Dushko Popov - a possible prototype of James Bond (8 photos)

In the book "Into the Lion's Mouth: The True Story of Dusko Popov" author Larry Loftis calls Dusko Popov a showman. He is a model for cinema, with incredible cunning and no conscience, with the qualities of a Don Juan among the ladies and a villain among the villains to his enemies, with stone-cold eyes that spare no one and nothing.





Is this why this British triple agent inspired Ian Fleming to create James Bond?

Dusko Popov



"Into the Lion's Mouth: The True Story of Dusko Popov"

Dusan Popov was born the son of Milorad Popov in Titel, Serbia, and grew up riding horses and exploring the summer waters of the Adriatic Sea. But even then, his life was anything but ordinary. After earning a doctorate in law from the University of Fribourg, Popov became an outspoken critic of the Reich, so much so that his final dissertation took him straight from university to Fribourg prison.





But his killer instinct, sharp mind and persuasiveness impressed even the Nazis. It was in the early 1940s, when the signs of World War II were becoming clearer, that a capable man was recruited as a spy. What they didn't know was that Dusko Popov was actually a British double agent codenamed Tricycle, feeding the Germans disinformation and stealing money from under their noses. During his career, Popov served in MI5 and MI6, as well as the FBI, in addition to working with the German Abwehr.



At this time, Ian Fleming was working for British Naval Intelligence - work that would later become the basis for the creation of his own agent 007. In 1941, Fleming first met Popov in Lisbon, at a casino, where he gambled for 50,000 pounds sterling while Fleming looked on with his mouth open.



Dushko Popov

During their stay at the hotel, their paths must have crossed at least three or four times, but it was this incident that is said to have started the book that has gained worldwide recognition. Casino Estoril became Casino Royale. It started the Bond series, and the inspiration was Dusko himself, who created the image of the main character James Bond.



Ian Fleming

Many have asked if James Bond is really Dusko Popov. Some even claim that this Machiavellian is Fleming himself, smoking the same Morland cigarettes. That evening at the casino, he also played his own game, hoping to extort a large sum from the Nazis. In an interview before his death, the author admitted that James Bond's famous baccarat battle at Casino Royale was based on this game.



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Over the years, the exploits of the deadly agent changed, as the author mixed the stories and personalities of various incidents and agents. Popov, however, retired from the spy game, taking up a job as a lawyer in the south of France, something he had always dreamed of. He died in 1981. But one thing is clear: on that dark night, illuminated by the red velvet curtains of the gambling arena, the author definitely decided to write an evergreen book that has found such a strong response among descendants, watching Popov in action.



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