Thank You Miss Moneypenny! What Would I Do Without You?

The original &, IMHO, best Moneypenny in the various Bond movies, Lois Maxwell, passed away Saturday nite 29 Sept 2007. She died of cancer at Freemantle Hospital, Femantle, West Australia, Australia.

She was born Lois Hooker in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada on 14 February 1924. To keep her parents from finding out she began her acting career as Robin Wells on a Canadian radio children's program. She was not yet 15 when she left for England with The Canadian Army's Entertainment Corps. She eventually enrolled in The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. There she met & became friends with Roger Moore (little knowing they would star in 7 Bond movies together). In 1946 she went to Hollywood where she began her movie career. Her 1st role was an uncredited appearance in A Matter of Life and Death (1946). This movie was actually the start of her connection to James Bond. The star was David Niven who was up for the role of 007 in Dr. No & went on to play James Bond in the 1967 version of Casino Royale.

In 1947 she won the Golden Globe Award for The Most Promising Female Newcomer. It was for her role in That Hagen Girl. Her co-stars were Ronald Regan & Shirley Temple. In 1957 she married Peter Churchill Marriott. They had 2 children 1 son, Christian, & 1 daughter, Melinda. He died in 1973.

In 1953 she was cast as Amneris in an Italian film version of Aida. No, she didn't sing. Her voice was dubbed. Over the years she made many films, mostly in the USA & Italy. She also appeared in episodes of several TV series. In 1962 her big break came when she was cast as Miss Moneypenny in the Eon Productions Ltd./Danjaq S.A production of Ian Fleming's Dr. No. The rest, as they say, is history. She made the role her own & left an indelible mark on it. She appeared in 14 Bond movies, playing opposite Sean Connery, George Lazenby & Roger Moore. She was not asked back when Timothy Dalton took over the role in 1987. (While the reason, her age, was valid, it could have been handled better.) She even spoofed her role as Miss Moneypenny in Operation Double 007 (1967). The movie starred Neil Connery (Sean's brother) as well as many actors, including Bernard Lee, who had appeared in the Bond movies.

She continued acting but moved back to Ontario where she became a columnist for the Toronto Sun in the 80s. She mostly retired from acting in 1989. She did make a few appearances. Her last acting role was as Olivia in The Fourth Angel (2001). About that same time she moved to Australia where her son was living.

In an interview with Sky News Sir Roger Moore noted how underappreciated she was. He said: "She was my lucky token." He talked about how glad he was to see her on the set when he 1st took over the role of 007. Asked if she was the definitive Moneypenny his reply was: "Absolutely and I think it was a great pity that she wasn't considered to become M. That would have been wonderful." (Wonderful as well as interesting.) (Video of interview here)

In conclusion, all I can do is echo the sentiments of Roger Moore when he said: "She will certainly be missed by me and I'm sure by millions of fans around the world."