Popular Roger Moore, Actor Known for Playing James Bond 007, Dies at 89

Sir Roger George Moore KBE was an English actor. He played the British secret agent James Bond in seven feature films between 1973 and 1985. He also played Simon Templar in the television series The Saint between 1962 and 1969.

The British actor died Tuesday after a short battle with cancer, according to a family statement posted on Moore’s official Twitter account.

“We know our own love and admiration will be magnified many times over, across the world, by people who knew him for his films, his television shows and his passionate work for UNICEF, which he considered to be his greatest achievement,” the statement said.
The family noted that Moore made his final public appearance last November on stage at London’s Royal Festival Hall. “The capacity crowd cheered him on and off stage, shaking the very foundations of the building just a short distance from where he was born,” Moore’s children said.
A private funeral for Moore will be held in Monaco, his children said in their statement. He is survived by his fourth wife, Kristina Tholstrup.
Mr. Moore was the oldest Bond ever hired for films in the canon, taking on the role when he was 46. (Sean Connery, who originated the film character and with whom Mr. Moore was constantly compared, was 33, although in the spoof “Casino Royale,” David Niven was in his 50s.) Mr. Moore also had the longest run in the role, beginning in 1973 with “Live and Let Die” and winding up in 1985 with “A View to a Kill.”

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