Roger Moore the English actor who appeared in seven James Bond Movies has died at 89, Roger took over the role of James Bond after the departure of Sean Connery who left the franchise after “Diamonds are Forever” in 1971. Moore took over the role and his first Bond was “Live and let Die’ and then continued to became the longest serving Bond to date. Appointed a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 1991, Moore was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2003 for “services to charity”. In 2008, the French government appointed Moore a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
The actor died of a short fight with cancer in Switzerland on the 23th May 2017, however this was not his first brush with cancer, In 1993, Moore was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and underwent successful surgery for the disease. Moore collapsed on stage while appearing on Broadway in 2003, and was fitted with a pacemaker to treat a potentially deadly slow heartbeat. In 2012 Moore revealed he had been treated for skin cancer several times. He was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 2013, which left him unable to drink alcohol.
Apart from the James Bond movies, roger also appeared on the small screen in many roles and shows including Ivanhoe (1958-59) The Alaskans (1959-60) Maverick (1960-61) The Saint (1962-69) and The Persuaders (1971-72) and a complete list of feature films listed at TheatreGold DataBase.
Moore was also very active with UNICEF after a trip to India to film one of the bond movies and could not believe that there was so much poverty so joined friend Audrey Hepburn who had impressed him with her work for UNICEF, and consequently he became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 1991. He was the voice of Father Christmas or ‘Santa’ in the 2004 UNICEF cartoon The Fly Who Loved Me.
Roger did appear on Broadway in “The Play What I Wrote” at the Lyceum Theatre March 07 2003 until June 15, 2003 for 89 Performances and 27 Previews and also ” A Pin to See the Peepshow” Playhouse Theatre Sep 17, 1953 until Sept 17, 1953 I performance. In 1934, F. Tennyson Jesse published A Pin to See the Peepshow, “a fictional account of the Thompson-Bywaters case despite the usual disclaimer at the front that all the characters are imaginary. The title refers to the children’s entertainment at which (she) first met her lover-to-be”. This was dramatised on TV in 1973 with Francesca Annis, John Duttine and Bernard Hepton playing characters based on Edith Thompson, Bywaters and Percy Thompson respectively. Annis received a nomination for British Academy Television Award for Best Actress.
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