THE SPY WHO MADE ME

American secret agent Ernest Cuneo's wartime exploits with his good friend lan Fleming set the stage for James Bond's early adventures. Now, a new book aims to unearth the story of the 'muse' who doubled as Churchill's covert man in Washington

- From Peter Sheridan in Los Angeles

AMID ARCH villains bent on global domination, ruthless assassins and sultry femme fatales in James Bond's international world of espionage, you could be forgiven for not knowing the name Ernest Cuneo.

There's a Las Vegas taxi driver and CIA asset with a suspiciously similar name Ernie Cureo who gives 007 a ride in Ian Fleming's 1956 novel Diamonds Are Forever. And astute observers might have noticed that Fleming's subsequent Bond adventure Thunderball was dedicated: "To Ernest Cuneo Muse."

But in real life, Cuneo was the man who helped bring 007 into existence.

"Without Ernest Cuneo, there might be no James Bond," says Thomas Maier, author of the new book The Invisible Spy, which reveals Cuneo's clandestine life of intrigue and adventure as America's first spy in the Second World War, and his close friendship with Fleming.

"Bond was a superspy born of Ernest Cuneo's real-life wartime adventures with Ian Fleming, their witty friendship, their interest in beautiful women and nightlife, the deep wellspring of their creative imagination, and their understanding of how espionage works in a dangerous world," says the author.

"Ernest Cuneo had his hand in assassination attempts on Hitler, and 'kompromat' sex traps to snare Nazi spies, and he manipulated the American media while fighting Nazi conspirators in the US.

"And as Ian Fleming's friend, he helped make James Bond who we know today."

An American football star-turned-White House lawyer, Cuneo became Fleming's lifelong friend and frequent travelling companion.

Fleming credited Cuneo with the plot of Thunderball, and more than half the plot for Goldfinger. Their trip together to Las Vegas inspired Diamonds Are Forever.