Biographic - Sunday July 24, 2016 Comic Strip Licensing and Permissions

Transcript

Robert Ludlum This month sees Matt Damon return to the big screen as Jason Bourne, the secret agent created by renowned spy thriller author Robert Ludlum. It is the fourth time Damon has played the character in movies- but he wasn't the first actor to bring Jason Bourne to life. In 1988, Richard Chamberlain, who had found fame as the lead in the long-running "Dr. Kildare" show, as well as such series as "Centennial" "Shogun" and "The Thorn Birds" starred opposite Jaclyn Smith in the miniseries "The Bourne Identity." Robert Ludlum, born in New York City in 1927, was a former marine and a theatrical producer and actor before turning his hand in later life to writing thrillers. It is estimated that there are as many as 500 million copies of his books in print. Many of his books have been adapted for the screen. "The Rhinemann Exchange" a miniseries starring Stephen Collins and Lauren Hutton, was televised in 1977. Six years later, Sam Peckinpah directed Rutger Hauer in the movie "The Osterman Weekend." In 1985, Michael Cane took the lead in a movie adaptation of "The Holcroft Covenant." The '90ssaw Patrick Bergin star in the miniseries "The Apocalypse Watch" and in 2006, Stephen Dorff took the lead in the miniseries "Covert One: The Hades Factor." Jeremy Renner starred in 2012's "The Bourne Legacy," a movie that took in over $276 million worldwide. By far the most successful adaptations have been the Matt Damon movies- 2002's "The Bourne Identity" 2004's "The Bourne Ultimatum" This month's "Jason Bourne" is set to be another blockbuster. Robert Ludlum died in Naples, Florida, in 2001 at the age of 73.

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