Roger Moore is 87 years old today. The English actor is best known for his role as British secret agent James Bond in the film series between 1973 and 1985, and also as Simon Templar in The Saint, between 1962 and 1969. At 18 years old, Moore was commissioned as an officer in the Royal Army Service Corps, commanding a small depot in West Germany. He later transferred to the entertainment branch (under luminaries such as Spike Milligan), and immediately prior to his national service, there was a brief stint at RADA (the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art), during which his fees were paid by film director Brian Desmond Hurst, who also used Moore as an extra in his film, Trottie True. Moore was a classmate at RADA with his future Bond colleague Lois Maxwell, the original Miss Moneypenny. The young Moore first appeared in films during the mid to late-1940s, as an extra. Moores film idol as a child was Stewart Granger. As a 17-year-old, Moore appeared as an extra in the film Caesar and Cleopatra (1945), finally meeting his idol on the set. Moore later worked with Granger in The Wild Geese. In the early 1950s, Moore worked as a model, appearing in print advertisements for knitwear (earning him the amusing nickname The Big Knit), and a wide range of other products such as toothpaste – an element that many critics have used as typifying his lightweight credentials as an actor. Although Moore won a contract with MGM in the 1950s, the films which followed were not a success and, in his own words, At MGM, RGM (Roger George Moore) was NBG [no bloody good]. His starring role in The Miracle, a version of the play Das Mirakel for Warner Bros., had been turned down by Dirk Bogarde. Eventually, it was television in which Moore made his name. He was the eponymous hero in the serial Ivanhoe, a very loose adaptation of the romantic novel by Sir Walter Scott, and he also appeared in the series The Alaskans, as well as playing Beau Maverick, an English-accented cousin of frontier gamblers Bret Maverick (James Garner) and Bart Maverick (Jack Kelly) in Maverick. Because of his successful television shows, in particular the long-lasting series The Saint, Roger Moore was unavailable for the James Bond franchise for a considerable time. His participation in The Saint was not only as actor, but also as a producer and director, and he also became involved in developing the series The Persuaders! It was only after Sean Connery had declared that he would not play Bond any longer that Moore became aware that he might be a contender for the role. But after George Lazenby was cast instead and then Sean Connery played Bond again, he didnt consider the possibility until it seemed abundantly clear that Connery had in fact stepped down as Bond for good. At that point he was indeed approached and accepted the producers offer in August 1972. Moore says in his autobiography that he had to cut his hair and lose weight, but although he resented that, he was finally cast as James Bond in Live and Let Die (1973). Moore played Bond in 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); and A View to a Kill (1985). Moore is the longest-serving James Bond actor, having spent twelve 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. James Bond was different during this era because times had changed and the scripts were different. Authors like George MacDonald Fraser provided scenarios in which 007 was a kind of seasoned, debonair playboy who would always have a trick or gadget in stock when he needed it. This was designed to serve the contemporary taste. In 2004, Moore was voted “Best Bond” in an Academy Awards poll and won with a large 62 percent of votes in late 2008. Here, Moore delivers his “a woman” line to Dr. Goodhead in Moonraker.
Posted on: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 04:46:17 +0000
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