Robert James Brown (23 July 192111 November 2003) was an English actor, best known for his portrayal of M in the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

films from 1983 to 1989, succeeding

Bernard Lee John Bernard Lee (10 January 190816 January 1981) was an English actor, best known for his role as M in the first eleven Eon-produced James Bond films. Lee's film career spanned the years 1934 to 1979, though he had appeared on stage from ...

, who died in 1981. Brown made his first appearance as M 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 ...

'' in 1983. Brown was born in

Swanage Swanage () is a coastal town and civil parish in the south east of Dorset, England. It is at the eastern end of the Isle of Purbeck and one of its two towns, approximately south of Poole and east of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester. In the Unit ...

, Dorset, and later died there on November 11, 2003, aged 82. Before appearing in the Bond films, he had a long career as a bit-part actor in films and television. He had a starring role in the 1950s television series ''

Ivanhoe ''Ivanhoe: A Romance'' ( ) by Walter Scott is a historical novel published in three volumes, in December 1819, as one of the Waverley novels. It marked a shift away from Scott's prior practice of setting stories in Scotland and in the more ...

'', where he played Gurth, the faithful companion of Ivanhoe, played by

Roger Moore Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 192723 May 2017) was an English actor. He was the actor to portray Ian Fleming's fictional secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in the Eon Productions/MGM Studios film series, playing the ...

. He had previously made an uncredited appearance as a castle guard in the unrelated 1952 film ''

''. He had an uncredited appearance as the galley-master in ''

Ben-Hur Ben-Hur or Ben Hur may refer to: Fiction *'' Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ'', an 1880 novel by American general and author Lew Wallace ** ''Ben-Hur'' (play), a play that debuted on Broadway in 1899 ** ''Ben Hur'' (1907 film), a one-reel silent ...

'' (1959) and as factory worker Bert Harker in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's 1960s soap opera '' The Newcomers''. In ''

One Million Years B.C. ''One Million Years B.C.'' is a 1966 British Adventure film, adventure fantasy film directed by Don Chaffey. The film was produced by Hammer Film Productions and Seven Arts Productions, Seven Arts, and is a remake of the 1940 American fantasy f ...

'' (1966), he played grunting caveman Akhoba, brutal head of the barbaric "Rock tribe". Brown first started in the James Bond franchise in the film '' The Spy Who Loved Me'' as Admiral Hargreaves, appearing alongside Bernard Lee. After Lee's death in January 1981, Broccoli and the other producers decided to leave M out of ''For Your Eyes Only'' out of respect for Lee, and they assigned his lines to M's Chief of Staff, Bill Tanner. In 1983, Brown was hired to portray M on the recommendation of Bond actor Roger Moore, his ''Ivanhoe'' co-star and the father of Brown's goddaughter

Deborah According to the Book of Judges, Deborah (, ''Dəḇōrā'') was a prophetess of Judaism, the fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israel, and the only female judge mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Many scholars contend that the phrase, "a woman of Lap ...

. It was never clearly established if Brown was the same M as Lee's character, or a different M, perhaps a promoted Hargreaves. In 1995, Brown was succeeded as M by

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Widely considered one of Britain's greatest actors, she is noted for her versatility, having appeared in films and television, as well as for her numerous roles on the stage ...

in ''

GoldenEye ''GoldenEye'' is a 1995 spy film, the seventeenth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional Secret Intelligence Service, MI6 agent James Bond (lit ...

.'' Brown died from cancer in November 2003.

Filmography

Altogether, Robert Brown starred in five James Bond films. *'' The Spy Who Loved Me'' (1977) – Admiral Hargreaves (possibly the same character he played as M in subsequent films) *''

'' (1983) – M *''

A View to a Kill ''A View to a Kill'' is a 1985 spy film, the fourteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the seventh and final appearance of Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Although the title is adapted from ...

'' (1985) – M *'' The Living Daylights'' (1987) – M *''

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) – M Other films: * ''

The Third Man ''The Third Man'' is a 1949 film noir directed by Carol Reed, written by Graham Greene, and starring Joseph Cotten as Holly Martins, Alida Valli as Anna Schmidt, Orson Welles as Harry Lime and Trevor Howard as Major Calloway. Set in post-Worl ...

'' (1949) – Policeman in sewer (coincidentally Bernard Lee is also in this film) (uncredited) * '' Out of True'' (1951) – Dr. Dale * '' The Dark Man'' (1951) – Policeman at Hospital (uncredited) * '' Cloudburst'' (1951) – Carter * '' Death of an Angel'' (1952) – Jim Pollard (uncredited) * '' Derby Day'' (1952) – Foster – Berkeley's Butler (uncredited) * ''

'' (1952) – Castle Guard (uncredited) * '' Time Gentlemen, Please!'' (1952) – Bill Jordan * '' The Gambler and the Lady'' (1952) – John – Waiter at Max's Dive (uncredited) * '' Noose for a Lady'' (1953) – Jonas Rigg * ''

The Large Rope ''The Large Rope'' (also known as ''The Long Rope'') is a 1953 British second feature ('B') crime film directed by Wolf Rilla and starring Donald Houston, Susan Shaw and Robert Brown. It was written by Ted Willis. Plot Tom Penney returns to ...

