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 His 12 years as action man 007, the fictitious spy with a
voracious appetite for danger and sex, made Moore a millionaire
and a heartthrob the world over, though in reality he was a shy,
private man who found some of Bond's escapades embarrassing.
"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," his three children
announced in a statement on the Twitter account.
Tributes poured in from celebrities including actors Russell
Crowe and Mia Farrow and from UNICEF, the United Nations
Children's Fund for which he worked as a "goodwill ambassador".
The official Twitter feed of British composer Andrew Lloyd
Webber posted, "Farewell dearest Roger, All our love", while
U.S. reality TV star Kris Jenner dubbed Moore "the ultimate
James Bond".
"Breaking Bad" star Bryan Cranston tweeted: "Saddened @sirrogermoore
passed today. Had a great chat about acting & life 6 mo. ago.
Generous and kind. RIP Mr. Bond."
The son of a London policeman, Moore once said the upper-crust
image he portrayed both on and off the screen was a carefully
nurtured cover for his shyness and timidity.
"I couldn't walk into a restaurant on my own for 20 or 30 years
...," he once said, saying that all changed when he found fame
in the role. "(But) that's not really me. Timid me would rather
stay home and have a sandwich."
Moore said he was terrified by the stunts he had to perform as
Bond and would steel himself before facing the cameras in sex
scenes with a mixture of valium and beer.
URBANE ENGLISHMAN
Moore's big breakthrough as an actor came in 1962, when he won
the part of "The Saint" in a popular television series of the
same name. In this role, he honed his image of the urbane
Englishman with a stream of damsels to rescue from distress.
In 1973 came the role of James Bond, writer Ian Fleming's suave
secret agent, and it held cinemagoers across the world in
thrall. The Bond films were said to have earned Moore 14 million
pounds ($22 million).
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Moore, who replaced Sean Connery as 007 and was the third actor to
take on the role, starred in seven Bond movies including "The Man
with the Golden Gun", "The Spy who Loved Me", "Moonraker" and "Octopussy".
He moved to the United States to become a tax exile.
"I don't see why a chap shouldn't do what he likes and live where he
wants on his money, and the British government, which allows talent
to go abroad because of taxation, has only itself to blame," he said
in an interview in 1989.
After handing over the role of Bond to Timothy Dalton, Moore went
into semi-retirement, living a millionaire's life and traveling
between his homes in Los Angeles, Switzerland and the south of
France.
He became an ambassador for UNICEF in 1991, a role he retained until
his death.
"With the passing of Sir Roger Moore, the world has lost one of its
great champions for children and the entire UNICEF family has lost
a great friend," the agency's executive director Anthony Lake said
in a statement.
"In his most famous roles as an actor, Sir Roger was the epitome of
cool sophistication; but in his work as a UNICEF Goodwill
Ambassador, he was a passionate and highly persuasive advocate
for children."
Pinewood Studios, where Moore filmed several of the James Bond
films, described Moore as "a force of nature" in a tweet. "His humor
and spirit will be missed by all of us," it added.
Moore is survived by his fourth wife, Scandinavian socialite
Kristina "Kiki" Tholstrup, whom he married in 2002, and by his three
children from an earlier marriage, Deborah, Geoffrey and Christian.
(Additional reporting by Mark Hanrahan; writing by Gareth Jones;
editing by Mark Heinrich)
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