Desmond Wilkinson Llewelyn (; 12 September 1914
[GRO Register of Births: DEC 1914 11a 490 NEWPORT M. – Desmond W. Llewelyn, mmn = Wilkinson] – 19 December 1999
[GRO Register of Deaths: JUN 2000 A70E 247 EASTBOURNE – Desmond Wilkinson Llewelyn, DoB = 12 September 1914, aged 85]) was a Welsh actor. He was best known for his role as
Q in 17 of the
''James Bond'' films between 1963 and 1999.
Biography
Early life
Llewelyn was born on 12 September 1914 at Blaen-y-Pant House in Bettws in
Newport, the son of Mia (née Wilkinson) and Ivor Llewelyn. Desmond's father was a coal mining engineer, who notably purchased the first
Bentley
Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of Luxury vehicle, luxury cars and Sport utility vehicle, SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Crickle ...
production automobile, a
Bentley 3-litre from
W. O. Bentley in 1921. His paternal grandfather, Llewelyn Llewelyn of Kings Hill was the
High Sheriff of Monmouthshire as well as General Manager of the
Powell-Dyffryn Steam Coal Company.
While Llewelyn originally wanted to be a minister, he became involved in theatrical productions during his education at
Radley College. Initially working as a stagehand, he was encouraged to take on more acting roles by his fellow pupil
Dennis Price. During his education, Llewelyn gained renown as a skilled sportsman, particularly as a rugby player and he remained a fan of the game throughout his life.
The young Llewelyn would play rugby for
Newport RFC and can be seen wearing the club tie in ''
The Living Daylights'' as well as that of Malpas Cricket Club in ''
Octopussy
''Octopussy'' is a 1983 spy film and the thirteenth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. It is the sixth to star Roger Moore as the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6 agent James Bond filmography, J ...
''.
Despite the objections of his father, Llewelyn decided to pursue an acting career, and was accepted into the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...
in 1934. In 1937 Llewelyn found work with a number of small stage roles, working with Matthew Forsyth and the Forsyth Players, and it was through this company that Llewelyn met Pamela Mary Pantlin whom he married in 1938. The following year, Llewelyn appeared in his first feature film, the British comedy ''
Ask a Policeman''.
Second World War
Llewelyn's nascent acting career was paused by the
outbreak of war in 1939, when he was commissioned as a
second lieutenant in the
Royal Welsh Fusiliers. In 1940 his unit was engaged in fighting an entire Panzer division for several days near the French city of Lille, but they were overrun in attempting to retreat to Dunkirk, and Llewelyn was captured. He spent the remainder of the war in prisoner of war camps, first at
Laufen, before he was transferred to
Colditz Castle (
Oflag IV-C) following his attempted escape from Laufen by tunnelling out. Llewelyn remained imprisoned at Colditz until it was liberated by Allied forces in 1945.
Acting career
After the war, Llewelyn continued his career as an actor, returning to television work in
Sir Robert Atkins' 1946 film of ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. He also acted on stage with
Laurence Olivier and
Vivien Leigh, before appearing in Olivier's 1948 film ''
Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
''. Llewelyn continued to gain work in television, notably portraying
Mr Hyde in ''The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'', as well as roles in TV series ''
My Wife Jacqueline'', ''
The Adventures of Robin Hood
''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' is a 1938 American Epic film, epic swashbuckler film from Warner Bros. Pictures. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke, directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, and written by Norman Reilly Ra ...
'' and ''
The Invisible Man
''The Invisible Man'' is an 1897 science fiction novel by British writer H. G. Wells. Originally serialised in '' Pearson's Weekly'' in 1897, it was published as a novel the same year. The Invisible Man to whom the title refers is Griffin, a s ...
''.
In 1950, Llewelyn drew on both his war experience and Welsh background to play a supporting role as "'77 Jones" a Welsh tank commander in the film ''
They Were Not Divided'' directed by
Terence Young. Throughout the 1950s Llewelyn appeared in a number of small roles in films such as ''
The Lavender Hill Mob
''The Lavender Hill Mob'' is a 1951 British comedy film from Ealing Studios, written by T. E. B. Clarke, directed by Charles Crichton, starring Alec Guinness and Stanley Holloway and featuring Sid James and Alfie Bass. The title refers ...
'', ''
Valley of Song'', ''
A Night to Remember'', ''
Knights of the Round Table'', ''
Sword of Sherwood Forest'', and he appeared in the 1961
Hammer Horror film ''
The Curse of the Werewolf''.
