Sir Roger Moore

Londoner Sir Roger George Moore (1927-2017) was gifted with good looks, quick wits, charm and charisma. In TV interviews RADA-trained Moore would modestly deny that he was even a proper actor, describing feeling like “an overpaid schoolboy” on the film set, where he just wanted to “have fun”. In fact, he is remembered fondly as the star of many TV series and films, not least the seven in which he played James Bond, namely:-

  1. ‘Live and Let Die’ (1973)
  2. ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’ (1974)
  3. ‘The Spy who Loved Me’ (1977)
  4. ‘Moonraker’ (1979)
  5. ‘For Your Eyes Only’ (1981)
  6. ‘Octopussy’ (1983)
  7. ‘A View to a Kill’ (1985)

Fans of the previous incumbent, Edinburgh-born Sir Sean Connery (1930-2020) may have criticised the injection of humour into these classics, but this merely reflected Moore’s own character and style, and drew a new audience to the franchise. Those who appreciated his performances in TV shows such as ‘Maverick’ (1957), ‘Ivanhoe’ (1958), ‘The Saint’ (1962-69) or ‘The Persuaders’ (1971-72) watched the effortless transition of this cool, gentlemanly hero onto the big screen.

Outside of acting he worked in various capacities ranging from a model for knitwear brands (in his early days) to an Executive Director of Fabergé. He was also a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF and Monaco.

(Top image: Allan Warren at Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0)

 

 

Copying is not enabled.