Roger Moore's Career in Photos: James Bond and Beyond
The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954)
After doing some modeling work in England, Roger Moore landed an MGM contract and made his Hollywood debut as a tennis pro who romances Elizabeth Taylor’s unhappy housewife in this post-WWII drama. (Photo: Everett Collection)
Maverick (1960)
When James Garner left ABC’s hit Western series about poker-playing siblings following its second season, producers brought in Moore as a replacement but he only lasted one year before quitting himself, citing bad writing. (Photo: Alamy)
The Saint (1962-69)
Moore honed his secret-agent chops as Simon Templar in this classic British TV series, playing a charming, roguish antihero who robs from the rich…and keeps the spoils for himself. Moore made a voice-only cameo in the 1997 film version starring Val Kilmer. (Photo: Everett Collection)
Live and Let Die (1973)
Moore began making 007 his own here, with his suave spy chasing down Yaphet Kotto’s Caribbean drug kingpin. It’s Bond by way of Blaxploitation, with plenty of voodoo craziness — and a hit Paul McCartney theme song — thrown in for good measure. (Photo: Everett Collection)
The Man With The Golden Gun (1974)
By his second Bond outing, Moore’s arched eyebrow and sardonic grin were in full effect to take on Christopher Lee‘s golden-gunned assassin Scaramanga, who seeks a device that exploits the sun’s power. (Photo: Everett Collection)
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Moore skis, dives, teams with Barbara Bach’s Russian agent, and battles Richard Kiel’s Jaws in his third 007 performance, which pits his hero against a villain bent on triggering WWIII and then building a new underwater civilization. (Photo: Everett Collection)
Moonraker (1979)
Looking to piggyback onto the Star Wars craze, Moore’s fourth Bond adventure sends him first across the globe and then into space, where — while trying to thwart a mastermind’s plans to create a master race — he remains as calm, cool, and quip-ready as ever. (Photo: Everett Collection)
For Your Eyes Only (1981)
After the outlandishness of Moonraker, Moore’s Bond received a more suspenseful, back-to-basics mission in For Your Eyes Only, although the dashing star’s aura remained as larger-than-life as ever. (Photo: Everett Collection)
The Cannonball Run (1981)
The all-star Burt Reynolds comedy about a cross-country race featured Moore as a debonair driver who goes by the name “Roger Moore,” but who’s revealed to be Seymour Goldfarb Jr., heir to a girdle fortune. (Photo: Mary Evans/Ronald Grant/Everett Collection)
Octopussy (1983)
Moore considered relinquishing his license to kill after For Your Eyes Only (with Timothy Dalton and James Brolin in the wings), but was lured back after original 007 Sean Connery reclaimed his Bond role in rival film Never Say Never Again. Moore reupped, and outgrossed Connery in the box office battle of the Bonds.
(Photo: Everett Collection)
A View to a Kill (1985)
For his seventh and final mission as the super spy, Moore faced off against Grace Jones and Christopher Walken. The film is better remembered for its hit Duran Duran theme song than the goofy plot about using seismic explosives to trigger the Big One in California. (Photo: Everett Collection)
Spice World (1997)
The Spice Girls movie was widely panned, but Moore slyly spoofed his 007 persona with this turn as a slick corporate overlord who is more Blofeld than Bond. (Photo: Everett Collection)
Roger Moore, who played James Bond in more films than any other actor, died today in Switzerland at age 89 after what his family described in their Twitter announcement as “a short but brave battle with cancer.” Taking on the difficult task of following Sean Connery as 007, over the course of seven films he would make the character his own, paving the way for future runs by Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig. From his first film with Elizabeth Taylor to his turn in cult favorite Spice World opposite the Spice Girls, here’s a look back at a dashing career.