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Bernard Lee 1908 - 1981

Bernard Lee of England United Kingdom was born on January 10, 1908 at Middlesex, England. in UK, and died at age 73 years old on January 16, 1981. Bernard Lee was buried at Cremated..

Bernard Lee

John Bernard Lee at birth only.

England United Kingdom

January 10, 1908

Middlesex, England. in , UK

January 16, 1981

England, United Kingdom

Male

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Bernard Lee Bernard Lee (1908 - 1981)

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Bernard Lee's History: 1908 - 1981

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Introduction

From 1962 to 1979 Lee featured in eleven James Bond films as the character M, Bond's superior: Year Film 1962 Dr. No 1963 From Russia with Love 1964 Goldfinger 1965 Thunderball 1967 You Only Live Twice 1969 On Her Majesty's Secret Service 1971 Diamonds Are Forever 1973 Live and Let Die 1974 The Man with the Golden Gun 1977 The Spy Who Loved Me 1979 Moonraker
01/10

1908

Birthday

January 10, 1908

Birthdate

Middlesex, England. in UK

Birthplace

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Ethnicity & Family History

Lee was born on 10 January 1908, the son of Nellie (née Smith) and Edmund James Lee. He was born in Brentford, Middlesex. Edmund, an actor, introduced his six-year-old son to the stage in 1914 in a sketch called "The Double Event" at the Oxford Music Hall in London. Lee attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and worked as a fruit porter to pay his fees.
Military Service

Bernard Lee served in the British Army for six years! During World War II and played many military men in theater and television and movies.
Personal Life & Family

Personal life On 30 January 1972, actor Bernard Lee's first wife, Gladys Merredew, died in a fire at their 17th-century home in Oare, Kent, which also left Bernard Lee hospitalized. 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." In February 1972, Lee was mugged and robbed by two youths. After the mugging and fire, Lee turned to drink, could not find work for two years, and ran into debt. 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. Three years after the fire, Bernard Lee married television director's assistant Ursula McHale. Lee's first marriage produced a daughter, Ann, who also followed her father onto the stage, and did so with his blessing, Lee said "She's doing what she wants to do and enjoying every moment of it." Ann later married Alan Miller, a stage actor and later stage manager at the BBC: their son is the British actor Jonny Lee Miller. Lee's hobbies included golf, fishing, reading, music, and sailing.
01/16

1981

Death

January 16, 1981

Death date

Stomach cancer.

Cause of death

England United Kingdom
Death location

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Gravesite & Burial

mm/dd/yyyy
Funeral date
Cremated.
Burial location
Obituary

BERNARD LEE IS DEAD; THE BRITISH ACTOR HAD ROLES IN JAMES BOND MOVIES Jan. 18, 1981 Bernard Lee, a British character actor who appeared in more than 100 films and was perhaps best known as the spy chief ''M'' in James Bond movies, died of cancer Friday at a London hospital. He was 73 years old. Mr. Lee's officious manner and clipped British accent made him a natural choice for detective roles or military dramas. In 1954 he played Inspector Valentine in ''The Detective,'' in which Alec Guinness starred. He had the leading role, of a traitorous war hero, Henry Houghton, in ''Ring of Treason'' in 1964. And the starring role of a doomed pilot in ''Trouble in the Sky'' in 1964. In ''The Purple Plain,'' with Gregory Peck in 1955, he played a sympathetic Air Force medic. Mr. Lee also portrayed Inspector Valentine in ''Cage of Gold'' in 1952 and ''The Man Upstairs'' in 1959. He appeared in such post-World War II pictures as ''Quartet,'' based on stories by Somerset Maugham, and the Carol Reed-Graham Greene classics, ''The Fallen Idol'' and ''The Third Man.'' Mr. Lee made his stage debut at the Oxford Theatre in London at the age of 6 with his father, Edmund Lee. He went on to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and, after a measure of success on the stage and screen, made appearances on television. He appeared in all 12 Bond thrillers from the first, ''Dr. No,'' with Sean Connery, in 1962, to the latest, ''Moonraker,'' with Roger Moore, in 1979. His illness prevented his planned appearance in the 13th movie, ''For Your Eyes Only,'' which is yet to be released. Mr. Lee is survived by his wife, Ursula.

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