The world has lost a saint of an actor with Sir Roger Moore, who passed away Tuesday from a brief bout with cancer in Switzerland; he was 89 years old.
Throughout his versatile career, Moore has been defined by fans across the globe for playing debonair and dashing Simon Templar, aka The Saint, and Ian Fleming’s suave and sophisticated British super-spy James Bond, aka 007
Based on the popular series of books from author Leslie Charteris, The Saint aired from 1962 to 1969 with Moore as Templar, the international man of mystery who left behind a legacy as a modern-day Robin Hood with a vendetta against ‘the Ungodly’, the corrupt, the greedy and powerful: con artists, racketeers, kidnappers, terrorists, blackmailers, and so on. Moore also directed several episodes of The Saint, which then led him to THE role that will give him a license to kill.
Succeeding Sean Connery, Moore played Bond in seven films over the course of 12 years: Live and Lie Die (1973), The Man with TheGolden Gun (1974), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Moonraker (1979), For Your Eyes Only (1981), Octopussy (1983), A View to a Kill (1985). Bringing a bit of tongue-in-cheek and humor into the role of Bond, Moore is currently the longest-running actor to ever play 007, with Daniel Craig coming in second.
Moore went on to become a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, and earned the title of Commander of the British Empire by the British government.
Moore is survive by his wife Kristina ‘Kiki’ Tholstrup, a Danish-Swedish multi-millionaire; his daughter Deborah, an actress; his sons Geoffrey, an actor, and Christian, a film producer.