In Memoriam: Lois Hooker Maxwell, 1927-2007

[thatcrazycajun]

It is my sad duty to report this morning that Canadian-born, British-employed actress Lois Maxwell, best known to a generation of moviegoers as the MI6 secretary with the forever-unrequited love for James Bond, Agent 007, Miss Moneypenny, has died of cancer at 80 at her home in Perth, Australia. CNN reports the story here.

M's reliable factotum from the very first Bond flick, Dr. No, one year before I was born, Moneypenny could always be counted on for some tart banter lightly touched with sexual innuendo as Bond reported in to the home office, and to shed a forlorn tear on those occasions when Bond was feared killed in action. For decades, she was one of the basic ingredients of a Bond film, right along with cool gadgets, hot women and deadly super-villain henchmen.

What's your favorite pre-Daniel Craig Bond film? Mine is still Moonraker, mainly for the science-fiction elements and Michael Lonsdale's ultra-urbane perf as the villain, Hugo Drax ("Look after Mr. Bond; see that some harm comes to him"). Plus, it had Jaws (Richard Kiel) falling in love and helping Bond escape in the end.

And here's a trivia tidbit for you: What was the original M's real name? (Never mentioned in the films, but was in at least some of the novels.) Answer provided in comments below.

Comments

[autographedcat.livejournal.com]

Favourite pre-Daniel Craig Bond film? Easy. The Living Daylights. I loved Timothy Dalton as Bond, and he was a breath of fresh air after the largely forgettable Roger Moore era. (I loved Moore as Simon Templar, but I always thought he was wrong for Bond.)

Sadly, the follow-up film wasn't nearly as good a script, and then legal disputes between producers of rival franchises bogged down the series, and Dalton reluctantly moved out rather than wait for them to sort it out.

[faxpaladin.livejournal.com]

In the depths of my brain Thing (or possibly Harpo the Librarian) is holding up a card that reads "Admiral Sir Miles Messervy," with a note that this might be the real-life person rather than Fleming's fictional version...

We have a winnah!

[thatcrazycajun.livejournal.com]

That's the answer I have, so it's close enough for government work (around here if not in England). Congrats!

[dsthomas.livejournal.com]

Sad times. She was a wonderful actress and a beautiful Miss Moneypenny.

[hitchhiker.livejournal.com]

hard to say - i wasn't particularly impressed with the *movies* they had him in, but i thought pierce brosnan was the perfect bond. he came very close to my mental picture from the books.