Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Sir Roger Moore has died at the age of 89 following "a short but brave battle with cancer"

Actor Sir Roger Moore, best known for playing James Bond, has died aged 89, his family has announced.

He played the famous spy in seven Bond films including Live and Let Die and A View to a Kill.

Sir Roger's family confirmed the news on Twitter, saying he had died after "a short but brave battle with cancer".

The statement, from his children, read: "Thank you Pops for being you, and being so very special to so many people."

"With the heaviest of hearts, we must share the awful news that our father, Sir Roger Moore, passed away today. We are all devastated," they said in a Twitter post.

The actor took the character of James Bond in a more humorous direction than his predecessor Sean Connery.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Sir Roger is survived by his three children and wife Kristina Tholstrup

Sir Roger's Bond was calm and suave - a smooth operator who could seemingly get himself out of a tricky situation with ease.

The veteran star, who died in Switzerland, will have a private funeral in Monaco in accordance with his wishes, his children said.

"The love with which he was surrounded in his final days was so great it cannot be quantified in words alone," read the statement from Deborah, Geoffrey and Christian.

"Our thoughts must now turn to supporting Kristina [Tholstrup, his wife] at this difficult time."

The statement added: "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.

Along with his famous Bond role, Moore was also known for TV series The Persuaders and The Saint.

Sir Roger was also well known for his humanitarian work - he was introduced to Unicef by the late Audrey Hepburn and was appointed as a goodwill ambassador in 1991.

Tributes paid

Russell Crowe led the tributes to the actor on Twitter, writing simply: "Roger Moore, loved him."

Michael Caine said: "I am truly sad and think I will be in tears if I talk about him.

"Roger was the perfect gentlemen, adored by all his friends."

Michael Ball said: "My dearest uncle Roger has passed on. What a sad, sad day this is.

"Loved the bones of him. Generous, funny, beautiful and kind."

Mia Farrow wrote: "Few are as kind & giving as was Roger Moore. Loving thoughts with his family & friends," while Boy George added: "RIP Sir Roger Moore. He was the king of cool."

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Sir Roger's Bond credits include Moonraker, Octopussy and Live and Let Die

Duran Duran, who sang the Bond theme song for A View To A Kill, simply tweeted: RIP Roger.

In a statement, fellow Unicef ambassador and actor Ewan McGregor said: "Thank you, Roger, for having championed so tirelessly the rights of all children for the last 26 years.

"You've shown that we all have the power to make a change to the lives of the most vulnerable children."

Frank Gardner, the BBC's security correspondent, recalled how he and Sir Roger had become good friends in recent years.

"He even watched me ski past his chalet in Crans-Montana [Switzerland] while sipping a drink on his balcony," he said.

"He had a wonderful sense of humour and I will miss his jokes by email. We had lunch together only a few months ago and even after all these years he seemed surprised that his career had been as successful as it evidently was. We will miss him."

Moore's Bond movies

Live and Let Die (1973)

The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)

The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

Moonraker (1979)

For Your Eyes Only (1981)

Octopussy (1983)

A View to a Kill (1985)

Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.</s>KRON — Actor Sir Roger Moore has died at the age of 89, according to a statement from his family.

In the statement released Tuesday morning, his family states “It is with heavy hearts that we must announce our loving father, Sir Roger Moore, has passed away today in Switzerland after a short, but brace battle with cancer.”

Moore was most well known for his role as James Bond in the 1973 – 1985 series.

Here is the full statement from his family:</s>Actor Sir Roger Moore, best known for playing James Bond, has died aged 89, his family has announced.

He played the famous spy in seven Bond films including Live and Let Die and A View to a Kill.

Sir Roger's family confirmed the news on Twitter, saying he had died after "a short but brave battle with cancer".

The statement, from his children, read: "Thank you Pops for being you, and being so very special to so many people."

"With the heaviest of hearts, we must share the awful news that our father, Sir Roger Moore, passed away today. We are all devastated," they said in a Twitter post.

The actor took the character of James Bond in a more humorous direction than his predecessor Sean Connery.

Sir Roger's Bond was calm and suave - a smooth operator who could seemingly get himself out of a tricky situation with ease.

The veteran star, who died in Switzerland, will have a private funeral in Monaco in accordance with his wishes, his children said.

"The love with which he was surrounded in his final days was so great it cannot be quantified in words alone," read the statement from Deborah, Geoffrey and Christian.

"Our thoughts must now turn to supporting Kristina [Tholstrup, his wife] at this difficult time."

Sir Roger Moore, who has died aged 89, brought a lighter touch to the role of James Bond, the role for which he was most famous.

