Sir Roger Moore, Dead at 89

 

Roger Moore was never one to take himself, or his acting, too seriously.

“I have three expressions,” he said, “left eye, right eye and none moving at all.” Of the six men who have officially taken on the persona of James Bond on film, his was the lightest of touches. His was the Bond of the double entendre, the raised eyebrow and, uh, keeping the British end up.

While never praised as widely as Sean Connery or Daniel Craig, his Bond was the most enduring, spanning seven films over a twelve year period. Before that he was a television star in ITV’s The Saint, which ran from 1962-69. The first two seasons ran in the US in syndication before being added to NBC’s prime time lineup.

Based on Leslie Charteris’ books and successful movie franchise of the 1930s and 40’s, Moore played an affable thief, a sort of Robin Hood who kept the money for himself. Its  success in the US market was notable for the fact that ITV switched to color production long before color transmission was approved in the UK. There have been attempts to revive the character (with Ian Olgivy in 1978 on CBS and with Val Kilmer in the 1997 feature film) but without Moore both efforts fell flat.

None of Moore’s films or television appearances will ever be mistaken for high art, but they remain durable for his style and the era that they reflect.

.

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  1. Boss Mongo Member
    Boss Mongo
    @BossMongo

    Steve C. (View Comment):
    Not a particularly good movie.

    On the village green, sir.  At dawn. Pistols or sabres, your choice.

    • #31
  2. 9thDistrictNeighbor Member
    9thDistrictNeighbor
    @9thDistrictNeighbor

    Jeff Peterson (View Comment):
    Here’s another charming story about an actor who seems to have been a true gentleman.

    Outstanding!  A must read…when movie actors had class.

    • #32
  3. Nanda Panjandrum Member
    Nanda Panjandrum
    @

    9thDistrictNeighbor (View Comment):

    Jeff Peterson (View Comment):
    Here’s another charming story about an actor who seems to have been a true gentleman.

    Outstanding! A must read…when movie actors had class.

    Marvelous!  The Biography link above was cool, too…(Slightly sniffly tonight.)

    • #33
  4. Steve C. Member
    Steve C.
    @user_531302

    Boss Mongo (View Comment):

    Steve C. (View Comment):
    Not a particularly good movie.

    On the village green, sir. At dawn. Pistols or sabres, your choice.

    Boomsticks

    • #34
  5. Boss Mongo Member
    Boss Mongo
    @BossMongo

    Steve C. (View Comment):

    Boss Mongo (View Comment):

    Steve C. (View Comment):
    Not a particularly good movie.

    On the village green, sir. At dawn. Pistols or sabres, your choice.

    Thhhfffffppppptt!  Rooty poot, DAT.

    • #35
  6. Eustace C. Scrubb Member
    Eustace C. Scrubb
    @EustaceCScrubb

    He was also the 3rd Maverick, Bret and Bart’s cousin Beauregarde. He was brought in when James Garner took off.

     

    • #36
  7. Hypatia Member
    Hypatia
    @

    I remember reading in the TLS that Roger Moore did a reading of Kipling’s narrative poem “The Mary Glouster” at some hall in Bermuda.

    I’d give anything to have been there.

    If you don’t know this poem, please check it out.  I first encountered it in a recording, not sure who the actor was, then read it.   Both times it had me gasping, sobbing.  Kipling is like that.  He really is.  I came upon my grandmother’s copy of Poems and Ballads (1899) and read it straight through like a novel.  (Forget “the White man’s burden” , if that’s all you’re thinking of. )

    Roger Moore, the TLS reported, didn’t aim for any particular class or regional accent .  It was just him, at a podium in the bright, the vaguely nautical-looking hall, completely full.  Many glistening eyes at the end.

    Well.  I’m happy that I even know it happened.

    I’m sure everyone lucky enough to have been there is thinking  of Sir Roger tonight.

    • #37
  8. Steve C. Member
    Steve C.
    @user_531302

    Boss Mongo (View Comment):

    Steve C. (View Comment):

    Boss Mongo (View Comment):

    Steve C. (View Comment):
    Not a particularly good movie.

    On the village green, sir. At dawn. Pistols or sabres, your choice.

    Thhhfffffppppptt! Rooty poot, DAT.

    • #38
  9. Nanda Panjandrum Member
    Nanda Panjandrum
    @

    Hypatia (View Comment):
    Both times it had me gasping, sobbing. Kipling is like that. He really is.

    His homages to “Tommy” – applicable in more wars than one – turn me into a blubbering mess…His stories of camp life in Plain Tales from the Hills make me laugh aloud, though, so it evens out, I suppose.

    • #39
  10. Doug Watt Member
    Doug Watt
    @DougWatt

    The urbane British actors, Cary Grant, David Niven, and Roger Moore. It is sad to see them go.

    One of my favorite stories about David Niven:

    Niven took part in the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944, although he was sent to France several days after D-Day. He served in the “Phantom Signals Unit,” which located and reported enemy positions, and kept rear commanders informed on changing battle lines. Niven was posted at one time to Chilham in Kent. He remained close-mouthed about the war, despite public interest in celebrities in combat and a reputation for storytelling. He once said:
    I will, however, tell you just one thing about the war, my first story and my last. I was asked by some American friends to search out the grave of their son near Bastogne. I found it where they told me I would, but it was among 27,000 others, and I told myself that here, Niven, were 27,000 reasons why you should keep your mouth shut after the war.

