Sir Roger George Moore (born October 14, 1927) is an English actor known for his suave and witty demeanor. He is known best for portraying two fictional British detectives—first, the television sleuth Simon Templar in The Saint, from 1962 to 1969, and second, the cinematic James Bond, from 1973 to 1985.

Biography

Born in Stockwell, London, England, the son of a policeman, he attended Dr Challoner's Grammar School in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK. During World War II, he served in the entertainment branch (above luminaries such as Spike Milligan). He first appeared in films in the 1940s, as an extra, and then was a leading man, notably in television. Besides having been The Saint which he also directed many episodes of, Roger Moore was Ivanhoe, the noble knight, and Maverick, the Wild West Cardsharp, and featured as the leading man of The Persuaders. It was for this he was paid the then unheard of sum of one million pounds for a single series making him the highest paid television actor in the world.

Since having filmed Octopussy in India in 1983 and been shocked at the utter poverty on display Sir Roger Moore has engaged in humanitarian work projects as a UNICEF ambassador; he was the voice of "Santa" in the UNICEF cartoon "The Fly Who Loved Me."

In 1999, Moore was created a Commander of the British Empire (CBE), and a Knight Commander of the British Empire (KBE) on June 14, 2003.

Now in his late seventies, Roger Moore appears only occasionally in film or television, notably an episode of the American TV series Alias, in 2002.

Roger Moore has a daughter and two sons with Luisa Mattioli; son Geoffrey Moore also is an actor, and owns a restaurant in London.

James Bond

In the early 1960s, Roger Moore was one of the actors first considered for the James Bond role, but his television commitments—The Saint and The Persuaders—prevented him from assuming the role until 1971, when he was signed to play James Bond, secret agent 007, in: Live and Let Die (1973). He would again play the suave and sophisticated agent in 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).

To date, Sir Roger Moore is the longest-serving James Bond actor at fifteen years (from when he was signed in 1971, to 1986 when Timothy Dalton was then signed to the part), and seven official films (Sean Connery also made seven but his last Bond film Never Say Never Again, 1983 is not part of the official Eon Productions Bond series). Moore's James Bond was light-hearted, more so than any of the other four James Bond actors.

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