Roger Moore Biography

Suave, blue-eyed and British, Roger Moore is best known for his long run of seven films as dashing superspy James Bond.

Roger Moore was born in England, where he began acting in bit parts and then spent three terms at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He moved to the United States in 1953. He made his mark in the TV western Maverick, where he replaced James Garner in 1959. Even more successful was his smooth portrayal of the mysterious and lovable thief Simon Templar in the British TV series The Saint (1962-69).

Gentlemanly and roguish, Moore took over from the original James Bond, Sean Connery, in 1972 and eventually became the longest-running Bond of all time. He starred in the films Live and Let Die (1973), The Man With the Golden Gun (1974), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Moonraker (1979), For Your Eyes Only (1981), Octopussy (1983), and A View To a Kill (1985). Moore was 58 by the time his run ended; he was succeeded by actor Timothy Dalton, who took over the James Bond role in The Living Daylights (1987).

Roger Moore made fewer films in the 1990s, keeping busy with charity work on behalf of UNICEF; he succeeded Audrey Hepburn as the organization’s Special Representative for the Film Arts. After his death in 2017, his family said Moore considered his work with UNICEF to be “his greatest achievement.”