Desmond Llewelyn played "Q," the crusty purveyor of secret-agent gadgets, in 17 James Bond films. Llewelyn first played Q in From Russia With Love in 1963, and then appeared in every Bond film through Tomorrow Never Dies (1999), except for 1973's Live and Let Die (which had no part for the character). Llewelyn was typically on-screen only briefly, instructing Bond on the latest deadly gadgets and expressing exasperation at Bond's raffish disregard for government property. Despite his limited screen time, Llewelyn's long run as Q made him a favorite with fans of the Bond film series. Prior to his acting career, Llewelyn served in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers during World War II and spent five years in a German prisoner of war camp. In 1999 he collaborated with author Sandy Hernu on an authorized biography titled Q: The Biography of Desmond Llewelyn.
Died: Dec 19, 1999 in outside Firle, East Sussex, England
Occupation: Actor
Active: '50s-'90s
Major Genres: Spy Film, Action
Career Highlights: Prisoner of Rio
First Major Screen Credit: Prisoner of Rio (1988)
Biography
"Bond -- James Bond," would have been nothing without Llewelyn -- Desmond Llewelyn. Llewelyn played the tweedy technophile who invented the bizarre gadgetry 007 used to thwart the sinister machinations of Dr. No, Goldfinger, and other dastardly villains in 17 Bond movies. Llewelyn's character was named Geoffrey Boothroyd, but no one in the Bond movies called him that. Instead, they called him "Q," short for "quartermaster." Like an army quartermaster who equips troops, Q equipped Sean Connery, Roger Moore, and other Bonds with the supplies of the espionage trade.
Desmond Wilkinson Llewelyn was born in South Wales on September 12, 1914, the son of a Welsh coal-mining engineer. Interested in acting at an early age, he first studied accounting and law enforcement before enrolling in the Royal Academy of Arts at age 20. After joining the Royal Welsh Fusiliers at the onset of World War II, he fought in France as a second lieutenant and fell into enemy hands after a two-day battle with a German panzer division. He spent the next five years in German POW camps at Rottenburg, Laufen, and Warburg. He once tried to tunnel his way to freedom, but failed.
Llewelyn returned to acting and began his film career in 1950 with a part in They Were Not Divided, then went on to appear in 31 other films, including the Bond films. Among the non-Bond films he appeared in, sometimes in quite minor roles, were Cleopatra (1963), Silent Playground (1964), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), Merlin (1992), and Taboo (1997). Between 1963 and the year of his death, 1999, he played in all but two of the Bond films -- more than any of the actors who starred as James Bond, including Connery, Moore, George Lazenby, Timothy Dalton, and Pierce Brosnan. As Q, Llewelyn was always irascible and cranky in response to 007's carefree nonchalance. Like a professor with a flippant student, he scolded Bond to pay attention and tutored his charge in the use of "Q toys," as his booby-trapped marvels came to be known. Still, Q was a master of mischief, a gray-haired boy who concocted an endless variety of spy paraphernalia and bizarre weapons, like the Rolex watch that could alter the path of a speeding bullet; the pen grenade that, with three clicks of a button, could be set to detonate in four seconds; the key ring that could open almost any lock in the world, release nerve gas, or simply explode; and the Lotus sports car that doubled as a submarine, complete with torpedoes and surface-to-air missiles.
In real life, Llewelyn was all thumbs when it came to technology, and he was kind and gentle to all he encountered. On the movie set, his co-workers and other fans crowded around to observe when it came time for him to introduce his new marvel to the Bond de jour, and he spent as long as it took to sign autographs for anyone who wanted one. Ironically, it was an automobile, a blue Renault Megane, that killed Llewelyn. He died in a hospital shortly after the Renault collided with another car near Firle in East Sussex, England, on December 19, 1999. The crash site was not far from his home, Bexhill-on-Sea, south of London. He was survived by his wife Pamela, whom he married in 1938, and two sons. His son Ivor told Britain's Sky Television, "He was a kind, very lovable man, and as a father he was great." ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide
Llewelyn was born in Newport, Wales, the son
of Mia and Ivor Llewelyn,[4] a coal mining engineer. He originally wanted to be a minister but during his education at Radley he worked as a stagehand in the school's productions and then picked up sporadic small parts.
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 Welch Fusiliers. In 1940, he was captured by the German army in France, and was held as a POW for five years. During this period he appeared in a number of theatrical productions as well as
taking part in attempted escape activities.[citation needed]
Career
Since 1963's From Russia with
Love, Llewelyn has appeared as Q (the quartermaster of the MI6gadget lab known as Q-branch) in every James Bond film, except Dr No (1962) and 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.
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."[5].
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 bronze Fiat Bravo company 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.[6] 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.
References
^ From a tribute video on the special features DVD of The World Is Not Enough (1999), among other sources.
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