The son of a police officer, Roger George Moore was born in Stockwell, London on 14th October 1927. Evacuated during the war, he was educated in Cornwall and at Amersham before starting work as an apprentice animator in 1945, but was soon fired. However, his father investigated a burglary at the home of film director Drian Hurst and young Roger was hired as a spear carrier in the film Caesar and Cleopatra. Such was his obvious appeal to the females on set that Hurst paid for Moore to attend RADA for three terms during which time he was in the same class as Lois Maxwell, the future Miss Moneypenny in the James Bond franchise.



However, in early 1946, Moore was called up for National Service and commissioned into the Royal Army Service Corps (Army number 372394). His minimal acting experience paid dividends however as he was selected to administer the Combined Services Entertainment depot, organising groups catering for the 800,000 soldiers stationed in the Army of Occupation. His brother officers referred to him as ‘The Duchess’ and his superiors constantly berated him for his casual attitude with his soldiers; “Don’t bother with Sir - call me Rog.” Demobbed as a Captain in 1949 Moore found it hard to break into either films or television and, after only securing uncredited bit parts, supplemented his income by working as a model. His early days of showcasing woollen garments earned the nickname “the big knit.”

In 1954 he signed a seven-year contract with MGM but, although he did reach third billing in a couple of films he was released after two years. Moore achieved a measure of success starring in the television series Ivanhoe which was filmed in colour on a big budget, but not so large that it ran to stunt doubles and he was injured several times during the 39 episodes. Still success on the big screen eluded him, despite a spell at Warner Bros 1959-61 although he was becoming well known in the US after spells in the TV Westerns The Alaskan and Maverick. Finally, after fifteen years as a jobbing actor, Moore was cast as the suave agent Simon Templar in the television series The Saint. The programme ran until 1969 with 118 episodes, was sold to the US, and made him a household name on both sides of The Atlantic.

Immediately afterwards, Moore was cast alongside Tony Curtis in The Persuaders! (1969-72) about playboy millionaires solving crimes outside the jurisdiction of the police. His pay packet ensured that he became the first actor to become a millionaire solely through a television series. Then in August 1972 Moore was offered the role for which he is best known, James Bond. Bringing a more tongue-in-cheek air to counter the latent brutality of Sean Connery, Moore played Bond in seven films culminating in A View to a Kill in 1985, by which time he was nearly sixty. Despite his success, he maintained a sense of proportion; “Bond has nothing to do with real spying. I mean what sort of spy is recognised in every bar in town?”

During the Bond years he also starred in several other films such as Gold (1974), Shout at The Devil (1976) and Wild Geese (1978). After Bond, Moore only appeared sporadically on the big screen and, after 1991, when he succeeded Audrey Hepburn to became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, devoted more and more of his time to charitable activities. Knighted in 2003 he said the citation, for his charity work, meant more to him than if he had received it for acting. Sir Roger Moore, equally famous for never taking himself, nor acting, too seriously, died in 2017.