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This morning they gave the item about 30 seconds in a three hour news show. I may have missed a more substantial tribute of course, but even so, just to break from the Manchester news items for a few minutes would have been ok I'm sure.
I may sound insensitive, and I apologise if I do, but Roger was a major star and terrific ambassador for UNICEF.
I don't think that's insensitive Nackers. Sir Rogers contribution to the entertainment industry for 70 years, along with his charity work is surely enough to warrant some air time to pay tribute to him.
I know the Perth radio stations today had it as their second or third new story across all daily bulletins.
This is a man who many outside of Bond or his TV shows, would not claim to be a fan of, but I think he was generally loved or liked by all. He was a true gentleman, full of charm and humour and extremely likable. There will never be another like Sir Roger Moore.
Sean Connery has always been my favorite James Bond, but not any more.
Not after reading a story about a little boy meeting Sir Roger Moore in 1983 and then again 23 years later.
Marc Haynes was just 7 years old and a major fan of the 007 series when he spotted his hero at the Nice Airport. Haynes alerted his grandfather, who was sitting with him by the departure gate.
Here's what followed in Haynes' own words, with minor editing. Be sure to read to the end.
I told my granddad I'd just seen James Bond and asked if we could go over so I could get his autograph."
Apparently his granddad had no idea who James Bond or Roger Moore were, but still walked over and told the star: "My grandson says you're famous. Can you sign this?"
"As charming as you'd expect, Roger asks my name and duly signs the back of my plane ticket, a fulsome note full of best wishes.
"I'm ecstatic, but as we head back to our seats, I glance down at the signature. It's hard to decipher but it definitely doesn't say 'James Bond'.
"My grandad looks at it, half figures out it says 'Roger Moore' - I have absolutely no idea who that is, and my heart sinks.
"I tell my granddad he's signed it wrong, that he's put someone else's name - so my grandad heads back to Roger Moore, holding the ticket which he's only just signed."
Marc heard his granddad tell Moore: "he says you've signed the wrong name. He says your name is James Bond" and describes the moment the star's face "crinkled up with realisation" before he beckoned the young boy over to him.
Marc explained: "When I was by his knee, he leant over, looked from side to side, raised an eyebrow and in a hushed voice said to me, 'I have to sign my name as 'Roger Moore' because otherwise... Blofeld might find out I was here.'
"He asked me not to tell anyone that I'd just seen James Bond and he thanked me for keeping his secret. I went back to our seats, my nerves absolutely jangling with delight.
"My grandad asked me if he'd signed 'James Bond'. No, I said. I'd got it wrong. I was working with James Bond now.
Years later, Haynes met Moore again during a film project and told him of their earlier chance encounter:
"I was working as a scriptwriter on a recording that involved UNICEF and Roger Moore was doing a piece to camera as an ambassador.
"He was completely lovely and while the cameramen were setting up, I told him in passing the story of when I met him in Nice Airport.
"He was happy to hear it, and he had a chuckle and said, 'Well, I don't remember but I'm glad you got to meet James Bond.' So that was lovely.
"And then he did something so brilliant. After the filming, he walked past me in the corridor, heading out to his car - but as he got level, he paused, looked both ways, raised an eyebrow and in a hushed voice said, 'Of course I remember our meeting in Nice. But I didn't say anything in there, because those cameramen - any one of them could be working for Blofeld."
"I was as delighted at 30 as I had been at 7. What a man. What a tremendous man."
Rest in peace, Roger Moore, you scourge of Spectre and fulfiller of little boys' dreams.
Life and work. Front Row on BBC radio 4 had a section of their programme
Last night to Sir Roger, I'd say you could listen to it on BBC radio player.
It didn’t only made me a Bond fan, but I also went on to watch The Saint and The Persuaders.
Watching a Bond film with Roger will never be the same now, knowing he is not alive anymore. I still can’t believe it.
