Roger Moore, James Bond Star Of The ’70s, Dies At 89

Roger Moore, the actor best known for portraying James Bond in the ’70s and early ’80s, died on Tuesday in Switzerland after a short battle with cancer. He was 89.

His family shared the news on Moore’s Twitter account early on Tuesday morning.

“It is with a heavy heart that we must announce our loving father, Sir Roger Moore, has passed away today in Switzerland after a short but brave battle with cancer. The love with which he was surrounded in his final days was so great it cannot be quantified in words alone,” Moore’s family’s message began.

Moore appeared in seven James Bond films over the course of his career, more than of the other six actors who have portrayed the suave British spy. His first appearance as 007 came in 1973 in the film Live or Let Die. He appeared in some of the most popular Bond movies of the franchise including The Spy Who Loved Me and Octopussy.

Moore began his acting career state-side in 1954, staring alongside Elizabeth Taylor in The Last Time I Saw Paris.

In the ’60s, Moore rose quickly to stardom by playing Simon Templar in The Saint, a TV show about a handsome thief who would steal from wealthy villains on a weekly basis. The show ran 118 episodes long from 1962 until 1969.

In his later years, Moore remained busy doing a fair amount of voice work, including in the animated film Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, a slight parody of the Bond character, Pussy Galore.

In 2016, Moore toured theaters performing his one-man show, “An Evening with Roger Moore.” His last show was in November 2016 at London’s Royal Festival Hall.

Moore put his celebrity to good use through out his life and became a UNICEF goodwill ambassador in 1991. For his work on the screen and on humanitarian issues, Moore was given the title of Commander of the British Empire in 1999.

A private funeral will be held for Moore in Monaco. He is survived by his wife Kristina Tholstrup, his two sons Geoffrey Moore, and Christian Moore, and his daughter Deborah Moore, an actress who appeared in the Bond film, Die Another Day in 2002.