Sir Roger Moore
Sir Roger George Moore KBE (born 14 October 1927) is a English actor and film producer. He is perhaps best known for portraying two British action heroes, Simon Templar in the television series The Saint from 1962 to 1969, and James Bond in seven films from 1973 to 1985.
Trivia:
During the early stages of his career Roger collected towels from the hotels he stayed in. However, he stopped when a British newspaper printed a story entitled ‘Roger Moore is a towel thief’. He revealed on “So Graham Norton” (1998) that he still has the collection in his Swiss home.
He succeeded Audrey Hepburn as goodwill ambassador for UNICEF.
Father of Geoffrey Moore, Christian Moore and Deborah Moore.
He was awarded the CBE (Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire) in 1999 and Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire in the 2003 Queen’s Birthday Honours List for his services to the children’s charity, Unicef.
Was scheduled to make his musical theatre debut as “Sir George” in “Aspects of Love” in 1990. He left the production days before his escape clause expired due to his own concerns over his singing ability. He was replaced by Kevin Colson.
In May 2000 he received an International Humanitarian Award from the London Variety Club for his charity work.
His father was a Policeman.
Whilst doing National Service, Moore served with Military Intelligence.
In just few days after he had arrived in USA in 1952, he was in a television play World by the Tail (1953) (TV).
Good friend of Lois Maxwell, who played Miss Moneypenny in Bond movies. They first met in mid 1940s at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, where they were in the same class in 1944.
Roger and his then companion, ‘Christina ‘Kiki’ Tholstrup’ , escaped injury when another vehicle collided with the actor’s car. Airbags were attributed to preventing injury. They married the following year. [13 January 2001]
In 1990, he participated as a guest host in “33 Zecchino d’Oro”.
Received an honourary doctorate from Ryerson Polytechnic University in 1999.
His contract for the 007 films provided him with an unlimited supply of Montecristo cigars during filming. The bill for this typically ran to thousands of pounds.
2002 – lives in Switzerland and Monte Carlo with his wife ‘Christina ‘Kiki’ Tholstrup’ .
In 1954, he was offered contracts with the Royal Shakespeare Company or MGM. Noel Coward advised him to go for the money. 
Despite playing James Bond in seven Bond films, he never ordered a vodka martini shaken not stirred.
Oldest person to debut as James Bond. He was 45 when Live and Let Die (1973) was filmed.
Was Air France’s 8,000,000th passenger. [21 May 1964]
Collapsed during a matinee performance of the Broadway comedy “The Play What I Wrote”, but finished the show after a 10-minute break. Roger was playing the part of the mystery guest star, which the cameo role is filled by celebrities, when he fainted toward the end of the second act. He was taken to the hospital after the show. The following day he was fitted with a pacemaker – something he had been previously told he would eventually have to get. [7 May 2003]
Was best man at friends Bryan Forbes and Nanette Newman’s wedding
Ironically for his first Razzie nomination (Worst Supporting Actor in Spice World (1997)) he went head to head with another former Bond, Sean Connery in The Avengers (1998), also receiving his first Razzie nomination. Neither man won, however.
Was older than any other actor to play James Bond when he portrayed him aged 57 in A View to a Kill (1985). Sean Connery was 52 when he last played Bond in Never Say Never Again (1983).
A close friend of the Danish Royal Family, especially the Prinsesse Alexandra, attended the Christening of Princess Alexandra and Prins Joachim’s youngest son, Felix. Attended the wedding of the Danish Kronprins Frederik and Kronprinsesse Mary on May 14th 2004.
Roger Moore and Sean Connery
He was born in the same Labour Ward in London as the actor Brian Weske, five years previously.
Attended the wedding of Joan Collins and Percy Gibson .
Underwent surgery for prostate cancer in 1993.
Speaks Italian perfectly, former wife Luisa Mattioli is an Italian citizen.
Was cast in two roles that were originally offered to Patrick McGoohan: Simon Templar in “The Saint” (1962) and James Bond in Live and Let Die (1973).
Often spends summers in Hornbæk, Denmark, where his wife ‘Christina ‘Kiki’ Tholstrup’ has a summer house.
Detests doing scenes that involve him shooting firearms – which caused him to ruin countless 007 takes.
Quit smoking cigarettes in 1971 following a stern lecture from Tony Curtis on the set of “The Persuaders!” (1971).