From The New Yorker:
Why Moore is the best Bond even if you don't like Bond
I never really liked James Bond, but I loved Roger Moore.
Of course, there's an argument that, a bit like Doctor Who, whoever you see as 007 first is frozen in your mind as the character forever. As a child entering cultural awareness in the early 80s, obsessed with Knight Rider, Duran Duran and Star Wars, that meant Colin Baker and Roger Moore were the era's allocation.
Which was brilliant fun, as on Moore's watch, there was a Bond film for every occasion, rather than just slightly more grizzled and grittier ones with better photographed fights every couple of years. I never considered for a second that this Secret Service agent chap was a deep character to explore, no inner turmoil; he was the comic-book hero you wanted to see make their way through ever more outlandish scrapes.
He was MacGyver. He was Roy of the Rovers. He was John 'Hannibal' Smith.
"I regret that sadly heroes in general are depicted with guns in their hands," Moore once said, "and to tell the truth I have always hated guns and what they represent."
Why Sir Roger Moore is the best James Bond for those who don't even like James Bond© Getty Images Why Sir Roger Moore is the best James Bond for those who don't even like James Bond
Just like The A-Team, while a gun was often in this Bond's hand, there was rarely anyone getting too bloody at the end of it.
Moonraker launched him into Star Wars' aesthetic, Alien's tension and Buck Rogers' swagger; Live and Let Die bamboozled him with Jane Seymour and voodoo ceremonies soundtracked by Paul McCartney; A View To A Kill chucked Duran Duran and Grace Jones up the Eiffel Tower and asked him to chase with his 60th birthday hoving into view; while The Spy Who Loved Me attached a Union Jack parachute to some skis and the best opening title sequence ever.
That's not even mentioning The Man With The Golden Gun nabbing Nick Nack from Fantasy Island and Octopussy sounding a bit rude. What a time to be alive. All perfect, child-like playgrounds for the man Moore to go wild. I couldn't give a toss about the meaning behind Skyfall being Bond's family home. What I care about is if he can escape from an crocodile-infested island just by running on their heads.
It comes as absolutely no surprise, looking back on the Bonds, that Moore's run was not only the longest, at seven films, but it was also contextually the most commercially successful, too.
My dad would continually cackle at my choice. "Naaaaaoooo, Connery's best. Moore wouldn't be able to take down that many blokes." But for me, Connery was Highlander, Indiana Jones' dad and soon-to-be Kevin Costner's King Richard, he was already super heroic in so many more ways than I thought a Scottish accent could be. But he wasn't James Bond. No, Roger Moore was James Bond.
It was in the quips, the eyebrow raise, the verging-on-Naked Gun levels of impossible gadgetry and all the stereotypically Roger Moore things that came to define the character, rebooting an entire franchise before our very eyes with the power of his own charisma. The smirk that told you that no matter how hairy it got, no matter how close those sharks seemed to get, there was no point taking this all that seriously.
Of course, this has become passé and the franchise since successfully reinvented, with more technically accurate threats and more realistic personal demons to overcome introduced, extending the character and its world further with strong supporting casts and bigger budgets. Yet while we've seen so many trying to emote and add anguish to the role, Moore was the only one who looked like he was really enjoying it.
Yet even back then, my dad wouldn't relent, and would show me older Moore turns from the Sixties and Seventies, in The Saint or alongside Tony Curtis in The Persuaders, as examples of why Moore just couldn't be the best Bond, like Doc Brown laughing at Ronald Reagan becoming president in Back to the Future.
But instead of debunking the idea, it just ground it in further – I preferred all of these shows to the early Bond films, how lucky the Broccolis were to have found Moore. This was clearly the role he'd been building to all his life. Brett Sinclair and Simon Templar were almost Bond origin stories. The eyebrows of the tiger.
Yet eyebrows must be at half-mast today, as Sir Roger has sadly passed away at the age of 89. An icon, a legend and the man born to play James Bond. He will forever be the best Bond for people who don't even like James Bond, but who really, really love films.
