Robert Brown

Robert James Brown (23 July 1921 – 11 November 2003) was an English actor known for his portrayal of M in the James Bond movies, succeeding Bernard Lee, who died in 1981.

Brown was born and died in Swanage, Dorset, England. Before appearing in the Bond films, he had a long career as a bit-part actor in films and television. Two of his most notable parts were as the galley-master in Ben-Hur (1959) and as factory worker Bert Harker in the BBC's 1960s soap opera, The Newcomers.

Technically, Brown first started in the James Bond franchise in the film The Spy Who Loved Me as Admiral Hargreaves. After Lee's sudden death in 1981, the producers, instead of hiring a replacement, decided to leave M out of For Your Eyes Only out of respect for the actor and trade his lines with M's Chief of Staff Bill Tanner. In 1983, they cast Brown to portray M. It is not clear as to whether he was the same character as Lee's M or a different M, perhaps a promoted Hargreaves. He would later be succeeded by Judi Dench in the film GoldenEye (1995).

Filmography

Altogether Robert Brown starred in five James Bond films.

• The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) – Admiral Hargreaves
• Octopussy (1983) – M
• A View to a Kill (1985) – M
• The Living Daylights (1987) – M
• Licence to Kill (1989) – M

Other notable films:

• The Third Man (1949) – uncredited (coincidentally Bernard Lee is also in this film)
• A Hill in Korea (1956) – Private O'Brien
• Ivanhoe (1958 TV series)
• Ben-Hur (1959) – uncredited
• Billy Budd (1962) – Arnold Talbot
• The 300 Spartans (1962) - Pentheus
• One Million Years B.C. (1966) – Akhoba

External links

• Robert Brown at the Internet Movie Database
• Robert Brown at TV.com