One of the most enduring movie images from the James Bond franchise is of Donald Pleasence as Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the supervillian head of SPECTRE sitting in a large, black leather, swivel desk chair stroking, sinisterly a glamorous, Chinchilla, Traditional Persian cat. The actual chair is currently up for auction and will fetch thousands of pounds.
Christoph Waltz will play Blofeld in the upcoming new Bond movie, SPECTRE. He is an Austrian actor. He does not look the sinister type but he is an actor!
The only aspect of the movie that interests me (only kidding) is (a) are they going to give Blofeld a cat to stroke and if so (b) what breed of cat will it be? Or should it be a moggie? The cat should be a rescue cat but I don’t believe it will be.
Why was the white Persian cat such hit the last time? The answer has to be because the white Persian looks so perfect and innocent but with a hint of menace – a perfect companion to the quiet menace of Blofeld. The Persian featured had that classic black eyeliner around the eyes.
My guess is that the film makers will go for an exact copy of the cat: a Traditional Persian. If they have decided on a change then I’d pick the opposite color: a jet black Bombay cat. The Bombay has a super-silky, deep black coat. With good lighting this cat breed looks very interesting. The golden eyes stand out starkly against the liquid black of the fur. Gold for money and black for evil. A good choice I reckon.
I would think the Persian’s popularity was boosted by the Bond movie. In Asia, the Persian represents the pinnacle of exotic pet cat.
Thanks for correcting me Michele. I’d better change it. I should have realised as I have a page on Chinchilla Persians. Also the miniature cats are often Chinchilla Persians.
The Sphynx is a good idea too. It’ll be interesting to see what happens.
Blofeld’s cat was a lovely Chinchilla Persian. (The other colours, including solid white don’t have green eyes or the trademark eye/nose liner.) They were my favourite of all the Traditional Persians.
Though Blofeld was played by four different actors, they always had a Chinchilla, so I’ve a horrible feeling that the film makers will continue that tradition. If they do decide to go for another breed then it’s going to be a rare and expensive one. Bombay would be a good choice for the reasons noted by Michael. Though I’m not a fan of them, I could also see a Sphynx in that role.
Michael, i would prefer a jet black Traditional Persian cat to play the villains pet mole.I presume that the traditional Persian cat also became a popular pet because of the James Bond movie franchise and later in the cult Kungfu movie “Enter the dragon”.