Cinefantastique Online

Lois Maxwell, known to millions of fans for playing Miss Moneypenny in the James Bond films, died in a hospital in Australia on Saturday. She was 80.

Maxwell was one of those busy British thespians who goes from role to role, earning a living without ever becoming a star. Her appearances as the secretary of M division, who has a not-so-secret crush on James Bond, brought her greater visibility, although she was usually on screen for only a minute or two, just long enough to trade a few witticisms.

Still, Maxwell deserves her place in film history: she played Moneypenny in 1961’s DR. NO, the first big-screen Bond adventure, and went on to reprise the role in all the subsequent films until 1085’s A VIEW TO A KILL – a total of 14 in all, making her the performer with the longest unbroken string of appearances in the series.

Maxwell also had roles LOLITA (1962) and THE HAUNTING (1963); the latter is one of the best haunted house horror movies ever made. After 1985, she more or less retired from the screen, starting a publishing company in Canada and eventually moving to Australia.

For a detaled obituary, click here.