Sir Roger Moore, who famously played James Bond through the seventies and eighties, has died aged 89.
His charm, deftly timed eyebrow raises and one-liners were a strong part of his appeal which saw him cast in roles including TV series such as Ivanhoe and The Saint as well as seven of the James Bond films.
Moore arguably gave us the most fun portrayal of the Bond role. His laidback, suave and at turns cheeky onscreen character endeared him to many and his offscreen personality won further fans.
Onscreen exploits saw him wrestling a metal toothed villain in ‘Jaws’, bounding over crocodiles in ‘Live and Let Die’ and driving an amphibious Lotus Esprit in ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’. His Bond legacy included some of the genre’s greatest stunts and amorous encounters with beautiful co-stars.
Appointed as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 1991, he’d been first struck by seeing child poverty in India during filming of the Bond film ‘Octopussy’. As Goodwill Ambassador, he campaigned for children’s rights across the world.
Diabetes and health
In 1993, Roger had a health scare when he was diagnosed and treated for prostate cancer.
Twenty years later, in 2013, the actor had a number of episodes of illness. He become very lethargic and was losing a lot of weight. This culminated in him being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
He stated to the press that: “I’ve obviously had it for quite a long time… During that week where I was falling asleep, my wife said I was losing a kilo a day. So, I have had to have all my trousers taken in.”
Moore died following a “short but brave battle with cancer”.
A message from his children read: “Thank you Pops for being you, and being so very special to so many people.”
Image credit: Wikipedia (photo by Allan Warren).
