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Sir Roger George Moore, KBE (14 October 1927 – 23 May 2017) was an English actor known for his suave and witty demeanour. He was known best for portraying two quintessential action heroes, Simon Templar in the television series The Saint, from 1962 to 1969, and as Sean Connery's successor as James Bond in the phenomenally successful film series from 1973 to 1985, and a UNICEF ambassador from 1991.

Bond Involvement[]

Roger Moore as James Bond

Roger Moore as James Bond 007

The very first appearance of Moore as Bond was on British television in a sketch of Mainly Millicent. This is not generally counted as an official appearance as it was a comedy show, but it is notable nonetheless because it came years before he took the role on the big screen.

There are a lot of apocryphal stories as to when Moore's name was first dropped as a possible candidate for the mantle of James Bond for Eon. Some sources, specifically Albert R. Broccoli from his autobiography When The Snow Melts, claim that Moore was considered for Dr. No, and that he was Ian Fleming's favorite for the role after apparently having seen Moore as Simon Templar; however, this story is often debunked by fans and Bond-film historians, who point to the fact that the series did not begin airing in the United Kingdom until October 4, 1962—only one day before the premiere of Dr. No. Other sources, such as the insert for the special edition DVDs, claim that Moore was passed over for Bond in favour of someone who was older. As Moore is older than Sean Connery, this is probably not true. Publicly, Moore wasn't linked to the role of 007 until 1967, when Harry Saltzman claimed he would make a good Bond, but also displayed misgivings due to his popularity as Simon Templar. Nevertheless, Moore was finally cast as James Bond in Live and Let Die (1973).

Moore's seven years as Simon Templar earned him enough popularity (and credibility) among fans of detective fiction to earn many Bond fans' acceptance, despite the inevitable comparisons to Connery, who was and is a friend of Moore.

After Live and Let Die, Moore also played the suave and sophisticated agent in:

Roger Moore In For Your Eyes Only

Roger Moore in For Your Eyes Only.

To date, Moore has played James Bond more than any other actor (from when he was signed in 1973, to his retirement seven official films (Connery also made seven, but his last Bond film, Never Say Never Again (1983), is not part of the official EON Productions Bond series.) He is also the oldest actor to play Bond: he was 45 when he debuted and 58 when he announced his retirement on 3 December 1985.

Moore's James Bond was light-hearted, more so than any other official actor to portray the character. Connery's style, even in its lighter moments, was that of a focussed, determined detective. Moore often portrayed 007 as somewhat of a playboy, with tongue firmly in cheek. The humor served Moore and his fans well through most of his Bond tenure. Fans also relished the moments when his Bond was all business, especially in the more intense parts of The Spy Who Loved Me, For Your Eyes Only, and Octopussy (when, despite wearing a clown getup, he defuses a bomb). It is generally agreed that of the six actors to have played Bond, Moore's portrayal was the furthest removed from the character created by Ian Fleming.

Agent Under Fire[]

Agent Under Fire originally started as the PS2 and PC versions of The World Is Not Enough, but before going further in development the studios' original plan was to bring Roger Moore to do the Bond role.[2] At the end, however, the behaviours between Moore's interpretation and the one in the game shared lots of similarities. Andrew Bicknell then entered to provide the voice and likeness of Bond. But his casting was not reported broadly and some PS2 magazines, such as PlayStation World, erroneously reported that Bicknell's Bond was an original generic character invented for the game (a "synthetic" character).

London's Olympics[]

In a commercial for London's 2012 Olympic bid, Moore once again suited up as James Bond. He appeared alongside Samantha Bond, who played Miss Moneypenny in the Pierce Brosnan series of Bond films.

Books[]

  • Roger Moore as James Bond: Roger Moore's Own Account of Filming Live and Let Die. (1973)
  • My Word Is My Bond: The Autobiography. (2008)
  • Bond on Bond: The Ultimate Book on 50 Years of Bond Movies. (2012)
  • Last Man Standing. (2014) (Published as One Lucky Bastard in the United States)
  • À bientôt …. (2017) (Published Posthumously).

References[]

  1. This appearance cannot be said to be canon in any way, but it is his first portrayal of the role
  2. The 'Bond 6' Saga. MI6-HQ.com. Retrieved on 4 November 2014.

External links[]


Preceded by:
Sean Connery
1971
James Bond actor
1973–1985
Succeeded by:
Timothy Dalton
1987–1989


Wikipedia logo 1024x684 This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Roger Moore. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with the James Bond Wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
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