WEDNESDAY, MAY 24, 2017 lifestyle OBITUARY Picture taken on June 25, 2013 in Aachen, western Germany, shows British actor and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Roger Moore and his Danish wife Kristina Tholstrup waving from a carriage as they visit the CHIO World Equestrian Festival. British actor Roger Moore and his new wife Italian actress Luisa Mattioli, are surrounded by the press as they dance at This file photo taken on April 12, 2000 shows British Oscar This file photo taken on August 16, 1984 shows British Caxton Hall in London following their wedding on April 12, 1969. — AP/AFP photos winner Michael Caine and actor Roger Moore (left) as they actor, Roger Moore during the shooting of the film series pose after presenting a mini-coach to a children's charity "James Bond", "A view to kill", in Chantilly. in London. James Bond star Roger Moore dead at 89 ritish actor Roger Moore, who played James Bond over two decades with a suave wit, died yesterday aged 89, Bdrawing tributes for his portrayal of the womanizing superspy as well as for his charity work. "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 children said in a statement pub- lished on Twitter. "We are all devastated," Deborah, Geoffrey and Christian said, adding: "Thank you Pops for being you, and for being so very special to so many people." Moore shot to fame as the smooth-talking adventurer Simon Templar in British television show "The Saint" in the 1960s, and also starred alongside Tony Curtis in "The Persuaders" in the 1970s. But it was not until 1973, at the age of 45, that he won the role that for many fans would come to define him, as Ian Fleming's fictional secret agent James Bond. Moore made his debut as 007 in "Live and Let Die", follow- ing it with six more films, only bowing out with 1985's "A View to a Kill". Known for his ironically raised eyebrow and deadpan quips, Moore's take on Bond was more tongue-in-cheek than that of his manly predecessor Sean Connery. "I'm not that cold-blooded killer type. Which is why I play it mostly for laughs," he once said. But with seven appearances as the char- acter he fondly called "Jimmy Bond", he outgunned Connery and all the other actors to have played 007. A genuine movie star Moore was also one of the last of the old-school movie British actor Roger Moore, playing the title role of secret stars, who counted Frank Sinatra and David Niven among his service agent 007, James Bond, is shown on location in friends and lived in luxury in Switzerland and the French In this May 20, 1977 file photo, actor Roger Moore, alias British secret agent James Bond, is accompanied by co-star England in 1972. Riviera. In later years he became known for his humanitarian Barbara Bach as they arrive for the screening of their latest 007 feature, "The Spy Who Loved Me," during the Cannes work, notably through his activities as a UNICEF ambassador, Film Festival at the French Riviera. helping raise funds for under-privileged children. "With the passing of Sir Roger Moore, the world has lost one of its great Moore's breakthrough character Simon Templar. "Roger champions for children-and the entire UNICEF family has lost Moore, loved him," Crowe tweeted. Pinewood Studios, the a great friend," said the UN agency's executive director British filming location west of London for most of the Bond Anthony Lake. films, described Moore as a "force of nature", adding that "his Moore's children said he considered the UNICEF work-for humor and spirit will be missed by all of us". — AFP which he was awarded a knighthood in 2003 -- his "greatest achievement". "The affection our father felt whenever he walked onto a stage or in front of a camera buoyed him huge- ly and kept him busy working into his 90th year, through to his last appearance in November 2016 on stage at London's Royal Festival Hall," they added. "The capacity crowd cheered him on and off stage, shaking the very foundations of the building just a short distance from where he was born." They said their thoughts were with his fourth wife, Kristina, adding that there would be a private funeral in Monaco. 'My Word Is My Bond' Born Roger George Moore, on October 14, 1927 in the London suburb of Stockwell, he was the only son of a police constable and his wife, and had a happy childhood. "I've not done badly for a boy from Stockwell, where I used to gaze at the silver screen in wonderment, little realizing I'd be a part of this magical world," he wrote in his autobiography, "My Word Is My Bond." Duran Duran, the British band that provided the eponymous theme tune for "A View to a Kill", Moore's last turn as Bond, wrote in a tweet: "#RIP Roger." Moore had found his own humorous way to sum up his British actor Roger Moore (left) congratulates Albert R. final bow as Bond, which came when he was 57 years old. This file photograph taken on October 5, 1999 shows British actor This is a July 8, 1968 file photo of British Broccoli, producer of the James Bond movies, after "The girls were getting younger and I was just getting too old," Roger Moore (center) posing with actresses Traci Bingham (left) and Eva actor Roger Moore as he poses with Spain's Broccoli was awarded The Erwin Thalberg Memorial Award he said at a ceremony to award him a star on Hollywood's Halina in Cannes. most prized award, the Don Quixote Award, at the 54th annual Academy Award presentations at the "Walk of Fame". Paying tribute, Hollywood star Russell Crowe which was presented to him at the Spanish Hollywood Music Center in Hollywood on March 29, 1982. remarked on Twitter that at the age 10 he tried to dress like Embassy in London. In this Sunday, Nov 17, 1996 file photo, three of the actors who played James Bond, Timothy Dalton left, This is a April 22, 1996 file photo of veteran British actor This is a Saturday, July 2, 2011 file photo of British actor Sir Roger Moore Roger Moore, center, and Pierce Brosnan, at a London cinema to celebrate the life of Albert R. "Cubby" Roger Moore, poses for a portrait, in the Studio City sec- as he arrives at the Monaco palace for the religious wedding ceremony of Broccoli, the American film producer behind seventeen Bond movies. tion of Los Angeles. Prince Albert II of Monaco and Charlene Princess of Monaco..