Roger Moore

'Roger Moore' (qv) will perhaps always be remembered as the man who replaced 'Sean Connery' (qv) in the James Bond series, arguably something he never lived down.Roger George Moore was born on October 14, 1927 in Stockwell, London, England, the son of Lillian (Pope) and George Alfred Moore, a policeman. His mother was born in Calcutta, India, to a British family. Roger first wanted to be an artist, but got into films full time after becoming an extra in the late 1940s. Moore also served in the British military during the Second World War. He came to the United States in 1953. Suave, extremely handsome, and an excellent actor, he received a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. His initial foray met with mixed success, with movies like _Diane (1956)_ (qv) and _Interrupted Melody (1955)_ (qv), as well as _The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954)_ (qv).Moore went into television in the 1950s on series such as _Ivanhoe (1958)_ (qv) and _The Alaskans (1959)_ (qv), but probably received the most recognition from _Maverick (1957)_ (qv), as cousin Beau. He received his big breakthrough, at least internationally, as _The Saint (1962)_ (qv). The series made him a superstar and he became very successful thereafter. Moore ended his run as the Saint, and was one of the premier stars of the world, but he was not catching on in America. In an attempt to change this, he agreed to star with 'Tony Curtis' (qv) on ITC's _The Persuaders! (1971)_ (qv), but although hugely popular in Europe, it did not catch on in the United States and was canceled. Just prior to making the series, he starred in _The Man Who Haunted Himself (1970)_ (qv), which proved there was far more to Moore than the light-hearted roles he had previously accepted.He was next offered and accepted the role of James Bond, and once audiences got used to the change of style from Connery's portrayal, they also accepted him. _Live and Let Die (1973)_ (qv), his first Bond movie, grossed more outside of America than _Diamonds Are Forever (1971)_ (qv); Connery's last outing as James Bond. He went on to star in another six Bond films, before bowing out after _A View to a Kill (1985)_ (qv). He was age 57 at the time the film was made and was looking a little too old for Bond - it was possibly one film too many. In between times, there had been more success with appearances in films such as _That Lucky Touch (1975)_ (qv), _Shout at the Devil (1976)_ (qv), _The Wild Geese (1978)_ (qv), _Escape to Athena (1979)_ (qv) and _North Sea Hijack (1980)_ (qv).Despite his fame from the Bond films and many others, the United States never completely took to him until he starred in _The Cannonball Run (1981)_ (qv) alongside 'Burt Reynolds' (qv), a success there. After relinquishing his role as Bond, his work load tended to diminish a little, though he did star in the American box office flop _Feuer, Eis und Dynamit (1990)_ (qv), as well as the comedy _Bullseye! (1990)_ (qv), with 'Michael Caine' (qv). He did the overlooked comedy _Bed & Breakfast (1991)_ (qv), as well as the television movie _The Man Who Wouldn't Die (1994)_ (qv), and then the major 'Jean-Claude Van Damme' (qv) flop _The Quest (1996)_ (qv). Moore then took second rate roles such as _Spice World (1997)_ (qv), and the American television series _The Dream Team (1999)_ (qv). Although his film work slowed down, he was still in the public eye, be it appearing on television chat shows or hosting documentaries.'Roger Moore' (qv) was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire on December 31, 1998 in the New Years Honours for services to UNICEF, and was promoted to Knight Commander of the same order on June 14, 2003 in the Queen's Birthday Honours for services to the charities UNICEF and Kiwanis International.'Roger Moore' (qv) died of cancer on 23 May, 2017, in Switzerland. He was 89.::Pedro Borges