     

    • #40
  11. Mike LaRoche Inactive
    Mike LaRoche
    @MikeLaRoche

    Octopussy was the first Bond film I ever saw at the theater.

    • #41
  12. Chuck Enfield Inactive
    Chuck Enfield
    @ChuckEnfield

    No comment from @simontemplar?  I always thought he was Roger Moore.  Who else even remembers The Saint?

    • #42
  13. Nanda Panjandrum Member
    Nanda Panjandrum
    @

    Chuck Enfield (View Comment):
    No comment from @simontemplar? I always thought he was Roger Moore. Who else even remembers The Saint?

    Me, @chuckenfield! I [HEART] that show… :-)

    • #43
  14. Al Kennedy Inactive
    Al Kennedy
    @AlKennedy

    Chuck Enfield (View Comment):
    No comment from @simontemplar? I always thought he was Roger Moore. Who else even remembers The Saint?

    The Saint was one of my favorite TV shows.  I’ve got a DVD collection of the entire series.  I became a fan of Sir Roger Moore and although I think highly of Sean Connery, I think Moore was a better Bond.  He was Ian Fleming’s original choice.  He was also a close friend of William F. Buckley and would meet for skiing on Buckley’s annual winter vacations to Switzerland.  He was authentic and a class act.

    • #44
  15. She Member
    She
    @She

    Nanda Panjandrum (View Comment):

    Chuck Enfield (View Comment):
    No comment from @simontemplar? I always thought he was Roger Moore. Who else even remembers The Saint?

    Me, @chuckenfield! I [HEART] that show… ?

    I remember it too.  Roger Moore was, as always, very suave.  And very young (She thinks, now).

    • #45
  16. Allison Inactive
    Allison
    @AllisonCarey

    Joseph Stanko (View Comment):

    DavidL (View Comment):
    Like others here, Roger Moore was the Bond I grew up with.

    Same here, and mainly for that reason he was my favorite Bond. Plus I prefer his lighter touch, the Bond movies are too farcical to take seriously as spy thrillers, I like a Bond who’s in on the joke and doesn’t take himself too seriously, either.

    Requiescat in pace.

    Exactly right. My favorite Bond and a classic British gentleman.

    I remember when my mother and I went to the theater to see Casino Royale, there was this scene where Daniel Craig is fooling around with a woman but then gets an urgent call and runs off. My mom leans over and whispers in my ear “See, Roger Moore would have made time.” She was so serious, but that cracks me up.

    RIP.

    • #46
  17. Fritz Coolidge
    Fritz
    @Fritz

    Caught a rerun of Johnny Carson yesterday, with guest Roger Moore appearing there after the first five of his Bond pictures. Asked how he got started, he told a story that one of his very first acting jobs had cast him as a Frenchman, so he’d played it with a French accent.

    Afterwards, his agent got a call from someone interested in casting him, but asking whether “that French guy can act with an English accent?”

    And, he concluded, that was how his career was launched.

    • #47
  18. Captain Kidd Inactive
    Captain Kidd
    @CaptainKidd

    I met Roger Moore outside The Brown Derby in Hollywood in the early ’80’s. (I know, I know, what a jet-setter, right?) (Um, no.) He was standing there with his wife (?) (no Google at that time) sitting in the limo waiting to leave, and he was patiently signing programs or something for a guy who had about a dozen of them.

    My wife and I walked past then turned back and I said we were big fans and introduced ourselves. (We weren’t necessarily big fans.) He stopped signing, shook each of our hands and said “Nice to meet you” to each of us. Nothing big, but as classy as you may.

    We became BIG fans that night. I have since read his biography and it is clear what an absolutely fine man he was. Top notch. He always found the best in everybody. (Except for David Niven’s children, when Roger dropped everything to go to them after Niven’s death and they accused him of wanting to steal the limelight.)

    R.I.P. Roger. Thoughts to your family.

    • #48
  19. ToryWarWriter Coolidge
    ToryWarWriter
    @ToryWarWriter

    As much as we want to remember his acting work Sir Roger Moore got his knighthood for his major role as a good will ambassador for Unicef. He raised boat loads of money for charities and should be remembered for his humanitarian work as much as for his acting.

    • #49
  20. Nanda Panjandrum Member
    Nanda Panjandrum
    @

    Captain Kidd (View Comment):
    (Except for David Niven’s children, when Roger dropped everything to go to them after Niven’s death and they accused him of wanting to steal the limelight.)

    Watched a Biography episode from 1995 last night, in which Niven, Jr. detailed this episode as a mark of the closeness of Sir Roger to their family, and his generosity….Maybe time healed this misperception?

    • #50
  21. Roberto Inactive
    Roberto
    @Roberto

    Fun Moore story, bit of language though.

    • #51
  22. Captain Kidd Inactive
    Captain Kidd
    @CaptainKidd

    Nanda Panjandrum (View Comment):

    (Except for David Niven’s children, when Roger dropped everything to go to them after Niven’s death and they accused him of wanting to steal the limelight.)

    Watched a Biography episode from 1995 last night, in which Niven, Jr. detailed this episode as a mark of the closeness of Sir Roger to their family, and his generosity….Maybe time healed this misperception?

    That’s a good possibility. I saw that he wrote 2 biographies. The bio I read that had the Niven story was his first. Now that I know there is a second I will have to read that one too.

    • #52
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