Remembering Sir Roger George Moore 1927-2017

Sir Roger George Moore, KBE (14 October 1927 – 23 May 2017) is best known for having played secret agent James Bond in seven feature films from 1973 to 1985. He also played Simon Templar in the television series The Saintfrom 1962 to 1969 and Lord Brett Sinclair in The Persuaders! from 1971 to 1972.
Moore took over the role of Bond from Sean Connery in 1972, and made his first appearance as 007 in Live and Let Die (1973). The longest serving Bond, he went on to portray the spy in six more films until his retirement from the role in 1985.
Roger Moore was born on 14 October 1927 in Stockwell, London. At 18, shortly after the end of the Second World War, Moore was conscripted for national service. In the early 1950s, Moore worked as a model,appearing in print advertisements for knitwear (earning him the nickname "The Big Knit"), and a wide range of other products such as toothpaste, an element that many critics have used as typifying his lightweight credentials as an actor. Moore travelled to the US and begin to work in television. He was in adaptations of Julius Caesar (1953) and Black Chiffon (1953) and in two episodes of Robert Montgomery Presents (1953). He was also in a TV movie The Clay of Kings (1953). Then MGM signed him to a long term contract. Moore's first success was playing the eponymous hero, Sir Wilfred of Ivanhoe, in the 1958–59 series Ivanhoe, a loose adaptation of the 1819 romantic novel by Sir Walter Scott set in the 12th century during the era of Richard the Lionheart, delving into Ivanhoe's conflict with Prince John.
Due to his commitment to several television shows, in particular The Saint, Roger Moore was unavailable for the James Bond films for a considerable time. His participation in The Saint was as actor, producer, and director, and he also became involved in developing the series The Persuaders!. In 1964, he made a guest appearance as James Bond in the comedy series Mainly Millicent. He was finally cast as James Bond in Live and Let Die (1973).
Moore made his second Bond, The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), which was a hit though less than Live and Let Die. He returned to South Africa for a third action movie shot there, The Wild Geese (1978), produced by Euan Lloyd and directed by Andrew V. McLaglen. It was a sizeable hit in Britain and Europe but, like Shout at the Devil, less so in the US. More successful was his fourth outing as Bond, Moonraker (1979). He followed it with an action film North Sea Hijack (1980) where Moore played a very un-Bond-like hero, opposite Anthony Perkins. The film was a box office disappointment.Moore returned to Bond for For Your Eyes Only (1981). Following this film he expressed a desire to leave the role, and other actors - notably James Brolin were tested but Moore was eventually enticed back for Octopussy (1983). Moore made one last Bond, A View to a Kill (1985). Moore was the longest-serving James Bond actor, having spent 12 years in the role (from his debut in 1973, to his retirement from the role in 1985), having made seven of the Eon Production Bond films in a row. Moore was the oldest actor to have played Bond – he was 45 in Live and Let Die, and 58 when he announced his retirement on 3 December 1985.
Moore's family announced his death in Switzerland, on 23 May 2017, from cancer after a brief battle.