Actors, Stars and Moore

Biography

Roger Moore was born in Stockwell, South London, on 14 October 1927, the only child of George A.Moore and his wife Lily. School offered few problems to young Moore and he was always near the top of his class. Art and Drawing were his best subjects, and he displayed qualities of leadership. His first job was as a tracer and filler-in for an animated film company.

" Being fired was the luckiest break, but it didn`t feel like that at the time", he recalls.

During the summer 1940 he was out of work, but then a friend suggested he make some money as a film extra on Caesar and Cleopatra. It had never occurred to him to become an actor, but he tried and soon the co-director, Brian Desmond Hurst, asked Moore if he was interested in becoming an actor.

" It didn`t occur to be not to be interested. From that moment it seemed I always wanted to be an actor !"

Hurst said if Roger could get his family to support him, he would pay his fees to RADA(Royal Academy of Dramatic Art). He spend three happy terms at RADA. During Army days, after the War, he was stationed in Hamburg, north Germany. That was where he first met Bryan Forbes.

" I have known Roger when he was down on his luck and when he was at the height of his success, and although it may infuriate his detractors I will record that he never changes. Perhaps the most amazing thing about him is that he has survived his good looks and basic niceness in a profession which hates even as it admires" Bryan Forbes

Moore himself can rarely be persuaded to take himself seriously, accepting that for the most part, it`s all a question of luck. This attitude is tempered by his particular sense of humour. He lacks any form of arrogance or conceit.

Roger Moore became famous with television plays and not with "real" movies. The first of his TV series was "Ivanhoe", but his real breakthrough was his staring in "The Saint". While he was under contract for "The Persuaders" with Tony Curtis, Harry Saltzman and Cubby Broccoli asked him to become the first James Bond, but he could accept and so Sean Connery got the role.

But later on, when Sean had made positively his last appearance, and Roger was looking for a job, because "The Persuaders" wasn`t successful enough, he was asked again and accepted with delight.

Roger Moore was closer to Ian Fleming`s Bond than Connery, because of his humour and charm. He stared seven times as James Bond (same did Sean Connery) and did several other films.

After he retired from the showbiz, he became a member of UNICEF and now collects money for the poor children of the Third World.

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