'' (1953) – Mick Jordan * '' Passage Home'' (1955) – Shane * '' The Dark Avenger'' (1955) – First French Knight * ''

Helen of Troy Helen (), also known as Helen of Troy, or Helen of Sparta, and in Latin as Helena, was a figure in Greek mythology said to have been the most beautiful woman in the world. She was believed to have been the daughter of Zeus and Leda (mythology), ...

'' (1956) – Polydorus * '' Lost'' (1956) – Farmer with Shotgun (uncredited) * ''

The Man Who Never Was ''The Man Who Never Was'' is a 1956 British espionage thriller film produced by André Hakim and directed by Ronald Neame. It stars Clifton Webb and Gloria Grahame and features Robert Flemyng, Josephine Griffin and Stephen Boyd. It is b ...

'' (1956) – French (uncredited) * ''

A Hill in Korea ''A Hill in Korea'' is a 1956 British war film based on Max Catto's 1953 novel of the same name. The original name was ''Hell in Korea'', but it was changed for distribution reasons—except in the US. It was directed by Julian Amyes and pro ...

'' (1956) – Private O'Brien * '' Kill Me Tomorrow'' (1957) – Steve Ryan * '' The Steel Bayonet'' (1957) – Company Sergeant Major Gill * '' The Abominable Snowman'' (1957) – Ed Shelley * '' Campbell's Kingdom'' (1957) – Ben Creasy * '' Passport to Shame'' (1958) – Mike * '' Shake Hands with the Devil'' (1959) – First Sergeant 'Black & Tans' * ''

'' (1959) – Rowing Overseer (uncredited) * '' Sink the Bismarck!'' (1960) – unnamed officer aboard (uncredited) * '' The Challenge'' (1960) – Bob Crowther * '' Sands of the Desert'' (1960) – 1st Tourist * '' A Story of David'' (1961) – Jashobeam * ''

The 300 Spartans ''The 300 Spartans'' is a 1962 CinemaScope epic historical drama film depicting the Battle of Thermopylae. It was directed by Rudolph Maté and stars Richard Egan, Ralph Richardson, David Farrar, Diane Baker, and Barry Coe. Produced with ...

'' (1962) – Pentheus * '' Live Now, Pay Later'' (1962) – (unconfirmed) * ''

Billy Budd ''Billy Budd, Sailor (An Inside Narrative)'', also known as ''Billy Budd, Foretopman'', is a novella by American writer Herman Melville, left unfinished at his death in 1891. Acclaimed by critics as a masterpiece when a hastily transcribed vers ...

'' (1962) – Arnold Talbot * '' The Double'', ''(

Edgar Wallace Mysteries The ''Edgar Wallace Mysteries'' is a British second-feature film series mainly produced at Merton Park Studios for Anglo-Amalgamated. There were 48 films in the series, which were released between 1960 and 1965. The series was screened as ''Th ...

)'' – Richard Harrison * '' Mystery Submarine'' (1963) – Coxswain Drage * '' Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow'' (1963) – Sam Farley * '' The Masque of the Red Death'' (1964) – Guard * '' Clash by Night'' (1963) – Mawsley * ''

Operation Crossbow ''Crossbow'' was the code name in World War II for Anglo-American operations against the German V-weapons, long range reprisal weapons (V-weapons) programme. The primary V-weapons were the V-1 flying bomb and V-2 rocket, which were launched agai ...

'' (1965) – Air Commodore * ''

'' (1966) – Akhoba * ''Un hombre solo'' (1969) * ''

Private Road A private road is a road owned or controlled by a private person, persons or corporation rather than a road open to the public and owned by a government. Private roads can be on private land or can be constructed on government land for use by go ...

'' (1971) – Mr Halpern * '' Fun and Games'' (1971) – Ralph * ''Wreck Raisers'' (1972) – Cox'n * '' Demons of the Mind'' (1972) – Fischinger * ''

Mohammad, Messenger of God ''The Message'' () originally known as ''Mohammed, Messenger of God'' () is a 1976 epic film directed and produced by Moustapha Akkad that chronicles the life and times of Muhammad, who is Depictions of Muhammad, never directly depicted. Relea ...

'' (1976) – Otba * ''

Jesus of Nazareth Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the central figure of Christianity, the world's largest religi ...

'' (1977, TV Mini-Series) – Pharisee * '' Warlords of Atlantis'' (1978) – Briggs * '' The Passage'' (1979) – Major * ''

Lion of the Desert ''Lion of the Desert'' (alternative titles: ''Omar Mukhtar'' and ''Omar Mukhtar: Lion of the Desert'') is a 1981 epic film, epic historical film, historical war film about the Second Italo-Senussi War, starring Anthony Quinn as Libyan tribal leade ...

'' (1981) – Al Fadeel * '' The Forgotten Story'' (1983, TV series) – Captain Stevens * ''Jugando con la muerte'' (1982) – 2nd bodyguard

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Robert 1921 births 2003 deaths English male film actors English male television actors People from Swanage Deaths from cancer in England