Desmond Llewelyn
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| Desmond Llewelyn | |
|---|---|
 Llewelyn in Sweden to promote Octopussy |
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| Born | Desmond Wilkinson Llewelyn 12 September 1914 Newport, Wales |
| Died | 19 December 1999 (aged 85) Firle, East Sussex, England |
| Years active | 1950–1999 |
| Spouse(s) | Pamela, 1938 - 1999(due to Desmond's Death) |
Desmond Wilkinson Llewelyn (12 September 1914[1][2][3][4] — 19 December 1999[2]) was a Welsh actor, famous for playing the fictional character of Q in the James Bond series of films.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Llewelyn was born in Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales, the son of Mia and Ivor Llewelyn,[5] who was a coal mining engineer. He originally wanted to be a minister but during his education at Radley public school he worked as a stagehand in the school's productions and then picked up sporadic small parts.
[edit] World War II Officer & a POW for Five Years
The outbreak of World War II in September 1939 halted his acting career, and Llewelyn was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the British army, serving with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. In 1940, he was captured by the German army in France, and was held as a POW for five years.
[edit] Bond Career
Starting with the second film in the James Bond series, From Russia with Love (1963), Llewelyn appeared as Q (the quartermaster of the MI6 gadget lab known as Q-branch) in every Bond film, except Live and Let Die (1973), until The World Is Not Enough (1999). He had originally been chosen for the role as he had previously worked with the director Terence Young on the 1950 war film They Were Not Divided. In the 2002 film Die Another Day, John Cleese, who played the character R, the assistant to Q in The World Is Not Enough, was promoted to the head of Q-branch, thus taking on the title of Q. In all, Llewelyn appeared in 17 Bond films, more than any other actor, and worked with the first five James Bond actors. He also portrayed Q in a 1967 made-for-television special (produced by EON Productions) entitled, Welcome to Japan, Mr. Bond which was included in the 2006 special edition DVD release of You Only Live Twice.
[edit] Other work
Llewelyn appeared in other films such as the 1981 PBS production of Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde and also a small appearance in the famous musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) and in the Ealing comedy The Lavender Hill Mob (1951). He acted on stage and appeared in the British television series Follyfoot - his commitments filming that series was one of the reasons why he did not appear in Live and Let Die.
Llewelyn's final Bond film, The World Is Not Enough, had been released only a few weeks before his death, and in his final scene in the picture he is shown being lowered into the ground beside a BMW Z8 at the Scotland headquarters while saying the line, "Always have an escape plan". Although the film had alluded to Q's retirement, which Bond hoped wouldn't be anytime soon, and introduced John Cleese's character as heir presumptive, Llewelyn had stated not long before his death that he had no plans to retire and that he would continue playing Q "as long as the producers want me and the Almighty doesn't."[6]
[edit] Personal life & death
Although one of British cinema's most recognisable characters and an important and long-standing element in the 'Bond' franchise, 'Q' did not make Desmond Llewelyn rich: the actor was merely paid 'by the day' for his few hours of work on-set, and did not share in the money made by the films. Nonetheless, being considered one of the institutions and immensely popular with Bond fans, Llewelyn starred in several commercials, most recently promoted the videogames Goldeneye and Tomorrow Never Dies.
Contrary to his gadget-expert character in the Bond films, Llewelyn always maintained that he was totally lost in the world of technology, a trait that also plagued his successor, John Cleese.
Llewelyn was killed in a road accident on December 19, 1999 after returning home from a friend's house. Driving alone, his Renault Megane car collided head-on with a 35-year-old man driving a Fiat Bravo car on the A27 road near the village of Berwick, East Sussex. He died shortly afterwards at the age of 85. The other driver was seriously injured.[7] On Monday, Llewelyn was due to sign copies of Q, The Biography of Desmond Llewelyn, at Forbidden Planet in New Oxford Street, central London. Roger Moore, who had appeared with Llewelyn in six Bond movies, spoke at his funeral.
[edit] References
- ^ GRO Register of Births: DEC 1914 11a 490 NEWPORT M. - Desmond W. Llewelyn, mmn = Wilkinson
- ^ a b GRO Register of Deaths: JUN 2000 A70E 247 EASTBOURNE - Desmond Wilkinson Llewelyn, DoB = 12 Sep 1914, aged 85
- ^ Desmond Llewelyn Biography ((?)-)
- ^ http://www.ianfleming.org/007news/articles2/desmond2.shtml
- ^ James Bond 007 :: MI6 - The Home Of James Bond
- ^ From an interview on the DVD of The World Is Not Enough.
- ^ BBC News | UK | Bond actor killed in crash