Out went the harder, crueller edge of Sean Connery's 007 to be succeeded by sardonic humour and the inevitable raised eyebrow.

He eventually became the longest-serving actor in the role, his seven Bond films becoming the most commercially successful of the franchise.

His tenure in the role also showcased an array of implausible gadgets and a host of new characters, designed to flesh out Ian Fleming's original plots.

The statement added: "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.

Along with his famous Bond role, Moore was also known for 1960s TV series The Persuaders and The Saint.

Sir Roger was also well known for his humanitarian work - he was introduced to Unicef by the late Audrey Hepburn and was appointed as a goodwill ambassador in 1991.

Russell Crowe led the tributes to the actor on Twitter, writing simply: "Roger Moore, loved him."

Michael Ball said: "My dearest uncle Roger has passed on. What a sad, sad day this is. Loved the bones of him. Generous, funny, beautiful and kind."

Mia Farrow wrote: "Few are as kind & giving as was Roger Moore. Loving thoughts with his family & friends," while Boy George added: "RIP Sir Roger Moore. He was the king of cool."

In a statement, fellow Unicef ambassador and actor Ewan McGregor said: "Thank you, Roger, for having championed so tirelessly the rights of all children for the last 26 years.

"You've shown that we all have the power to make a change to the lives of the most vulnerable children."

The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)

The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

For Your Eyes Only (1981)

What are your memories of Sir Roger Moore? Have you met him or worked with him? Email your experiences to haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

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Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (international). Or you can upload here.</s>He Called Himself 'One Lucky Bastard': Sir Roger Moore Dies At 89

The actor Sir Roger Moore has died at 89 after "a short but brave battle with cancer," according to his family and his agent.

Moore played the role of James Bond from 1973 to 1985 and was knighted in his home country of England in 2003.

He was the third of six actors who have played James Bond in the official silver screen franchise, beginning with 1973's Live and Let Die. He starred in a total of seven Bond films over 12 years, ending with A View to a Kill in 1985.

Moore embraced the Bond legend for decades afterward; none of the other Bonds burnished the legend as lovingly as he did. He published four books about his time as Agent 007, all of them with a sense of humor — especially about stepping into the shoes that Sean Connery made famous.

Some Bond fans thought early on that Moore was far too pretty for the role. In his 2008 memoir, My Word is My Bond, he calls the character "a lover and a giggler," and he told NPR's Scott Simon in 2014 that his Bond looked "as though I'd squeeze them to death with love and lust."

Bond certainly wasn't Moore's first role as a man of action. He got practice in making secret break-ins and daring escapes over seven seasons on the 1960s British TV series The Saint. He played Simon Templar, a criminal mastermind who steals from the evil and the corrupt.

Roger Moore was born on Oct. 14, 1927, in London and raised by two working-class parents, to whom he was very close. He was an only child — he would joke that his parents attained perfection on their first try. Throughout his long life, Moore appeared to lead a charmed existence — he even titled a memoir One Lucky Bastard.

He was married four times and lived abroad for decades as a tax exile. He met just about everyone — from Frank Sinatra to crowned heads across Europe. He partied with Richard Burton, Peter O'Toole, Richard Harris and Peter Finch. He was knighted in 2003 for his humanitarian work with UNICEF.

In an early and never-filmed movie script, Moore read a line that stayed with him the rest of his life. "My attitude about death is, going into the next room, and it's a room the rest of us can't go into because we don't have the key, but when we do get the key, we'll go in there and we'll see one another again."

Roger Moore is survived by his wife, Kristina Tholstrup, and three children. He died Tuesday in Switzerland, according to his children.</s>Sir Roger Moore, a British actor known primarily for his portrayal of James Bond, died Tuesday in Switzerland after a battle with cancer. He was 89.

 

 Roger Moore had prouder achievements than playing James Bond

 His family announced the death in a statement via Twitter.

 

 Moore, secret agent 007 from 1973 - 1985, replaced Sean Connery, the first Bond on screen, the star in seven of the spy films from 1962 - 1983, and the actor that Moore called "the great Bond."

 

 RIP, 007! Sir Roger Moore, a British actor known primarily for his portrayal of James Bond, died Tuesday in Switzerland after a battle with cancer. He was 89.Roger Moore had prouder achievements than playing James BondHis family announced the death in a statement via Twitter.Moore, secret agent 007 from 1973 - 1985, replaced Sean Connery, the first Bond on screen, the star in seven of the spy films from 1962 - 1983, and the actor that Moore called "the great Bond."</s>*Actor Roger Moore, whose tenure as James Bond was longer than other actor in the iconic role, has died. He was 89.

