And his obituary should pay tribute to that
Sir Roger Moore has passed away aged 89 after a long struggle with cancer. The news came from the actor's family via Twitter.
Famous first and foremost for his role of James Bond, Roger Moore had to replace a more rugged Sean Connery and managed to successfully smoothen the transition thanks to his British humor, wit and by-now trademark raised eyebrow attitude.
Having starred in seven Agent 007 movies, Roger Moore became the longest-serving actor to play special agent James Bond. But that also meant he had long-time access to all the goodies that come with the role of a spy.
That includes dodging missiles in Octopussy, turning a Lotus into a submarine just to torpedo a helicopter from the safety of the ocean (The Spy Who Loved Me) and dropping naval mines from a tweaked speedboat (Moonraker). Or the good ol' kick that sends a Mercedes crashing down a cliff in For Your Eyes Only, just to underscore Roger Moore's nonchalance and banterism.
Born in Stockwell, South London on 14 October 1927, Roger George Moore was the son of a policeman, according to the BBC.
His career's boost came in 1962 when he was selected to play Simon Templar in The Saint, turning him into a rising star both in Europe and the United States.
Most of Templar's traits were to become an integral part of Moore's interpretation of Agent 007, which spanned over seven James Bond movies.
"The Bond situations to me are so ridiculous, so outrageous. I mean, this man is supposed to be a spy and yet everybody knows he's a spy. Every bartender in the world offers him martinis which are shaken and not stirred. What kind of serious spy is recognized everywhere he goes? It's outrageous." [Starlog, 1985]
Sir Roger Moore on why James Bond is illogical
Below, we've dropped four videos we think make a proper summary of Sir Roger Moore's charismatic appearances on camera. Cars, boats, planes and foot strikes included.
Front photo: Pinterest