Who is your favorite James Bond actor? I grew up watching James Bond films, but I've always had a soft spot for Q. I read a brief blurb about him and wanted to read his biography. I had to wait for this to make its way here from across the sea, but once it got here, I was happy to read it.
Desmond had a sheltered childhood and early on decided he wanted to be an actor. He tried to do other things, but they just didn't work out. He spent practically the entirety of WWII as a POW in a few different camps. At one time, he was part of an elaborate escape plan, but he was caught and after that dedicated himself to acting and assisting others in their attempts. Side note: I didn't realize the camps had "Escape Committees" that would evaluate escape plans for their potential.
Much of the book, of course, is dedicated to his life as Q, the briefly-on-screen Gadgetman of 007. He speaks of the various Bonds he worked with and how he would struggle with the gadgets and the technical speak associated with them. His life became one of being Q, and other jobs would be out of reach because he'd become somewhat pigeon-holed into the one role. In the early years of Bond, this was more of a detriment, and his wife wasn't keen on Bond. Later on, she would accompany him to various openings and things until her health began to fail.
Desmond seems to be one of those people that sees the happy side of life. He speaks well of people and doesn't say much about tragedies and unpleasant times in his life. He briefly spoke of starving while in the POW camp, but then he focused on the acting he got to do. He also was affected by his wife's Alzheimer's, but overall, he seemed to be a glass half full kind of person.
The beginning of the book was a back and forth between the author and Desmond, which I enjoyed. Later it was all the author with quotes from Desmond. I missed the longer paragraphs from Desmond, but it was still easy to read. There are plenty of pictures in the book, and the end has a list of all the gadgets from the Bond films up to The World is Not Enough (1999).
Desmond died in a car accident in 1999, shortly after this book was published. He was willing to do more Bond, which I was surprised to discover. The final time we see him, he has an assistant, R, and he tells 007 to always have an escape plan as he slowly descends out of sight. When asked if he'd be in James Bond #20, he'd replied, "Of course, just so long as EON want me and The Almighty doesn't." I guess we know Who wanted him more. Good Book!
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