James Bond star Roger Moore dies aged 89

The much-loved English actor Roger Moore has died age 89 at his home in Switzerland, surrounded by his family. The news was revealed on the actor’s Twitter page just hours ago in a statement. “With the heaviest of hearts, we must share the awful news that our father, Sir Roger Moore, passed away today. We are all devastated,” read the tweet.

Moore was best known for playing James Bond in the long-running film franchise based on the Ian Fleming spy novels. He was the third actor to officially play the part on screen, following Sean Connery and George Lazenby, but he remains the longest-serving Bond, playing the part in seven features spread over 12 years.

He first played Bond in the action-packed Live and Let Die in 1973, while his Bond swansong was 1985’s A View to a Kill, where the spy was up against villains played by Christopher Walken and Grace Jones. While original Bond Connery was celebrated for his physicality in the role, Moore managed to put his own stamp on the character by playing the MI6 agent not as a brutish womaniser, but as a suave English gent. He also brought a lot more humour to the part: Moore’s Bond, more than any other in the franchise, was always ready with an ironic quip and a knowing raised eyebrow.

Moore was as witty off screen as he was on it. Throughout the 70s and 80s he was a staple on TV chat shows, where he was always ready with a hilarious anecdote or a self-deprecating putdown. For a perfect example of the latter, when talking about his acting skills he would often call himself “an eyebrow actor,” and he once said he had only three expressions: “eyebrow up, eyebrow down and both of them at the same time."

While several actors have seen the role of Bond as an albatross around their necks, Moore was sanguine about being best known for playing the iconic character. “Being eternally known as Bond has no downside,” Moore told The Guardian in 2014. “People often call me ‘Mr Bond’ when we’re out and I don’t mind a bit. Why would I?”

Moore’s career goes back much further than Bond, however. He first came to prominence in romantic adventure Ivanhoe, and he would go on to star in a string of smash TV shows such as action-comedy series The Persuaders! (alongside Tony Curtis) and stylish spy thriller The Saint.

Other film roles include adventure movie Shout at the Devil from 1976 (opposite Lee Marvin) and 1978 war movie The Wild Geese, with Richard Burton and Richard Harris, and 1979 thriller North Sea Hijack. Delightfully, Moore also had a role in action-comedy Cannonball Run playing a millionaire who’s had plastic surgery to look like his favourite movie star: Roger Moore.

Moore was also known for his humanitarian work with organisations like PETA and UNICEF. Added to all these achievements, we reckon that no man, living or dead, ever wore a safari suit better. Rest in peace.

Moore is survived by his wife, Kristina Tholstrup, and three children.