Roger Moore Biography

Roger Moore was an English actor best known for playing James Bond in seven films. This biography profiles his childhood, life, film career, achievements and timeline.

Quick Facts

Birthday: October 14, 1927

Nationality: British

Famous: James Bond Philanthropists

Died At Age: 89

Sun Sign: Libra

Also Known As: Sir Roger George Moore

Born in: Stockwell, London, England

Famous as: Actor

Height: 6'1" (185 cm), 6'1" Males

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Kristina Tholstrup (m. 2002), Doorn van Steyn (m. 1946–1953), Dorothy Squires (m. 1953–1968), Luisa Mattioli (m. 1968–1996)

father: George Alfred Moore

mother: Lillian Lily Pope

children: Christian Moore, Deborah Moore, Geoffrey Moore

Died on: May 23, 2017

place of death: Switzerland

Cause of Death: Cancer

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education: College of St Hild and St Bede, Dr Challoner's Grammar School, Durham University, Royal Academy of Dramatic Art

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Sir Roger George Moore was an English actor best known for playing British secret agent James Bond in seven feature films. He was the longest-serving ‘Bond’ in the history of ‘James Bond’ movies; he portrayed James Bond in the movies from 1973 to 1985. Roger Moore started his career with Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in England and appeared in smalltime roles in movies but had to take a break from that as he was conscripted for national service shortly after the end of the Second World War. He returned back to entertainment and started his modeling career by print modeling for advertisements, which helped him get supporting roles in some big budget movies. It was with ‘Ivanhoe’ on the British television that Moore gained some fame for the first time but he did not taste international success until ‘The Saint’ in the ‘60s. He continued to do television and movies and it was in 1973 that he was cast as ‘James Bond’ for the first time, after Sean Connery stepped down from it. He was the ‘Bond’ for many years and gained success in his sexy and macho portrayal as one. He was the oldest actor to have ever been cast as ‘Bond—he was 45 years old when he was cast in ‘Live and Let Live’. Moore was honored as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire and later advanced to Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

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Roger Moore

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Childhood & Early Life

Roger Moore was born on 14 October 1927, in Stockwell, London, to George Alfred and Lillian Moore. His father was a policeman while mother a housewife. Moore went to Battersea Grammar School.
During the WWII, he was sent to Devon and was later enrolled at Dr Challoner’s Grammar School, Amersham, Buckinghamshire. For his graduation, he went to the College of the Venerable Bede at the University of Durham.
Before joining the services, Moore worked briefly at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and he was used as an extra in Brian Desmond Hurst’s ‘Trottie True’. He also made an appearance in the movie, ‘Caesar and Cleopatra (1945)’.
When Moore turned 18, he was recruited in the national service and later commissioned into the Royal Army Service Corps as a second lieutenant and was eventually made a captain.
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Career

During the Early 1950s, Moore worked as a print model for products like knitwear, toothpaste, etc. He also made a television appearance during this time in the series ‘Drawing Room Detective’.
He signed a contract with MGM and appeared in movies like, ‘Interrupted Melody (1955)’, ‘The King’s Thief (1955)’, ‘Diane (1956)’, ‘The Miracle (1959)’, etc. He also appeared in TV programs such as, ‘The Third Man’, ‘Alfred Hitchcock Presents’, etc.
Moore became more famous on the TV than on the big screen with his characterization of ‘Sir Wilfred of Ivanhoe’ in the series ‘Ivanhoe’ from 1958-59. The show was aimed at the younger audience.
His next big TV series was ABC/Warner Brothers’ western, ‘The Alaskans’, which ran from 1959-60. The show was telecast for only one season, which consisted of thirty seven episodes.
In 1960, Moore was cast as ‘Beau Maverick’ in yet another ABC/Warner Brother’s western, ‘Maverick’. The series ran for one season and he acted in it while juggling with his time schedule for ‘The Alaskans’.
Moore finally achieved his much awaited stardom by getting casted in ‘The Saint’ in 1962, in the role of ‘Simon Templar’. The show ran for 6 seasons and had 118 episodes; it was the longest running series on the British television.
Just after the series ended, Moore starred in two movies, ‘Crossplot (1969)’ and ‘The Man Who Haunted Himself (1970)’. With these two motion pictures he proved himself to be a versatile actor to a wider audience.
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In 1971, he again appeared on the television by starring in the series ‘The Persuaders!’. The series was not a success in America but did pretty well in Europe (especially in Germany) and Australia.
After Sean Connery left the ‘James Bond’ franchise, Moore was approached to play ‘James Bond’ in ‘Live and Let Die (1973)’. It is said that for the role Moore had to prepare himself by cutting his hair and lose weight.
Moore was ‘James Bond’ for 12 years; he was the longest-serving ‘James Bond’ actor ever. He did movies like, ‘The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)’, ‘The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)’, ‘Moonraker (1979)’, ‘For Your Eyes Only (1981), etc.
After he retired from ‘Bond’ movies in 1985, Moore did not appear on screen for next five years and it was only in 1990 that he starred on the television again in the series, ‘My Riviera’.
During the 2000s, he continued to work in the industry sporadically—he played the role of a homosexual in ‘Boat Trip (2002)’, appeared in a commercial for London’s 2012 Olympic bid, and guest-hosted ‘Have I Got News For You (2012)’.

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Major Works

Roger Moore’s 12 year career as ‘Bond’ are considered as his prominent work. He is the longest-serving ‘Bond’ actor and did movies like: ‘Live and Let Live’, ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’, ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’, ‘For Your Eyes Only’, etc.

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Awards & Achievements

Roger Moore was honored with awards like: Golden Globe (1980), OTTO (1981), Golden Camera (1991), Tele Gatto (1995), Monte Carlo TV Festival (2002), Hollywood Walk of Fame (2007), Commander of National Order of Arts and Letters (France) (2008), etc.
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Personal Life & Legacy

Roger Moore left his first wife, Doorn Van Steyn, for singer Dorothy Squires, who was much more senior and famous than him. They lived together for some time and he left her for the Italian actress Luisa Mattioli.
He got married to Mattioli in 1969. The couple has a daughter and two sons together. He took a divorce from her in 1993 and it was the same year when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
In 2002, Moore got married to his former neighbour and the Danish-Swedish multi-millionaire Kristina ‘Kiki’ Tholstrup. They remained married till Moore's death in 2017.
Roger Moore died of cancer on 23 May 2017, at the age of 89, in Switzerland.

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Trivia

This famous British ‘James Bond’ actor shared a violent relationship with his first two wives as both the women used to physically assault him.
He was created a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1999 and advanced to Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2003.
This former Bond actor was a Goodwill Ambassador of UNICEF.

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Roger Moore Movies