A British character actor best known for playing spy boss M in four James Bond movies, Robert Brown took over as the enigmatic M in "Octopussy" in 1983 after the death of the role's originator, Bernard Lee. Brown had first appeared in the Bond series six years earlier as Admiral Hargreaves in "The Spy Who Loved Me" (1977). Brown would portray M in four 007 outings, "OCtopussy," "A View to a Kill" (1985), "The Living Daylights" (1987) and "License to Kill" (1989) before handing the role over to Dame Judi Dench.
Born in Dorset, he began his acting career after serving in the Royal Navy during World War II. After his first, uncredited small role in Sir Carrol Reed's "The Third Man" in 1949, the versatile Brown often was cast in historical adventures, including "Helen of Troy" (1956), "Ben-Hur" (1959) and "The 300 Spartans" (1962). He also played Roger Moore's sidekick in the popular 1950s British television series "Ivanhoe," and co-starred with Bernard Lee in the 1960s British TV series "King of the River."