She played Valerie Mathis, a character who isn’t in the book but who stood in for the more-familiar Vesper Lynd (and, like Lynd, eventually betrayed Bond). More interesting for Rap Sheet readers is that Christian starred alongside actor Barry Nelson in a one-hour American TV adaptation of Ian Fleming’s first James Bond novel, Casino Royale (1953). Its subject is Linda Christian (1923-2011), a Mexican-born actress who’s said to have relocated to Hollywood after enjoying a romantic fling with Errol Flynn, and who went on to appear in a variety of movies and TV shows on both sides of the border. Last week Paul Bishop-a detective with the Los Angeles Police Department, as well as an author and blogger-posted the photo above on his Facebook page.