Moore, who earlier made his reputation as a suave leading man on the television series “Maverick,” “The Saint” and “The Persuaders!,” died, with a message from his children shared on the actor’s official Twitter account reading: “It is with a heavy heart that we must announce our loving father, Sir Roger Moore, has passed away today in Switzerland after a short but brave battle with cancer.”

After George Lazenby originated Bond in “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” (1969), Moore took over the role in “Live and Let Die” (1973) and stayed for “The Man With the Golden Gun” (1974), “The Spy Who Loved Me” (1977), “Moonraker” (1979), “For Your Eyes Only” (1981), “Octopussy” (1983) and “A View to a Kill” (1985), which hit theaters when he was nearly 58. He said it was his choice to leave the franchise.

Moore’s Bond films earned more than $1 billion at the box office. But he considered himself to be the fourth-best 007, trailing Connery, Daniel Craig and Lazenby. And after leaving the series, he acted only sporadically.

In 1999, Moore was awarded the Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II, and knighthood followed in 2003. He spent the past several years doing charity work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

Survivors include his wife Kristina, whom he married in 2002, and children Deborah, Geoffrey and Christian.</s>Former James Bond star Sir Roger Moore has died in Switzerland at the age of 89 after a short battle with cancer, his family has announced.

Fans may remember him filming at Amberley Museum in West Sussex in 1985 for A View to a Kill. The film was released in 1985 and was Sir Roger’s last Bond movie. He is the longest-serving James Bond actor, having spent 12 years in the role – from his debut in 1973, to his retirement from the role in 1985 – and having made seven official films in a row. He is also the oldest actor to play Bond: he was 45 when he started, and 58 when he announced his retirement on December 3, 1985.

To read about how Sir Roger was regarded as having a ‘raw deal’ when it came to the vehicles he came to drive click here.</s>Roger Moore, the suave British actor who starred in seven James Bond movies and brought a likable, comedic dimension to the unflappable secret agent, has died after a short battle with cancer, his family said Tuesday. He was 89.

From 1973 to 1985, Moore was Agent 007 in “Live and Let Die,” “The Man with the Golden Gun,” “The Spy Who Loved Me,” “Moonraker,” “For Your Eyes Only,” “Octopussy” and “A View to a Kill.”

He was often compared with Sean Connery, the Scottish actor who originated the film role and in many ways was the prototypical Bond.

“I’m often asked, ‘Who is the best Bond?” Moore wrote in his 2012 book, “Bond on Bond.”

“Apart from myself?” I modestly enquire. “It has to be Sean.”

“Sean was Bond. He created Bond,” Moore wrote. “He was a bloody good 007.”

From 1962 to 1969, Moore starred on TV’s “The Saint” as the rakish Simon Templar, a modern-day Robin Hood who targeted wealthy villains. In his later years, he was a globetrotting goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, a job he embraced after his friend Audrey Hepburn cajoled him into it. In 2003, he was knighted for his charity efforts.

But he was best known as Bond, James Bond—the dashing British spy who, in Moore’s hands, never met a woman or a pun he could resist.

In private, he had distinctly un-Bondlike qualities.

He was a hypochondriac. He feared heights and loathed guns, perhaps because a friend accidentally shot him in the leg with an air rifle when he was 15. And he didn’t care for vodka martinis, Bond’s trademark cocktail; Moore said that if he had just 24 hours left to live, he would order a dry Tanqueray gin martini, with three olives on the side.

In contrast to Connery’s dark, rough-hewn good looks, Moore was fair.

“I was fortunately always offered jobs because I was so pretty,” he told the London Evening Standard in 2003. “Women used to complain about it!”

Moore was one of seven big-screen Bonds. The others were Connery, who originated the role on film, followed by George Lazenby, Pierce Brosnan, Timothy Dalton and Daniel Craig. David Niven was Bond in “Casino Royale,” a 1967 spoof that was not part of Eon Productions’ “official” Bond franchise.

At 58, when Moore announced that he would finally hang up his Walther PPK, he was the oldest of all the Bonds.

Moore recalled that when he took his young son Geoffrey to lunch one afternoon in the early 1970s, he endured an interrogation that would rattle even the suavest super-spy.

Asked if he could beat up anybody in the restaurant, Moore said yes, of course he could.

“What about if James Bond came in?”

“I’m going to be James Bond,” Moore reminded him.

“No, I mean the real one,” Geoffrey said. “Sean Connery.”

Decades later, Moore delighted in telling the story of his son’s unnerving frankness – while noting that he had gone on to star as Bond in seven movies over 12 years, and had so thoroughly distinguished himself from his most celebrated predecessor that the words “shaken, not stirred” never passed his lips.

Moore later said that Craig had the best build and better acting abilities than the other Bonds.

