Desmond Llewelyn, known to millions of fans of the James Bond films as "Q", died tragically December 19, 1999. In the year since his untimely death, Her Majesty's Secret Servant has had the opportunity to reflect and now share some remembrances of the man who always provided James Bond an escape plan.

HMSS's Doug Redenius, renowned James Bond aficionado, collector, Vice-President of the Ian Fleming Foundation, (and who also appeared in the 1989 film "Licence to Kill"), had the opportunity in 1997 to work closely with Mr. Llewelyn on an American publicity tour for the film "Tomorrow Never Dies". Ericsson Communications had retained both Desmond and Doug to promote their product in the film. In "Tomorrow Never Dies", Q Branch provided James Bond with a remote device for his BMW; housed in an Ericcson cellular phone. The sequence as Q (Llewelyn) demonstrates this device to Bond (Pierce Brosnan) is one of the most memorable in the film.

Included here are Mr. Redenius' remembrances of the man who is arguably the most identified actor in the entire James Bond series. First, some background.

Desmond Llewelyn was born in Newport, Wales, September 12, 1914. As a young man, he worked as a stagehand in school plays and landed some small roles. Once considering a life in the ministry, he has said he realized after a week-long retreat that the ministry "was definitely not for me." Though facing strong family resistance, Llewelyn returned to his acting quest, and was accepted to the Royal Academy for the Dramatic Arts in the mid 1930s. As happened to many young men in September 1939, the outbreak of World War II brought an abrupt halt to his chosen career. Llewelyn was quickly commissioned as a second lieutenant in the British army and was assigned to the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. Sent to France in early 1940, Llewelyn soon found himself part of a regiment in intense battle with German forces, and was ordered to hold off a division of enemy tanks. Llewelyn explained that "eventually, the tanks broke through and many of us jumped into this canal and started swimming down it to the other side, figuring that our chaps were still over there. But the Germans were the only ones there". Llewelyn was captured, and held as a prisoner of war for five years. While in one prison camp, the prisoners had dug a tunnel and were planning an escape. Llewelyn was down in the tunnel doing maintenance work when the Germans discovered the tunnel and caught him, a crime that earned Llewelyn 10 days in solitary confinement. Llewelyn called this event "A blessing of sorts. After spending every day of several years sleeping in a room with 50 other people, the quiet and privacy was rather nice." After the war, Llewelyn returned to London attempting to revive his acting career.

Peter Burton was the first actor to portray Major Boothroyd in Terence Young's "Dr. No" in 1962. When Burton proved unavailable in 1963 for the 2nd Bond film, "From Russia With Love", Llewelyn was cast in the film as "Q". Since 1963, Llewelyn has appeared as "Q" in every MGM/UA Bond film, except 1973's "Live and Let Die" (1973), being omitted only because producers Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli felt that too much was being made of the films' gadgets, and they decided to downplay this aspect of the series. Llewelyn said he "was quite disappointed" at being left out of that film, and fans, missing the lovable "Q", voiced their displeasure. Llewelyn received a call shortly after the release of "Live and Let Die" informing him that he would be in the next Bond film, "The Man with the Golden Gun" (1974). His tenure as Armourer and gadget-master made Desmond Llewelyn one of the most recognized actors associated with one role in the history of film. Llewelyn, ironically, admitted more than once in his career that his actual mechanical abilities are virtually non-existent.

The following are remembrances of Mr. Llewelyn by Doug Redenius:

"Desmond Llewelyn was an awesome man and terrific friend. It was always extremely cool to be around him. Having grown up with "Q", first seeing him in 1964's "Goldfinger" one would have to say he was the most famous "Bond" character of all time.

"As we worked together for Ericsson and socialized during the promotional tour, it was as if we had been friends forever. We first met in 1987 and immediately hit it off. I credit this to the fact that Dez (as he was affectionately known by friends) was a very friendly and down-to-earth guy. We were first introduced by Jerry Juroe, who headed up publicity for MGM/UA for all the Bond films, from "Dr. No" (1962) through "Goldeneye" (1995). Jerry and Dez were friends from the start, and anyone who was close to Jerry immediately became close to Dez. Jerry and Dez were very close, very much as close as family.

"Several times I traveled by train from London to Battle where Desmond Would meet me. We often went to the local pub for lunch. Once I tried to pay and he became very upset. His very generous and gentlemanly nature included being a proper host, and that the "asker" pays.

"We would often talk about one of Desmond's passions - having available all the early Bond films on the big screen for younger generations. He always felt that it was a crime to not show the originals in a cinema to new and young generations of fans. I hope to be able to fulfill his dream someday.

"Dez also shared that "Octopussy" was his favorite Bond film on which to work. Though filming conditions were miserable in India, he loved that he had an expanded role. Not only did the audience see him in the Q-Branch lab, but also as an operative in the "field". He felt very much the same about Timothy Dalton's second Bond film "Licence To Kill" (1989). Desmond's role as "Q" was much bigger in this film as well. Dez often stated his admiration for Dalton in the role, and how much he personally liked him as well. The two of them became close during the period working on "The Living Daylights" (1987) and "Licence To Kill".

"Probably my fondest memory of Dez is when "Tomorrow Never Dies" was first released here in America. Desmond and I began touring the US promoting Ericsson phones. Both Dez and I had been hired by Ericsson to promote their current line of cellular phones. We were national spokespersons for nearly four months. He often spoke in one part of the US while I did the other, but we also worked together. There came a point when Dez's portion of the tour brought him to Chicago. My wife Paula and I drove to his hotel to pick Dez up to so that he could spend the day at our home. I would have to say that day has became unforgettable for both of us.

"The night before the three of us had dinner. We sat for hours talking about how enthusiastic everyone was about the new film. He told me that in his wildest imagination he would never had guessed that the Bond films would be so popular after all these years. He was quite obviously having the time of his life. During these tours Desmond was doing (several a year, all over the world) he said he was being treated like he was James Bond and not simply civil servant.

"The next day when we arrived at my home we sat and had a few beers and lunch before I had a chance to show him the Ian Fleming Foundation's James Bond collectible inventory. He was incredulous stating he could not believe we had collected all these pieces. I then showed him my private collection. When the door opened and the lights were brought up well, his knees literally buckled. He said, and I'll never forget the words "Bloody hell! I never knew there was so much stuff!"

"I attended Desmond's memorial service in December of 1999. It began like a homecoming for me. There were many, many old friends I had not seen for years. This was not surprising given the fact that Desmond had worked for the Broccoli family for over 37 years.

"The service itself church was very moving. Both of Dez's sons spoke, as did many from EON. Roger Moore gave a particularly moving eulogy. A branch of Desmond's WW II military unit sang several songs as well.

"The ceremony ended with a video tribute containing clips from Desmond's career over Louis Armstrong's "We Have All The Time In The World". It was more than touching and very difficult to contain one's emotions. Afterwards there was a reception at adjoining hotel. I feel fortunate for the opportunity there to be able to express my condolences to the Llewelyn family.

"Finally, I will remember Desmond Llewelyn as a person who had a very distinguished film career. I had the opportunity to read his autobiography the week he died, and came away with a completely new appreciation of just who the man was. He was much more than "Q" - Dez was a committed family man and a great friend. I shall remember him fondly for the rest of my life.

"Desmond Llewelyn died tragically in a car accident in England December 19,1999. He and his beloved "Q", will be missed."

Bibliography:
"The Complete James Bond Movie Encyclopedia" (1990) Steven Jay Rubin
The Internet Movie DataBase