coward, Hemingway, Frank Sinatra and other famous, upscale party-goers.
Born in the Dominican Republic, Rubi grew up in an affluent family (his father was high up in military and political ranks). Rubi spent early and late teenage years in Paris, went home to the DR to study law, got bored, joined the army, and met dictator Rafael Trujillo at a country club (Rubi was an accomplished polo player). Trujillo was impressed, and legend has it that within twenty-four hours, charismatic Rubi was a lieutenant of the President’s Guard. Trujillo also agreed him to let him marry his daughter – this accelerated Rubi’s place on the government’s inside track. Rubi’s ability to commit long-term to one woman brought the marriage to an end in less than five years, but Trujillo did not punish Rubi. Shawn Levy, in his 2005 book on Rubirosa, quotes Trujillo as saying, “He is good at his job, because women like him and he is a wonderful liar.” Trujillo kept Rubi on as an attaché with diplomatic immunity, a spy and – some stories go – as an assassin who protected Trujillo’s regime.
Rubi loved fast cars and rich women. The “Gold Dust Twins” – the heiresses, Doris Duke and Barbara Hutton – were among his five wives.
His marriage with Hutton lasted 53 days and in the divorce proceedings, he “earned” a DR coffee plantation, a plane, polo ponies, a few race cars and 2.5 million dollars.
Doris Duke got out of her marriage with him in less than one year – she awarded Rubi a Parisian home, a B-25 bomber, a sports car, a fishing fleet off Africa and (only) $25,000 a year in alimony. (Side note: Rubi was “infamous” for his lovemaking skills. The oversized pepper mill, still used in France (the one the waiter brings to the table to add the spice to your dish) is still called the Rubirosa to this day.)
A Chicago litigator and forensic historian, Daniel J. Voelker, in 2016, published a paper in attempt to support his belief that Rubirosa was the inspiration for – or at least a great influencer – on the James Bond character.
Here are a few more Rubi facts to consider. (I’ve put together from the research of Voelker and others, let’s see what you think):
- Fleming bought his Goldeneye estate in Jamacia in 1946 and spent most of his post-war time there. This is where he started writing the James Bond series. Rubi, when not in the DR or traveling around the world, did a lot of ‘island hopping’ in the Caribbean – this includes time in Jamacia. So did the fictional Bond.
- Both Rubi and the fictional Bond spent much of their childhoods in Paris.
- Both wore handmade suits made in England. (Rubi was often on the Best Dressed List and is given credit for inspiring Ralph Lauren’s Polo brand.) Rubi had impeccable style, a dashing charisma, and an adventurous spirit; he captivated everyone he met. The fictional James Bond became famous for similar traits and charms.
- Rubi was known to look good with a gun – or a cocktail – in his hand. Just like James Bond.
- Fleming’s first Bond tale was published in 1953. One of the character descriptions Fleming wrote: “…skill at gambling and knowledge of how to behave in a casino…”
- Rubi ordered his martinis “shaken, not stirred”. So did the fictional James Bond.
- Rubi was known as the Casanova of the Caribbean, famous for his ability to woo women. Some of his paramours included Dolores Del Rio, Eartha Kitt, the famous Portuguese fado singer Amalia, Marilyn Monroe, Maria Montez, Rita Hayworth, Eva Peron and more. An important part of James Bond’s reputation is his ability to woo the ladies – even those who have been sent to kill him.
- Both Rubi and the fictional Bond worked out in the boxing ring to keep in shape.
- Both Rubi and the fictional Bond loved fast cars, polo and gadgets.
- In the spring of 1952, Rubi spent months scuba diving for treasure off the coast of Jamacia where several Spanish galleons had sunk. The new scuba technology he used was described by Fleming in Thunderball (which he started writing in 1959).
- Rubi, in his work for the DR, carried a “license to kill” (according to Voelker). Famously, fictional James Bond had a “license to kill”.
Some researchers (including Voelker in 2016) suggest the reasons Fleming never mentioned Rubi was for marketing reasons. Voelker wrote: “Fleming was restrained from identifying Rubi as his inspiration given Rubirosa’s Creole, or mixed racial background; Fleming’s audience in the 1950s and early ’60s may not, unfortunately, have been very accepting of such a revelation.
Perhaps one of the reasons why Rubirosa’s life has gotten attention lately is that a comic named Christopher Rivas has based part of his stand-up on Rubirosa’s life; he’s imagining if Fleming had made Bond of Creole/Criolo or Meszita or Afro-Latin heritage, his life (Rivas’) might be different today. There are a few documentaries on Rubirosa’s life, but IMO, they could be better. However, one of the books I want to check out is written in 2005 by Michael Wall and Isabelle Wall. Its title is Chasing Rubi, The Truth About Porfirio Rubirosa. The book covers their twenty-two years of research on the man – including details in his 700+ page FBI file.
This shallow dive into Rubirosa has me planning to watch the foreign releases (2018 and 2019) TV movies about him, hoping there are subtitles) – but it might be time for a full-scale movie on the life of Rubirosa. Too bad Sean (IMO, the best Bond) is not around to play him.
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