Perhaps he will always be remembered as the guy who replaced Sean Connery in the James Bond series, arguably something he never lived down. Roger Moore was born in Stockwell, London, in 1927, the son of a policeman. He first wanted to be an artist, but got into films full time after becoming an extra in the late forties. Moore also served in the British Military During the Second World War. He came to America in 1953. Suave, extremely handsome, and an excellent actor, he got a contract with MGM . His initial foray met with mixed success, with movies like Diane and Interrupted Melody, as well as The Last Time I Saw Paris.

Moore went into television in the 1950s in shows like Ivanhoe and The Alaskans, but probably got the most recognition from Maverick, as cousin Beau. In 1962 he got his big breakthrough, at least internationally, as The Saint. The show 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 effort to change this, he agreed to star with Tony Curtis in ITC's The Persuaders!, but although hugely popular in Europe, it did not catch on in the US and was cancelled. Just prior to making the series, he starred in the dark The Man Who Haunted Himself, which proved there was far more to Moore than the light-hearted roles he had previously accepted.

Next, he was 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, his first Bond movie, grossed more outside of America than Diamonds Are Forever - 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 in 1985. He was 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, Shout at the Devil, The Wild Geese, Escape to Athena, and _North Sea Hijack (1980)_ . Despite his fame from the Bond films and many others, the US never completely took to him until he starred in The Cannonball Run alongside Burt Reynolds, a big hit 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 & Dynamit (Fire, Ice & Dynamite), as well as the comedy, Bullseye!, with Michael Caine. He did the overlooked comedy _Bed & Breakfast (1992/I)_ , as well as the TV movie _Man Who Wouldn't Die, The (1995) (TV)_ , and then the major Jean-Claude Van Damme flop, _Quest, The (1996/I)_ . Moore then took second rate roles such as Spice World, and the American TV series The Dream Team. Although his film work may have slowed down, he is still very much in the public eye, be it appearing on TV chat shows or hosting documentaries.


A View to a Kill (1985): $5,000,000
Octopussy (1983): $4,000,000

During the early stages of his career Roger collected towels from the hotels he stayed in. However, he stopped when a British newspaper printed a story entitled 'Roger Moore is a towel thief'. He revealed on "So Graham Norton" (1998) that he still has the collection in his Swiss home. Father of Geoffrey Moore, Christian Moore and Deborah Moore. Was scheduled to make his musical theatre debut as "Sir George" in "Aspects of Love" in 1990. He left the production days before his escape clause expired due to his own concerns over his singing ability. He was replaced by Kevin Colson. His father was a Policeman. In just few days after he had arrived in USA in 1952, he was in a television play World by the Tail (1953) (TV). Roger and his then companion, 'Christina 'Kiki' Tholstrup' , escaped injury when another vehicle collided with the actor's car. Airbags were attributed to preventing injury. They married the following year. [13 January 2001] Received an honourary doctorate from Ryerson Polytechnic University in 1999. 2002 - lives in Switzerland and Monte Carlo with his wife 'Christina 'Kiki' Tholstrup' . Despite playing James Bond in seven Bond films, he never ordered a vodka martini shaken not stirred. Was Air France's 8,000,000th passenger. [21 May 1964] Was best man at friends Bryan Forbes and Nanette Newman's wedding Was older than any other actor to play James Bond when he portrayed him aged 57 in A View to a Kill (1985). Sean Connery was 52 when he last played Bond in Never Say Never Again (1983). He was born in the same Labour Ward in London as the actor Brian Weske, five years previously. Underwent surgery for prostate cancer in 1993. Was cast in two roles that were originally offered to Patrick McGoohan: Simon Templar in "The Saint" (1962) and James Bond in Live and Let Die (1973). Detests doing scenes that involve him shooting firearms - which caused him to ruin countless 007 takes. Both he and his daughter, Deborah Moore, have acted in the James Bond franchise. She played the air hostess in Die Another Day (2002). Took part in a special celebrity edition of Blind Date on The Prince's Trust 30th Birthday: Live (2006) (TV). He and actor Richard E. Grant lost to "The X Factor" (2004)'s Chico Slimani, who got to date Dame Edna Everage (aka Barry Humphries). Chose a Swedish conference on child abuse to announce to the world that he too was a victim. He said he was molested as a child, but not seriously. He waited until he was 16 to tell his mother because he said he was "ashamed." Played James Bond in seven movies of the official EON series, the most of any actor to date (Sean Connery also played Bond in seven films, but one of them, Never Say Never Again (1983), was unofficial). Following the suggestion that fugitive train robber Ronald Biggs make a cameo appearance in the Brazil episode of Moonraker (1979), he replied in rather colorful terms that he didn't want the escaped prisoner anywhere near the film, as his own father had been a London Policeman. When presenting the Best Actor Oscar awards at the The 45th Annual Academy Awards (1973) (TV), Moore ended up taking home the Oscar accidentally. The winner of the award, Marlon Brando, refused the award, and Sacheen Littlefeather, who Brando sent to make a speech to refuse the Oscar, also publicly refused to take the statuette from Moore. Underwent three operations to remove kidney stones in his thirties. Attended the funeral of Sir John Mills in Denham, Buckinghamshire. (27 April 2005). Quit smoking cigars after undergoing major surgery for prostate cancer when he was 65. Intended For Your Eyes Only (1981) to be his final Bond movie, since he was nearly 54. Although Moore claimed to have quit smoking cigarettes while filming "The Persuaders!" (1971), a filmed interview from on the set of For Your Eyes Only (1981) shows him smoking a cigarette. He was a close friend of Dudley Moore. Although critics often accused him of not looking tough enough to play superspy James Bond, he once beat up legendary American hellraiser Lee Marvin while they were filming Shout at the Devil (1976). Marvin recalled, "The guy is built like granite. Nobody will ever underestimate him again.". While filming the interrogation scene opposite Richard Burton and Richard Harris in The Wild Geese (1978), Moore made the unheard of request to have a cut in his lines. After another take he suggested all his lines should be cut. When the director Andrew V. McLaglen asked him why, he replied, "Do you seriously think I want to act against these guys? I'll just sit here and puff on my cigar.". Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on October 11, 2007. Prior to the release of The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Moore filed a lawsuit against his ex-wife Dorothy Squires to prevent her from publishing a book about their life together. She would eventually be declared bankrupt in 1986. While a struggling young actor in the early 1950s, he briefly worked as a truck driver. Many years later, he impressed the crew on the set of A View to a Kill (1985) with his truck driving skills. He has always been very honest about the fact that he did not perform any of his own stunts as Bond, unlike Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Timothy Dalton, and Daniel Craig. He considered himself to be miscast in Escape to Athena (1979) and North Sea Hijack (1979). If Never Say Never Again (1983) can be included as an official 007 installment, then Moore ties with Sean Connery for the most portrayals of James Bond - a total of 7 each. Otherwise Moore holds the record. Has said he would like to play a villain in a Bond movie starring Daniel Craig, but accepts that can never happen. His popularity as Bond led to him starring in several movies during the 1970s and early 1980s. However, although some were financially successful, most received poor reviews. In 1954 he signed a seven year contract with MGM. However, he was released from this contract after only two years following the massive critical and commercial failure of Diane (1956).