John Bernard Lee (10 January 1908–16 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 the age of six. He was trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Lee appeared in over one hundred films, as well as on stage and in television dramatisations. He was known for his roles as authority figures, often playing military characters or policemen in films such as The Third Man, The Blue Lamp, The Battle of the River Plate, and Whistle Down the Wind.
After graduating from RADA in the 1930s, Lee began working in repertory theatre in Cardiff and in Rusholme, Manchester, before beginning work on the West End stage in thrillers, such as Blind Man's Bluff.[7] He also played comedic roles, such as in the play Ten Minute Alibi with Arthur Askey.[6]
In 1962 Lee was cast in the role that The Illustrated Who's Who of the Cinema described as his best remembered,[18][19] playing the character of M, the head of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6)—and the superior of James Bond—in the first Eon Productions film, Dr. No. A number of writers have noted that Lee's interpretation of the character was in line with the original literary representation; Cork and Stutz observed that Lee was "very close to Fleming's version of the character",[20] whilst Rubin commented on the serious, efficient, no-nonsense authority figure.[21] Smith and Lavington, meanwhile, remarked that Lee was "the very incarnation of Fleming's crusty admiral."[22] One American newspaper, The Spokesman-Review, described Lee as "a real roast-beef-and-Yorkshire-pudding type of British actor".[23]Murray Pomerance refers to Lee as a "paternal actor" in embodying this role.[24]
On 30 January 1972, Lee's first wife, Gladys Merredew, died in a fire at their 17th-century home in Oare, Kent, which also left Lee hospitalised.[26] According to the actor Jack Warner, "Bernard and Gladys had a lovely 17-century cottage in the Kent village of Oare, and it was there she died tragically in a fire early in 1972. Bernard and Gladys were trapped in their bedroom when the fire started on the ground floor. Bernard escaped through a window and ran to get a ladder in an attempt to rescue Gladys, but unhappily was unsuccessful. It was an awful end to a long and happy marriage."[27] In February 1972, Lee was mugged and robbed by two youths.[28] After the mugging and fire, Lee turned to drink,[29] was unable to find work for two years, and ran into debt.[30] By chance, Lee met Richard Burton in a pub, who, upon hearing of Lee's problems, gave him a cheque for $6,000 to clear his debts, together with a note saying that everyone has a spot of trouble once in a while. Burton's gift assisted Lee in overcoming his depression.[31] In 1975, both Lee and Lois Maxwell accepted roles in their usual Bond characters in the poorly received French James Bond spoof, From Hong Kong with Love.[32]
Three years after the fire, Lee married television director's assistant Ursula McHale.[30] Lee's first marriage produced a daughter, Ann, who also followed her father onto the stage, and did so with his blessing, Lee saying "She's doing what she wants to do and enjoying every moment of it."[23] Ann later married Alan Miller, a stage actor and later stage manager at the BBC: their son is the British actor Jonny Lee Miller.[33][34][35] Lee's hobbies included golf, fishing, reading, music and sailing.[5]
Death
In November 1980, Lee was admitted to the Royal Free Hospital in London, suffering from stomach cancer. He died there on 16 January 1981, at the age of 73;[36] his wife Ursula was present at his death.[3][14] After his death, Ursula joined Exit (now Dignity in Dying) after witnessing Lee's suffering.[37] Lee was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium on 23 January 1981.
Lee died after filming began on For Your Eyes Only, but before he could film his scenes as M.[38] Out of respect for Lee, no replacement was found, and the script was rewritten so that the character was said to be on leave.[39] A year after Lee's death, Terence Pettigrew summarised his acting work as a "Gruff, reliable, no-nonsense role character actor, whose many credits include policemen, servicemen, father figures, and spy chiefs. Mostly shows the honest, hard-working face of officialdom, with only very occasional lapses."[8] Lee was replaced in the role of M by Robert Brown, who acted with Lee in The Spy Who Loved Me.
↑Two reliable and independent sources (the British Film Institute (BFI) and the 1981 reference work Who's Who in the Theatre, Volume 1) have differing locations for Lee's place of birth, with Parker showing London and the BFI listing Cork, stating "Some sources give London as birthplace".[3] The 1938, 1942 and 1943 editions of the International Motion Picture Almanac also claim he was born in County Cork.[4]
Rubin, Steven Jay (2003). The Complete James Bond Movie Encyclopedia. New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN0-07-141246-8.
Slide, Anthony (1998). 'Banned in the USA': British films in the United States and their censorship, 1933–1960. London: I.B. Tauris. ISBN978-1-86064-254-8.
