Bernard Lee(1908-1981)
- Actor
- Writer
Best remembered as 'M' in the James Bond films, Bernard Lee was a
popular character player in British films throughout the 1950s and
1960s. Born into a theatrical family, he made his stage debut at age
six and later attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He first
appeared on the West End stage in London in 1928, and continued to work
in the theatre during the 1930s, taking only occasional film roles.
It was only after World War II that he concentrated his efforts on the
cinema, and was much in demand in British films of the 1950s as
friendly authority figures, including army sergeants, police detectives
or navy officers. Detectives became a particular specialty, and he
played this role in more than a dozen films, including
The Blue Lamp (1950),
Beat the Devil (1953) and
The Detective (1954). In the early
1960s, he also made regular appearances as police detectives in the
The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre (1959)
second feature series, usually as "Inspector Meredith". He also made
memorable appearances in
The Third Man (1949),
Operation Disaster (1950),
Glory at Sea (1952),
Pursuit of the Graf Spee (1956),
Dunkirk (1958) and
Whistle Down the Wind (1961).
He was effectively cast against type in only two films, as the union
agitator in
The Angry Silence (1960), and
as a disgruntled civil servant who becomes a spy for the Russians in
Ring of Treason (1964).
In 1962, he made his first appearance as the head of the British secret
service in the first James Bond film,
Dr. No (1962). He went on to be featured
in the next ten films in the series, appearing with
Sean Connery,
George Lazenby and, later,
Roger Moore as Bond, and will
probably be considered the definitive "M" by more than one generation
of Bond fans.
popular character player in British films throughout the 1950s and
1960s. Born into a theatrical family, he made his stage debut at age
six and later attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He first
appeared on the West End stage in London in 1928, and continued to work
in the theatre during the 1930s, taking only occasional film roles.
It was only after World War II that he concentrated his efforts on the
cinema, and was much in demand in British films of the 1950s as
friendly authority figures, including army sergeants, police detectives
or navy officers. Detectives became a particular specialty, and he
played this role in more than a dozen films, including
The Blue Lamp (1950),
Beat the Devil (1953) and
The Detective (1954). In the early
1960s, he also made regular appearances as police detectives in the
The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre (1959)
second feature series, usually as "Inspector Meredith". He also made
memorable appearances in
The Third Man (1949),
Operation Disaster (1950),
Glory at Sea (1952),
Pursuit of the Graf Spee (1956),
Dunkirk (1958) and
Whistle Down the Wind (1961).
He was effectively cast against type in only two films, as the union
agitator in
The Angry Silence (1960), and
as a disgruntled civil servant who becomes a spy for the Russians in
Ring of Treason (1964).
In 1962, he made his first appearance as the head of the British secret
service in the first James Bond film,
Dr. No (1962). He went on to be featured
in the next ten films in the series, appearing with
Sean Connery,
George Lazenby and, later,
Roger Moore as Bond, and will
probably be considered the definitive "M" by more than one generation
of Bond fans.