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Bond's Moneypenny Passes

Sun., Sep. 30, 2007 11:46 AM PDT by Josh Grossberg

James Bond's lost the most loyal Bond girl of all.

Lois Maxwell, the Canadian-born actress who originated the role of M's smitten secretary Miss Moneypenny in 007 movies, has died of cancer. She was 80.

According to the BBC, Maxwell passed away Saturday evening at Fremantle Hospital in Western Australia, where had taken up residence in the last years of her life.

"It's rather a shock," former Bond Roger Moore told BBC Radio 5 Live. "She was absolutely fun and she was wonderful to be with."

The two had become close friends since 1944, when they were students together at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and later costarred together the Bond films after Moore took over for Sean Connery.

All told, Maxwell played Moneypenny in the first 14 Bond movies, starting with 1962's Dr. No.

"It was a great pity that, after I moved out of Bond, they didn't take her on to continue in the Timothy Dalton films," Moore said, adding that "I think it was a great disappointment to her that she had not been promoted to play M. She would have been a wonderful M."

Though she never was an official Bond girl, Maxwell's Moneypenny had the pleasure of trading witty flirtations with 007 whenever he stopped by his boss' office. She quickly became a series staple, generating some of the more memorable bits of humor through her double-entendre-laden exchanges with the suave secret agent.

Maxwell remained in the role after George Lazenby replaced Connery in 1969's Her Majesty's Secret Service and continued parrying Bond's advances through Moore's seven-picture run. Her last outing as Moneypenny came at the age of 58 in 1985's A View to a Kill.

She was replaced in 1987 by then 26-year-old Caroline Bliss in Dalton's The Living Daylights and 1989's License to Kill, followed by actress Samantha Bond (no relation) during Pierce Brosnan's tenure, which ended with 2002's Die Another Day.

Last year's Casino Royale, starring Daniel Craig as the martini-swilling superspy, was the first film in the franchise not to feature Moneypenny.

However, because Maxwell's Moneypenny remains the definitive portrayal of Bond's lovestruck foil, Electronic Arts got permission to use her likeness for the character in 2005's From Russia with Love videogame.

When she wasn't acting in Bond adventures, Maxwell also made her mark in the Shirley Temple comedy, That Hagen Girl, for which she earned a Golden Globe Award for Best Newcomer.

She also appeared opposite future President Ronald Reagan in Bedtime for Bonzo and had a plumb part in Stanley Kubrick's 1962 classic, Lolita.

Born Feb. 14, 1927 as Lois Hooker in Kitchener, Ontario, Maxwell ran away from home at the age of 15 and enlisted with the Royal Canadian Army during World War II during which time she ended up in the Army Entertainment Corps performing for troops in Europe.

She subsequently entered the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, where she met Moore, and honed her talents and soon left for Hollywood where she scored bit parts until Moneypenny came calling.

Other notable credits include 1957's Kill Me Tomorrow, 1963's The Haunting, 1967's Operation Kid Brother and1971's Endless Night as well as several episodes of Moore's TV show The Saint. Her last big-screen appearance came in the 2001 thriller The Fourth Angel with Jeremy Irons.