''James Bond'' series
In 1963, Terence Young asked Llewelyn to read for the part of
Quartermaster Major Boothroyd in the second official film in the
Bond film series, ''
From Russia with Love''. Both Young and
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer, best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his ...
wanted 'Q' portrayed with a strong
Welsh accent (as Llewelyn used his native accent while working with Young on ''They Were Not Divided''). Llewelyn disagreed, persuading them that the character should have an upper-class English accent. Despite this, Llewelyn was chosen for the role.
Llewelyn would become a staple of the film series for over thirty years, playing 'Q' the
quartermaster
Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land army, armies, a quartermaster is an officer who supervises military logistics, logistics and requisitions, manages stores or barracks, and distri ...
of the
MI6 from 1963 until 1999. Llewelyn appeared in every
EON film production except 1973's ''
Live and Let Die'', in which the character did not appear.
His last appearance as Q prior to his death was in ''
The World Is Not Enough
''The World Is Not Enough'' is a 1999 spy film, the nineteenth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions and the third to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional Secret Intelligence Service, MI6 agent Jam ...
'' in 1999. During his briefing of
007 in the film, Q introduces
John Cleese
John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and Television presenter, presenter. Emerging from the Footlights, Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinbur ...
's character, R, as his
heir presumptive
An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of a person with a better claim to the position in question. This is in contrast to an heir app ...
, and the film alludes to Q's retirement, to which Bond, after seeing Q, expresses his hope that it will not be any time soon. Q's response is to admonish Bond to "always have an escape plan", after which he lowers himself through the floor of his lab. 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 (God) doesn't."
In 1967, Llewelyn portrayed 'Q' alongside
Lois Maxwell's Miss Moneypenny
Miss Moneypenny, later assigned the first names of Eve or Jane, is a fictional character in the James Bond novels and films. She is secretary to M (James Bond), M, who is Bond's superior officer and head of the British Secret Intelligence Serv ...
in an EON produced television documentary entitled ''
Welcome to Japan, Mr. Bond''. This promotional film was included in the 2006 Special Edition DVD release of ''
You Only Live Twice''. He would play the role of 'Q' in seventeen films, more than any other actor and playing opposite five iterations of the James Bond character in
Sir Sean Connery,
George Lazenby,
Sir Roger Moore, fellow Welshman
Timothy Dalton, and
Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brendan Brosnan (born 16 May 1953) is an Irish actor and film producer. He was the fifth actor to play the fictional secret agent Portrayal of James Bond in film, James Bond in the List of James Bond films, James Bond film series, starri ...
.
Although Llewelyn became one of British cinema's most recognisable characters and an important and long-standing element in the 'Bond' franchise, 'Q' did not make 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. Nevertheless, because Llewelyn was considered one of the franchise's major institutions and also immensely popular among Bond fans, Llewelyn starred in several commercials, including ones to promote the video games ''
GoldenEye 007'' and ''
Tomorrow Never Dies''.
Other roles

Llewellyn continued to act in other roles throughout his tenure as 'Q', notably appearing the 1963 film ''
Cleopatra
Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (; The name Cleopatra is pronounced , or sometimes in both British and American English, see and respectively. Her name was pronounced in the Greek dialect of Egypt (see Koine Greek phonology). She was ...
'' (as a Roman senator), and the 1981
PBS production of ''
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'', and he had a small role in the musical ''
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' is a 1968 children's film, children's Musical film, musical fantasy film directed by Ken Hughes and produced by Albert R. Broccoli. It stars Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, Lionel Jeffries, Gert Fröbe, Anna Quayle, ...
'' (1968), which was itself based on a children's book by Bond author
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer, best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his ...
. Llewelyn would also appear as Geoffrey Maddocks ('The Colonel') in the British television series ''
Follyfoot'' from 1971 to 1973, and the BBC Wales production ''
The Life and Times of David Lloyd George'' with
Philip Madoc.
The Bond film ''Live and Let Die'' was filmed during the third series of ''Follyfoot'', and Llewelyn was written out of the series for three episodes so he could appear in the film. However, the Bond producers ultimately decided to leave the character out of the film anyway, much to Llewelyn's annoyance.
He was the subject of ''
This Is Your Life'' in 1995 when he was surprised by
Michael Aspel at London's Hyde Park Hotel, during a press launch for the new Bond film, ''
GoldenEye''.
