Roald Dahl, who wrote the screenplay for You Only Live Twice (1967), was born in Wales to Norwegian parents on 13th September 1916.
Photo: Roald Dahl (1982) by Hans van Dijk / Anefo – Derived from Nationaal Archief. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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Desmond Llewelyn, who played Q in 17 James Bond films, was born on 12th September 1914.
Desmond Llewelyn, who played the much loved boffin Q in 17 James Bond films between 1963 and 1999, was born in Newport on 12th September 1914.
Llewelyn first played Q in the second Bond movie, From Russia With Love (1963), and reprised the role in every film until The World In Not Enough (1999), with the exception of Live And Let Die (1973).
His full list of 007 films is as follows:
From Russia with Love (1963)
Goldfinger (1964)
Thunderball (1965)
You Only Live Twice (1967)
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)
Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Moonraker (1979)
For Your Eyes Only (1981)
Octopussy (1983)
A View to a Kill (1985)
The Living Daylights (1987)
Licence to Kill (1989)
GoldenEye (1995)
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
The World Is Not Enough (1999)
Desmond Llewelyn died in 1999 following a car accident.
Diana Rigg died on this day in 2020. She played Tracy in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
Jaws actor Richard Kiel died on this day in 2014. He proved to be so popular in The Spy Who Loved Me he returned in Moonraker.
Richard Kiel, who played the much-loved henchman Jaws in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and Moonraker (1979), died on 10th September 2014.
Special effects wizard Derek Meddings died on this day in 1995. As well as the Bond films, his work appeared in Thunderbirds and Superman.
Renowned special effects wizard Derek Meddings died on 10th September 1995 from colorectal cancer. In Goldeneye’s credits, on which he worked, a dedication reads; “To the memory of Derek Meddings”.
As well as his work on the James Bond films, Meddings was known for Gerry Anderson’s supermarionation TV shows and on the Superman movies with Christopher Reeve. His first Bond film was Live And Let Die (1973).
Goldeneye composer Éric Serra was born on this day in 1959.
Éric Serra, who composed the soundtrack for Pierce Brosnan’s first outing 007 in Goldeneye (1995), was born in France on 9th September 1959.
Many happy returns to Neal Purvis! The screenwriter was born on this day in 1961. Together with Robert Wade he has worked on the 007 series since The World Is Not Enough.
Neal Purvis, who with writing partner Robert Wade has worked on each Bond film since The World Is Not Enough (1999, with Bruce Feirstein), was born in the United Kingdom on 9th September 1961.
Following their work on Skyfall it was announced that the screen writing duo were retiring from the Bond films. However, they were hired to work on problems with John Logan’s script for SPECTRE in 2014. On SPECTRE Purvis and Wade received credits for the story, along with John Logan, and screenplay, alongside both Logan and Jez Butterworth.
Topol played Milos Columbo in For Your Eyes Only. The Israeli actor was born on 9th September 1935.
Topol, who played Milos Columbo in For Your Eyes Only, was born in Tel Aviv on 9th September 1935.
Happy birthday Raymond Benson! The 007 continuation author was born on this day in 1955.
Raymond Benson, who first published the seminal James Bond Bedside Companion in 1984 and went on to write a series of continuation titles and novelizations, was born in Texas on 5th September 1955.
Approached by Glidrose Productions (now Ian Fleming Publications) following the retirement of John Gardner, Benson became the fourth James Bond continuation author and the second to write a series of title. During his tenure with Glidrose, Benson wrote six novels, three film novelizations, and three short stories:
Blast from the Past (short story, 1997)
Zero Minus Ten (1997)
Tomorrow Never Dies (novelization, 1997)
The Facts of Death (1998)
Midsummer Night’s Doom (short story, 1999)
Live at Five (short story, 1999)
The World Is Not Enough (novelization, 1999)
High Time to Kill (1999)
DoubleShot (2000)
Never Dream of Dying (2001)
The Man with the Red Tattoo (2002)
Die Another Day (novelization, 2002)
Apart from his work with 007, Benson has published a number of novels, including his Black Stiletto series, short stories, non-fiction titles, developed computer games and produced stage plays.
Photo: Raymond Benson in Milan in 2005, public domain.
Naomie Harris was born on this day in 1976. She joined the Bond series as Moneypenny in Skyfall.
Naomie Harris, who first appeared in Skyfall as Eve in Skyfall (later revealed to be Miss Moneypenny), was born in London on 6th September 1976.