Sir Roger Moore, the third man to play James Bond, has passed away after a short battle with cancer. He was 89.
His passing was announced by his children on his Twitter account this morning:
With the heaviest of hearts, we must share the awful news that our father, Sir Roger Moore, passed away today. We are all devastated. pic.twitter.com/6dhiA6dnVg
— Sir Roger Moore (@sirrogermoore) May 23, 2017
Moore got his start as a model before moving onto bit parts in films and TV series. This led him to a contract with MGM studios in 1954, where he had supporting roles in films such as Interrupted Melody, The King’s Thief and Diane.
His film career failed to take hold at this time, and he started making guest appearances on various television shows of the day. This led him to being cast as the lead in the ITV series Ivanhoe, which ran for 36 episode from 1958 to 1959. From there he moved on to being the lead in ABC’s The Alaskans and a recurring role as Beau Maverick in Maverick.
In 1962, Moore was cast in his second most famous role–as Simon Templar in The Saint. Created for Britain’s ITV, the show became an success across the world and made Moore and international star. Moore would have cameos in the 1997 Val Kilmer film adaptation and a television pilot filmed in 2013.
Next came The Persuaders!, which he co-starred with Tony Curtis and ran for 24 episodes from 1971 to 1972. The series was very popular overseas, but it would be his next role that made Moore into superstar.
Moore took over as James Bond with 1973’s Live and Let Die, following in the footsteps of Sean Connery and George Lazenby. He would reprise the role in six more films over the next 12 years, becoming the actor with the longest tenure playing the character. In the process, his film career outside the Bond franchise flourished, offering him roles in films such as Shout at the Devil, The Wild Geese, ffolkes and The Cannonball Run.
He retired from the Bond role after 1985’s A View to a Kill. He was replaced by Timothy Dalton in the role. His post-Bond career included roles in The Quest, Spice World and Boat Trip. His last film role was playing himself in 2016’s The Carer.