The subject has been debated as long as maniacs bent on world conquest have sprung open trapdoors and fed their enemies to the ravenous sharks below.

Compared to Connery, Moore conveyed “much more of the flavor of the Etonian dropout that Fleming envisaged,” wrote Steven Jay Rubin in “The James Bond Films: A Behind The Scenes History.”

He “brought to the role a sophisticated sense of comedy which was not a feature of Connery’s style.”

Making love to sexy Bond girls, Moore managed to toss off one bad double-entendre after another without being thrown out of bed. Confronting the world’s most demented thugs, like the steel-toothed, flesh-ripping Jaws (played by the towering Richard Kiel), he could seem almost natural when explaining that his new friend had “just dropped in for a quick bite.”

Moore claimed there wasn’t much of a trick to it; he was going for laughs, he said, not high drama.

“I only had three expressions as Bond,” he joked. “Right eyebrow raised, left eyebrow raised, and eyebrows crossed when grabbed by Jaws.”

The New Yorker’s Pauline Kael likened Moore in “The Spy Who Loved Me” to “an office manager who is turning into dead wood but hanging on to collect his pension.”

Moore himself confessed to feeling too old for the Bond role a couple of years before he gave it up.

“After ‘Octopussy,’ I resigned myself to thoughts of retirement,” he said. “There are only so many stunts an aging actor can tackle, and only so many young girls he can kiss without looking like a perverted grandfather.”

Born Oct. 14, 1927, in London, Roger George Moore was the only child of police officer George Alfred Moore and his wife Lily Pope Moore.

As a teenager, he showed some talent for art and landed a part-time job as an animator-trainee at a movie studio that made World War II military training films.

He also worked as an extra on films in London and, for two terms, attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

“They taught me to talk ‘properly’ without a South London accent, the art of mime, fencing, ballet (I wasn’t too keen on that) and something called ‘basic movement,’ which consisted of wearing swimming shorts and bending and stretching whilst swinging my arms,” he wrote in his 2008 memoir, “My Word is My Bond.”

One of his classmates was Lois Maxwell, who became the brisk but playful secretary Miss Moneypenny in 14 Bond films.

Moore struggled like many other actors.

He picked up jobs in London plays, but also modeled for women’s magazines and knitwear ads. In 1953, he appeared on Broadway in “A Pin to See the Peepshow,” a play that opened and closed on the same day.

Still, his performances in early TV dramas brought him recognition from Hollywood, where he signed on with MGM and appeared with Van Johnson and Elizabeth Taylor in “The Last Time I Saw Paris” (1954). Other films followed, including “The King’s Thief” (1955) with David Niven, a close friend who cavorted with Moore for decades at their Swiss chalets and in Monaco, where Moore settled to avoid what he felt were excessive British taxes.

Before Moore’s breakthrough role in “The Saint,” there were other TV series, including “Ivanhoe” and “The Alaskans.” Moore also played James Garner’s refined British cousin Beauregarde on the TV western “Maverick.”

After “The Saint,” Moore starred with Tony Curtis as playboy-investigators in “The Persuaders!” a 1971 series more popular in Europe than in the U.S.

“There was no sudden moment when I was famous,” he told the York Press, a British newspaper, in 2014. “It was all sort of gradual. It went from one begging letter a month to 400.”</s>NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Sir Roger Moore, the actor best known for portraying secret agent James Bond, has died, his family announced. He was 89.

Moore died Tuesday in Switzerland after “a short but brave battle with cancer,” his family said in a statement posted to Twitter.

Stay with CBSNewYork.com for more as this story develops.</s>British actor Roger Moore, best known for his movie role as James Bond, has died at the age of 89.

"It is with a heavy heart that we must announce our loving father, Sir Roger Moore, has passed away today in Switzerland after a short but brave battle with cancer," his children said in a statement Tuesday. "The love with which he was surrounded in his final days was so great it cannot be quantified in words alone."

A private funeral will be held in Monaco according to his wishes, they added.

Moore gained international fame for playing famous secret agent James Bond in seven films released between 1973 and 1985, including Live and Let Die and The Spy Who Loved Me. They were based on the books by Ian Fleming.

Moore was also one of the longest serving goodwill ambassadors for the United Nations Children's Fund, visiting projects for children in over 16 countries. He was awarded UNICEF UK's first lifetime achievement award in 2012, which was later named the Roger Moore Lifetime Achievement Award.

"With the passing of Sir Roger Moore, the world has lost one of its great champions for children – and the entire UNICEF family has lost a great friend," UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake said in a statement.
Sir Roger Moore, who played James Bond between 1973 and 1985, dies at age 89.