Personal life
Llewelyn married Pamela Mary Pantlin in Kensington in May 1938. The couple had two sons, Charles Ivor (b. 1949) and Justin Cather (1953–2012). Despite playing an inventor in the Bond films, Llewelyn always maintained that he was totally lost in the world of technology, a trait that also plagued his successors,
John Cleese
John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and Television presenter, presenter. Emerging from the Footlights, Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinbur ...
and
Ben Whishaw. A biography entitled ''
Q: The Biography of Desmond Llewelyn'' was written by Sandy Hernu, and it was subsequently released on 1 November 1999.
Death
On 19 December 1999, Llewelyn was driving alone from a book signing event when his
Renault Mégane collided head-on with a
Fiat Bravo on the
A27 near the village of
Berwick, East Sussex. Llewelyn sustained massive internal injuries and was airlifted by helicopter to
Eastbourne District General Hospital, where he died soon afterward at the age of 85. The driver of the Fiat, a 35-year-old man, was seriously injured but survived; a woman in her thirties was also in the Fiat and suffered minor injuries. An inquest recorded a verdict of accidental death.
Llewelyn's death occurred three weeks after the premiere of ''
The World Is Not Enough
''The World Is Not Enough'' is a 1999 spy film, the nineteenth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions and the third to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional Secret Intelligence Service, MI6 agent Jam ...
''. Roger Moore, who starred with Llewelyn in
six of his seven ''Bond'' films, spoke at his funeral on 6 January 2000 at St Mary the Virgin Church in
Battle
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...
, Sussex.
The service was followed by a private cremation at
Hastings Crematorium, with the ashes given to Llewelyn's family.
His widow, Pamela Mary Llewelyn, died in East Sussex in 2001, also aged 85. His son, Justin Llewelyn, died in 2012, aged 59.
Selected filmography
* ''
Ask a Policeman'' (1939) as Headless Coachman (uncredited)
* ''
Captain Boycott'' (1947) as Gentleman on Train (uncredited)
* ''
Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
'' (1948) as Extra (uncredited)
* ''
Adam and Evelyne'' (1949) as Undetermined Supporting Role (uncredited)
* ''
The Chiltern Hundreds'' (1949) as First guardsman (uncredited)
* ''
Guilt Is My Shadow'' (1950) as Pub customer
* ''
They Were Not Divided'' (1950) as '77 Jones
* ''
The Lavender Hill Mob
''The Lavender Hill Mob'' is a 1951 British comedy film from Ealing Studios, written by T. E. B. Clarke, directed by Charles Crichton, starring Alec Guinness and Stanley Holloway and featuring Sid James and Alfie Bass. The title refers ...
'' (1951) as First guardsman (uncredited)
* ''
Valley of Song'' (1953) as Lloyd as Schoolmaster
* ''
Operation Diplomat'' (1953) as Police Constable at barrier (uncredited)
* ''
Knights of the Round Table'' (1953) as A Herald (uncredited)
* ''Stryker of the Yard'' (1953)
* ''
A Night to Remember'' (1958) as Seaman at Steerage Gate (uncredited)
* ''
Further Up the Creek'' (1958) as Chief Yeoman (uncredited)
* ''
Corridors of Blood'' (1958) as Assistant at operations (uncredited)
* ''
Sapphire
Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, cobalt, lead, chromium, vanadium, magnesium, boron, and silicon. The name ''sapphire ...
'' (1959) as Police Constable (uncredited)
* ''
Sword of Sherwood Forest'' (1960) as Wounded Fugitive (uncredited)
* ''
Gorgo '' (1961) (uncredited)
* ''
The Curse of the Werewolf'' (1961) as 1st Footman (uncredited)
* ''
Only Two Can Play'' (1962) as Clergyman on Bus (uncredited)
* ''
The Pirates of Blood River'' (1962) as Tom Blackthorne (uncredited)
* ''
Cleopatra
Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (; The name Cleopatra is pronounced , or sometimes in both British and American English, see and respectively. Her name was pronounced in the Greek dialect of Egypt (see Koine Greek phonology). She was ...
'' (1963) as Senator (uncredited)
* ''
From Russia with Love'' (1963) as Boothroyd / Q
* ''
The Silent Playground'' (1963) as Dr. Green
* ''
Goldfinger'' (1964) as Q
* ''
The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders'' (1965) as Jailer (uncredited)
* ''
Thunderball'' (1965) as Q
* ''
You Only Live Twice'' (1967) as Q
* ''
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' is a 1968 children's film, children's Musical film, musical fantasy film directed by Ken Hughes and produced by Albert R. Broccoli. It stars Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, Lionel Jeffries, Gert Fröbe, Anna Quayle, ...
