Sir Roger Moore, the suave star of seven James Bond films, has died in Switzerland at the age of 89 after a short battle with cancer, according to a family statement posted on Moore's official Twitter account. "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," the statement said.
Circa 1955: Roger Moore wearing a grey tank top in his modelling days, before he found fame as The Saint and James BondChaloner Woods/Getty ImagesCirca 1955: Actors Marisa Pavan and Roger Moore study photographs during a break in filming 'Diane' in HollywoodKeystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images1 December 1957: Roger Moore plays the piano for his wife, singer Dorothy SquiresJohn Pratt/Keystone Features/Getty Images1958: Roger Moore stars as Sir Wilfred of Ivanhoe in a television remake of Walter Scott's classic novel 'Ivanhoe'Hulton Archive/Getty Images22 February 1967: Roger Moore poses on the set of the British TV series, 'The Saint', with model Angela Fountain while filming the episode, 'A Double In Diamonds'Mike McKeown/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images11 April 1969: Italian actress Luisa Mattioli and English actor Roger Moore celebrate outside Caxton Hall in London, after their wedding ceremonyKeystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images22 June 1970: Tony Curtis and Roger Moore, as Danny Wilde and Lord Brett Sinclair respectively, pose while filming the action television series 'The Persuaders!'Reg Lancaster/Daily Express/Getty ImagesCirca 1972: Roger Moore poses on set during filming of the TV series 'The Persuaders!'Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
While he never eclipsed Sean Connery in the public's eye as the definitive James Bond, Moore did play the role of secret agent 007 in just as many films as Connery did, and he managed to do so while "finding a joke in every situation," according to film critic Rex Reed. He had a long-running TV hit with "The Saint," playing Simon Templar, the enigmatic action hero who helps put wealthy crooks in jail while absconding with their fortunes.
17 July 1968: Roger Moore downs a martiniPeter Ruck/BIPs/Getty Images1973: Roger Moore on location for the filming of the James Bond 007 movie 'Live and Let Die'Hulton Archive/Getty Images1977: Barbara Bach and Roger Moore, stars of the James Bond film 'The Spy Who Loved Me', sit on the famous 'amphibious' Lotus Esprit at Pinewood HouseFox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images1983: Roger Moore arrives at the premiere of the James Bond film Octopussy with his co-star, Swedish actress Maud AdamsHulton Archive/Getty Images1985: From left to right, Fiona Fullerton, producer Albert 'Cubby' Broccoli and Tanya Roberts, and behind them, a grinning Roger Moore, during the making of the James Bond film 'A View to a Kill' at Pinewood StudiosHulton Archive/Getty Images
In 1991, Moore became a goodwill ambassador for Unicef, having been introduced to the role by the late actress Audrey Hepburn. As Hepburn had, he threw much of his energy into the task. "I felt small, insignificant and rather ashamed that I had traveled so much making films and ignored what was going on around me," he said in describing how the work had affected him.
11 December 1996: Roger Moore, the Unicef Special Representative for the Film Arts, speaks at the launch of the 1997 State of the World's Children Report in New York. He was joined by Carol Bellamy, the executive director of UnicefJohn Levy/AFP16 April 2001: Roger Moore meets school children in Tokyo in his role as a Unicef goodwill ambassador to help promote awareness about an international conference in Yokohama concerning the sexual exploitation of childrenKoichi Kamoshida/Newsmakers/Getty Images9 October 2003: Sir Roger Moore shows his knighthood at Buckingham Palace, which he received from the Queen for his tireless charity workKirsty Wigglesworth/AFP18 May 2004: Sir Roger Moore and his wife Kristina Tholstrup arrive for the official screening of the Cohen brothers' film 'Ladykillers' at the 57th Cannes Film FestivalBoris Horvat/AFP11 October 2007: Sir Roger Moore poses after being honoured with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of FameGabriel Bouys/AFP23 June 2013: Sirs Michael Caine and Roger Moore laugh during a memorial to the late film director and restaurant critic Michael Winner at the National Police Memorial in LondonWill Oliver/AFP9 June 2016: Prince Phillip talks with Sir Roger Moore during a Bond-themed gala evening marking the 60th anniversary of The Duke of Edinburgh's Award at Stoke Park in BuckinghamshireJohn Stillwell
Moore was divorced three times, from skater Doorn Van Steyn in 1953, English singer Dorothy Squires in 1969 and Italian actress Luisa Mattioli, the mother of his children Deborah, Geoffrey and Christian, in 2000. He married a fourth time, in 2002, to Swedish socialite Kristina Tholstrup.
