Roger Moore's James Bond Movies
Born: October 14, 1927 in London, England.
By the time he took the role of James Bond in 1973, Roger Moore had already made a career of playing suave playboy adventurers. Most notably, he'd achieved international stardom as "Simon Templar" in ITV's globally syndicated series, "The Saint."
Following the lukewarm public reception to George Lazenby in 1969, the Bond producers were unwilling to cast another unknown as 007 and viewed the well-known Moore as a proven draw.
Roger got the nod to play Bond in 1973's Live and Let Die, and following the success of that film stayed on for six more, giving him the record for most turns as 007.
Carrying on the trend that began with Connery's Diamonds Are Forever, Moore approached the role of Bond with an accent on light comedy, an approach at which he excelled. Critics were in general agreement that Moore's third film, The Spy Who Loved Me, struck the correct balance between action and humor, although opinions vary considerably on the remainder of his tenure. Moore seemed to share this assessment. When later asked to name his favorite Bond, he answered The Spy Who Loved Me, and when asked to name his least favorite, quipped, "All the other ones."
Moore continued as Bond for a total of 12 years and despite critical rumblings that he was growing too old for the role, continued to draw huge audiences until the end. He held his own against the Terminators and Rambos of the day. Although controversial among Bond fans, Moore's fourth Bond, Moonraker, held the honor of highest-grossing Bond film for an unparalleled 16 years, until Pierce Brosnan's debut in GoldenEye finally knocked it from the top spot. When inflation is taken into account, Moonraker remains the highest-grossing, non-Connery Bond.
After 1985's A View To A Kill, Moore left the Bond role and entered a sort of semi-retirement, limiting his films to just a handful.
Following the death of his close friend, actress Audrey Hepburn, Moore assumed her ambassadorial role for UNICEF and has since devoted most of his time and energy to improving living conditions for children around the world
