Charles J. Russhon (March 23, 1911 - June 26, 1982) was an American photographer and Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force who later became noted for his role as a technical adviser and liaison officer on the Sean Connery and Roger Moore James Bond films of the 1960s and 1970s.
He appears in a cameo in Thunderball (1965) as an Air Force Officer. He appears camera right of M during the conference with all the double-O agents.
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For You Only Live Twice (1967), he acted as a technical advisor, military liaison, helped set up a product-placement deal with Sony, attended the location scout, assisted with obtaining important transportation means and advised on the logistics for working in Japan.
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For Thunderball (1965), he liaised with the US Coast Guard and US Air Force Aqua-para team to organize their participation in the film. Apparently, he allegedly was rewarded with a sizable amount of AMF underwater accessories valued at $ 92,000 (US).
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For Live and Let Die (1973), he organized co-operation with the New York Police Department for filming in Manhattan.
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For From Russia with Love (1963), he obtained US military aid for the production during filming in Turkey.
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For Goldfinger (1964), he obtained free use of a number of Commanche monoplanes for the movie from the Piper Aircraft Company. Russhon's principal role on the film was getting permission from four government agencies and the U.S. Army to film actual Fort Knox exteriors at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Contributing to his high-level contacts was the fact that he knew Pierre Salinger, the press secretary of President John F. Kennedy. Kennedy was a James Bond fan himself and had listed the Ian Fleming novel "From Russia With Love" previously in a top ten list.
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In Goldfinger (1964), the sign on Fort Knox airplane hangar during the air-raid says "Welcome, General Russhon". He was a military liaison and technical advisor for the film and this was an in-joke made by the production team.
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The inspiration for the character Charlie Vanilla in his friend Milton Caniff's "Steve Canyon" comic strip.
Miscellaneous
Title
Year
Status
Character
Live and Let Die
1973
police liaison: New York - uncredited
You Only Live Twice
1967
military liaison: Japan - uncredited / technical advisor - uncredited
Thunderball
1965
technical advisor - uncredited
Goldfinger
1964
government liaison: USA - uncredited / military liaison: Kentucky - uncredited / technical adviser
From Russia with Love
1963
military liaison: Turkey - uncredited / technical advisor - uncredited