Both he and his daughter, Deborah Moore, have acted in the James Bond franchise. She played the air hostess in Die Another Day (2002).
Officially announced his retirement from playing James Bond on 3 December 1985, as it was agreed by all involved in the franchise that Moore had got too old for the role by that point. Moore himself was quoted as saying that he felt embarrassed to be seen performing love scenes with beautiful actresses who were young enough to be his daughters.
Took part in a special celebrity edition of Blind Date on The Prince’s Trust 30th Birthday: Live (2006) (TV). He and actor Richard E. Grant lost to “The X Factor” (2004)’s Chico Slimani, who got to date Dame Edna Everage (aka Barry Humphries).
Publicly supported the Conservative Party in the 2001 General Election.
Chose a Swedish conference on child abuse to announce to the world that he too was a victim. He said he was molested as a child, but not seriously. He waited until he was 16 to tell his mother because he said he was “ashamed.”
Rides in or drives a motor-powered boat in every James Bond movie he has appeared in.
Played James Bond in seven movies of the official EON series, the most of any actor to date (Sean Connery also played Bond in seven films, but one of them, Never Say Never Again (1983), was unofficial).
He never drove the most famous of all James Bond cars in a Bond film i.e. a 1964 silver birch Aston Martin DB5 or any other Aston Martin model. The DB5 was made famous by the Sean Connery James Bond movies Goldfinger (1964) and then Thunderball (1965) with later models appearing in some subsequent Bond pictures. However, Moore, who played James Bond seven times, has only ever been seen on screen with this make once and that was in The Cannonball Run (1981) where he self-parodies his James Bond persona. In this movie, the DB5′s license plate number was 6633PP.
Following the suggestion that fugitive train robber Ronald Biggs make a cameo appearance in the Brazil episode of Moonraker (1979), he replied in rather colorful terms that he didn’t want the escaped prisoner anywhere near the film, as his own father had been a London Policeman.
All the scenes in which showed Moore running in his seven Bond movies were performed by doubles, since the actor felt he looked awkward running.
When presenting the Best Actor Oscar awards at the The 45th Annual Academy Awards (1973) (TV), Moore ended up taking home the Oscar accidentally. The winner of the award, Marlon Brando, refused the award, and Sacheen Littlefeather, who Brando sent to make a speech to refuse the Oscar, also publicly refused to take the statuette from Moore.
Nearly died from double pneumonia when he was five.
Underwent three operations to remove kidney stones in his thirties.
Has named The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) as his favorite Bond movie of the seven he starred in, and A View to a Kill (1985) as his least favorite.
Attended the funeral of Sir John Mills in Denham, Buckinghamshire. (27 April 2005).
He was a close friend and neighbour of the late Sir Peter Ustinov.
Quit smoking cigars after undergoing major surgery for prostate cancer when he was 65.
Ironically, for an actor who has played a weapons-wielding James Bond in no fewer than 7 movies, Moore suffers from hoplophobia (fear of firearms).
Intended For Your Eyes Only (1981) to be his final Bond movie, since he was nearly 54.
He is a close friend and fan of Sir Elton John.
Although Moore claimed to have quit smoking cigarettes while filming “The Persuaders!” (1971), a filmed interview from on the set of For Your Eyes Only (1981) shows him smoking a cigarette.
Future “EastEnders” (1985) star Mike Reid worked as his underwater stunt double in “The Saint” (1962), but was fired after making fun of Moore’s thinning hair.
He was a close friend of Dudley Moore.
Hates being wet when acting. In Moonraker (1979), he had to do a whole scene wet, in the “Mayan pyramid”.
Although critics often accused him of not looking tough enough to play superspy James Bond, he once beat up legendary American hellraiser Lee Marvin while they were filming Shout at the Devil (1976). Marvin recalled, “The guy is built like granite. Nobody will ever underestimate him again.”.
Used to own a house in Eaton Square in London, but was only allowed to spend a maximum of ninety days a year there for tax reasons.
While filming the interrogation scene opposite Richard Burton and Richard Harris in The Wild Geese (1978), Moore made the unheard of request to have a cut in his lines. After another take he suggested all his lines should be cut. When the director Andrew V. McLaglen asked him why, he replied, “Do you seriously think I want to act against these guys? I’ll just sit here and puff on my cigar.”.
The Living Daylights (1987) was originally written for him, but was changed to suit Timothy Dalton after Moore announced his retirement from the role.
Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on October 11, 2007.
In March 1996, when his former wife Dorothy Squires underwent surgery for bladder cancer at the BUPA Hospital in Cardiff, he picked up the £6,000 bill. He did not attend her funeral two years later, but instead sent a bouquet of purple tulips, lilies of the valley and orange flowers with a card saying: “I’ve said it with flowers. Roger.”.
Prior to the release of The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Moore filed a lawsuit against his ex-wife Dorothy Squires to prevent her from publishing a book about their life together. She would eventually be declared bankrupt in 1986.
In 1964, eight years before he took over the movie role, Moore played James Bond in a hilarious sketch on the BBC comedy show, “Mainly Millicent.” In the sketch, Bond is on holiday at a resort, when he encounters a female Russian spy (played by Millicent Martin, the star of the show), who is also on holiday. Bond and the female spy spend the sketch trying to do each other in. The sketch is included in the “Live and Let Die” Ultimate Edition DVD.
While a struggling young actor in the early 1950s, he briefly worked as a truck driver. Many years later, he impressed the crew on the set of A View to a Kill (1985) with his truck driving skills.
He had intended to act in A Bridge Too Far (1977), but was forced to pull out after production on The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) was delayed by a year.
He has always been very honest about the fact that he did not perform any of his own stunts as Bond, unlike Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Timothy Dalton, and Daniel Craig.
His least favourite of his films is The Quest (1996).
He considered himself to be miscast in Escape to Athena (1979) and North Sea Hijack (1979).
He was a close friend and admirer of the right-wing writer William F. Buckley.
If Never Say Never Again (1983) can be included as an official 007 installment, then Moore ties with Sean Connery for the most portrayals of James Bond – a total of 7 each. Otherwise Moore holds the record.
Confessed in a TV interview that when he first traveled to the US in the 1950s, he landed a supporting role in the Broadway production of “A Pin to See the Peepshow,” a show that both began and ended on the same day (17 September 1953).
Has said he would like to play a villain in a Bond movie starring Daniel Craig, but accepts that can never happen.
Served in the Royal Army with Christopher Lee before appearing with him, years later, in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974).
His popularity as Bond led to him starring in several movies during the 1970s and early 1980s. However, although some were financially successful, most received poor reviews.
Confirmed in an interview with The Sunday Telegraph magazine in April 2009 that he is completely retired from acting.
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In 1967, Bisset was cast in the movie Two for the Road with Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney. Next, she participated in the James Bond satire, Casino Royale (1967), as Miss Goodthighs. In 1968, Mia Farrow dropped out of the movie The Detective (1968) opposite Frank Sinatra, and the role went to Bisset. That same year, she was cast in her breakout role as Steve McQueen’s girlfriend in the hit action film Bullitt. She was one of the many stars in the blockbuster disaster film Airport (1970), which co-starred Dean Martin, Burt Lancaster, Jean Seberg, and Helen Hayes among others and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Victims Unit. One of her later TV movies, in 2003, was America’s Prince: The John F. Kennedy Jr. Story, in which she portrayed Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. In 2005, she appeared in Domino with Keira Knightly. Bisset’s most recent television work was a recurring role as the mysterious James, during the fourth season of the FX series Nip/Tuck. She starred in the lead role of Boaz Yakin’s Death in Love which premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and is about “a Jewish concentration-camp survivor whose willing romance with the camp’s Nazi doctor—a man who tortured her fellow prisoners—destroys the lives of her American husband and their two sons 50 years later”.
In May 2002 he had a limited four episode run playing Secret Service Special Agent Simon Donovan on The West Wing. Harmon took a lead role in two episodes of JAG in April 2003, which introduced viewers to him in the role of NCIS agent Gibbs. Since 2003, Harmon has starred as NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs in CBS’ drama television show NCIS. Harmon has also made several television and theatrical films throughout his career. In the late 1970s, he had supporting roles in Comes a Horseman and Beyond the Poseidon Adventure. His most prominent starring roles were in the 1986 romantic comedy Prince of Bel Air and 1987 comedy Summer School in both of which he co-starred opposite Kirstie Alley, and the 1988 thriller The Presidio in which he co-starred with Sean Connery and Meg Ryan. He also portrayed serial killer Ted Bundy in the 1986 television movie The Deliberate Stranger. In 2003 he played in the movie Freaky Friday, as the fiance Ryan.
