The widow of film producer Albert “Cubby” Broccoli, Dana was an accomplished producer in her own right. After Cubby died, she took over one of the longest-lived film series in production: the James Bond franchise, and produced three Bond films.
She was often the genius behind casting. Cubby once called her to ask “Can you come here? I think I’ve found the guy, but I don’t know if he has sex appeal.” She went to check out the actor he found and pronounced him “fantastic” — so Sean Connery was hired to play the iconic spy. The family movie company not only owned the film rights to the Bond series but also Ian Fleming’s Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, which Dana turned into a popular musical. She died February 29 from cancer. She was 82.