'' (1968) as Mr. Coggins
* ''
On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' (1969) as Q
* ''
Diamonds Are Forever'' (1971) as Q
* ''
The Man with the Golden Gun'' (1974) as Q
* ''
The Spy Who Loved Me'' (1977) as Q
* ''
The Golden Lady'' (1979) as Professor Dixon
* ''
Moonraker'' (1979) as Q
* ''
For Your Eyes Only'' (1981) as Q
* ''
Octopussy
''Octopussy'' is a 1983 spy film and the thirteenth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. It is the sixth to star Roger Moore as the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6 agent James Bond filmography, J ...
'' (1983) as Q
* ''
A View to a Kill'' (1985) as Q
* ''
The Living Daylights'' (1987) as Q
* ''
Prisoner of Rio'' (1988) as Commissioner Ingram
* ''
Licence to Kill
''Licence to Kill'' is a 1989 spy film, the sixteenth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the second and final film to star Timothy Dalton as the MI6 agent James Bond (literary character), J ...
'' (1989) as Q
* ''Merlin'' (1993) as Professor Mycroft
* ''
GoldenEye'' (1995) as Q
* ''
Tomorrow Never Dies'' (1997) as Q
* ''
The World Is Not Enough
''The World Is Not Enough'' is a 1999 spy film, the nineteenth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions and the third to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional Secret Intelligence Service, MI6 agent Jam ...
'' (1999) as Q
* ''The Millennium Disaster: Computer Crash 2000'' (1999) as Peregrin Morley
Other appearances
* '' Dangerman'': Episode "The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove" 1964 as Charles - Doorman
* ''James Bond: Licence to Thrill'' – TV Movie documentary (1987) as Himself
* ''
Wogan'' (1989) – episode – Licence to Kill Special
* ''30 Years of James Bond'' – TV Movie documentary (1992) as Himself
* ''The Goldfinger Phenomenon'' – Video documentary short (1995) as Himself
* ''Behind the Scenes with 'Thunderball – Video documentary (1995) as Himself / Q
* ''GoldenEye: The Secret Files'' – TV Short documentary (1995) as Himself
* ''In Search of James Bond with Jonathan Ross'' – TV Movie documentary (1995) as Q
* ''This Is Your Life'' – TV Series documentary – Desmond Llewelyn (1995) as Himself
* ''The World of James Bond'' – TV Movie documentary (1995) as Himself
* ''Countdown to Tomorrow'' – Documentary (1997) as Himself / Q
* ''The Secrets of 007: The James Bond Files''- TV Movie documentary (1997) as Himself / Q
* ''James Bond: Shaken and Stirred'' – TV Movie documentary (1997) as Himself
* ''License to Thrill'' – Short (1999) as Q
* ''The Making of 'The World Is Not Enough – Video documentary short (1999) as Himself
* ''Exclusive'' – TV Series documentary – Episode dated 21 November 1999 (1999) as Himself – Interviewee
* ''The Bond Cocktail'' – TV Movie documentary (1999) as Himself
* ''Highly Classified: The World of 007'' – Video documentary (1998) as Q
* ''The James Bond Story'' – TV Movie documentary (1999) as Himself / Q
* ''Inside "From Russia with Love"'' – Video documentary short (2000) as Himself
* ''Inside "Moonraker"'' – Video documentary short (2000) as Himself
* ''Inside Q's Lab'' – Video documentary short (2000) as Himself / Q
* ''Terence Young: Bond Vivant'' – Video documentary short (2000) as Himself
* ''Now Pay Attention 007: A Tribute to Actor Desmond Llewelyn'' – TV Movie documentary (2000) as Himself
References
External links
Obituary at Salon.com
*
*
The Follyfoot forum
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Peter Burton
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Q(in
Eon James Bond films
James Bond is a fictional character created by British novelist Ian Fleming in 1953. A British secret agent working for MI6 under the codename 007, Bond has been portrayed on film in twenty-seven productions by actors Sean Connery, David ...
)
1963–1999
, width = 28% align = center , Succeeded by
John Cleese
John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and Television presenter, presenter. Emerging from the Footlights, Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinbur ...
, -
, width = 28% align = center , Preceded by
Johnny Weissmuller Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney (born Ninnian Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nearly nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last survivi ...
, width = 44% align = center , Playing the same role in most movies
17
1999
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Llewelyn, Desmond
1914 births
1999 deaths
20th-century Welsh male actors
Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Artists' Rifles soldiers
British Army personnel of World War II
Male actors from Newport, Wales
People educated at Radley College
Prisoners of war held at Colditz Castle
Road incident deaths in England
Royal Welch Fusiliers officers
Welsh male film actors
Welsh male television actors
World War II prisoners of war held by Germany