Pamela Mary Pantlin (1938 - 19 December 1999) (his death) (2 children)
Years Active
1950–1999
Biography
Desmond Wilkinson Llewelyn (12 September 1914 – 19 December 1999) was a Welsh actor, best known for his role as Q in 17 of the James Bond films between 1963 and 1999.
Llewelyn was chosen for the role of Q because of his work with director Terence Young in the 1950 war film They Were Not Divided, in which he played a tank gunner. Beginning with From Russia with Love in 1963, Llewelyn appeared as Q, the quartermaster of the MI6 gadget lab (also known as Q branch), in every EON Bond film until his death, with the exception of Live and Let Die in 1973, in which the character Q did not appear. Llewelyn was the only actor in the original Bond series to have worked alongside five of the actors who played the spy.
His last appearance as Q prior to his death was in The World Is Not Enough in 1999. During his briefing of 007 in the film, Q introduces John Cleese's character, R, as his heir presumptive, 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 doesn't."
In the 2002 film Die Another Day, John Cleese's character is the head of Q branch, having inherited the title of quartermaster from his predecessor. In all, Llewelyn appeared in 17 Bond films, more than any other actor, and worked with the first five James Bond actors. He also portrayed Q in a 1967 EON-produced made-for-television documentary entitled Welcome to Japan, Mr. Bond, which was included in the 2006 special edition DVD release of You Only Live Twice.
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