Line #5 Creator/BernardLee


1	[[quoteright:310:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bernard_lee.jpg]]
2
3	John Bernard Lee (10 January 1908 – 16 January 1981) was an English actor of stage and screen.
4
5	He made a long career of playing authority figures, and is best remembered as the first actor to play Film/JamesBond's boss [[Characters/JamesBondM M]] in the Creator/EonProductions film series, appearing in all of the first eleven films from ''Film/DrNo'' to ''Film/{{Moonraker}}''. He remains the longest serving M, and is the third-longest-serving actor in the series overall after Creator/DesmondLlewelyn (Q in seventeen films) and Creator/LoisMaxwell (Miss Moneypenny in fourteen films).
6
7	He passed away from stomach cancer on 16 January 1981, six days after his 73rd birthday.
8	----
9	!!His roles include:
10
11	[[AC:Films]]
12	* ''Literature/TheBlackTulip'' (1937) -- William of Orange
13	* ''Film/TheThirdMan'' (1949) -- Sergeant Paine
14	* ''Film/AppointmentwithVenus'' -- Brigadier
15	* ''Film/BeatTheDevil'' (1953) -- Inspector Jack Clayton
16	* ''Film/{{Dunkirk\|1958}}'' (1958) -- Charles Foreman
17	* ''Film/SinkTheBismarck'' (1960) -- Firing Officer
18	* ''Film/WhistleDownTheWind'' (1961) -- Mr. Bostock
19	* Film/JamesBond -- Admiral Sir Miles Messervy/"M"
20	** ''Film/DrNo'' (1962)
21	** ''Film/FromRussiaWithLove'' (1963)
22	** ''Film/{{Goldfinger}}'' (1964)
23	** ''Film/{{Thunderball}}'' (1965)
24	** ''Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice'' (1967)
25	** ''Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService'' (1969)
26	** ''Film/DiamondsAreForever'' (1971)
27	** ''Film/LiveAndLetDie'' (1973)
28	** ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun'' (1974)
29	** ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe'' (1977)
30	** ''Film/{{Moonraker}}'' (1979)
31	* ''Film/DrTerrorsHouseOfHorrors'' (1965) -- Hopkins
32	* ''Literature/TheSpyWhoCameInFromTheCold'' (1965) -- Patmore
33	* ''[[Literature/MollFlanders The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders]]'' (1965) -- the Landlord
34	* ''Film/OperationDouble007'' (1967) -- Commander Cunningham
35
36	[[AC:Television]]
37	* ''Series/DangerMan'', 2 episodes:
38	** "Whatever Happened to George Foster?" (1965) -- Lord Ammanford
39	** "The Man with the Foot" (1966) -- Derringham
40	* ''Series/ManInASuitcase'', episode "The Girl Who Never Was" (1967) -- George Kershaw
41	* ''Series/{{The Champions\|1968}}'', episode "The Body Snatchers" (1968) -- Squires
42	* ''Series/StrangeReport'', episode "Grenade - What Price Change? "(1969) -- Arthur Pater
43	* ''Series/ThePersuaders'', episode "Someone Like Me" (1971) -- Sam Milford
44
45	!!Tropes associated with his work:
46
47	* DiedDuringProduction: By the time the filming of ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'' started, Lee was in the final stages of his stomach cancer, and thus couldn't reprise his role. Therefore, M is explained as being on leave and temporarily replaced by Bill Tanner, as Creator/AlbertRBroccoli refused to have Lee replaced for the film out of respect. The scene with Q in the confessional was originally to have M (indeed, the scene makes far more sense if you imagine Bond is talking to his boss rather than the guy who makes his gadgets). Lee eventually died on January 16, 1981, shortly before filming was wrapped. Robert Brown's M (possibly a promoted Admiral Hargreaves from ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe'') replaced him starting with ''Film/{{Octopussy}}''.
48	* {{Typecasting}}: He was generally cast as authority figures; often policemen or military officers, and a government official in his most famous role.

Context Creator / BernardLee