Barry, I read that story yesterday on facebook. Very moving.
Relayed it to my wife and choked a little, which isn't unlike me I must admit. Last year I cried when Bowie died, I cried when Prince died, I cried when Leicester won the Premiership title (and again when Bocelli sang at the presentation). I even cried at an episode of Inside number 9.
So, finally in 2017 I am off the mark. Sir Roger's death has brought me to tears.
I cant watch films like Bambi or E.T because I blub.
I'm teary eyed when I watch Titanic and I will probably be the same way on Saturday if Arsenal beat Chelsea.
Just out of interest and not to de-rail this special thread of course,but which episode of Inside number 9 was it ? (If its the one with the mum who had died and had to go to heaven at the end then I was teary eyed with that episode too !)
I'm not ashamed to admit that I cried yesterday on learning of his passing.
I'm watching Octopussy right now, and I know I won't get through it all with dry eyes.
It's a huge blow to many of us, a testament to his impact.
He was like a father figure, a popular uncle. Someone who put a smile on our faces just through his immensely happy personality.
I think it's a sign of what a remarkable human being he was that he was able to embrace the role, fame, fans and still remain generous and warm at all times (at least that seems to have been the case).
The other actors have their own approach to all the external stuff - whether good or bad -and to be honest I don't really hold it against them. Fame is an incredibly difficult thing for most people to handle.
It's testimony to the uniqueness and special one- off wonderfulness of Sir Rog that he did everything with such grace, wit and charm.
I'm sure he also had a deeply private side but was able to convey something special in public at all times.
He set a high bar. Too high for most others to match.
Also wanted to add that despite all his self deprecating jokes about not being able to act etc., he was a brilliant screen performer. Technically excellent. Great voice, presence, delivery and of course an in-built sense for comedy.
His perofrmances were so polished and impeccable that with hindsight it seems his Bond was inevitable but it evolved over time reaching (IMO) perfection with TSWLM and OP.
Lois Maxwell (1927–2007/80 years) Roger Moore almoost live 10 years longer then the first Moneypenny. She also was seen in 2 episodes of The Saint. This was possible also reasen she was cast as Moneypenny, because Roger Moore was plan to be first Bond. It be more then understand she stay with Roger and now there are together again..
Robert Shaw (1927 - 1978/52 years) Playing Grant in From Russia With Love.
Paul Newman (1925-2008/83 years) You can see him in Road To Perdition from Sam Mendes, starring Daniel Craig.
Tony Curtis (1925-2010/85years) The duo partner in The Persuaders.
Peter Falk (1927-2011/83 years) Columbo.
Dana Elcar (1927 -2005/77 years) Pete Thornton in Macgyver (1985)
That was another BIG loss to the acting world and British film,at such a young age.
A fantastic actor.
They did do a good piece about him on the BBC news channel yesterday, in fact that's where I heard of his death. The managed to show it despite all what was happening. There were interview clips where RM spoke about Bond and afterwards an interview in the studio with some bloke, who spoke about him and his career. I would say it lasted between five and ten minutes.
As I was a big Moore fan from the Saint and the Persuaders.
As an seven year old in about 1983, in the days before First Class Lounges at airports, I was with my grandad in Nice Airport and saw Roger Moore sitting at the departure gate, reading a paper. I told my granddad I'd just seen James Bond and asked if we could go over so I could get his autograph. My grandad had no idea who James Bond or Roger Moore were, so we walked over and he popped me in front of Roger Moore, with the words "my grandson says you're famous. Can you sign this?"
As charming as you'd expect, Roger asks my name and duly signs the back of my plane ticket, a fulsome note full of best wishes. I'm ecstatic, but as we head back to our seats, I glance down at the signature. It's hard to decipher it but it definitely doesn't say 'James Bond'. My grandad looks at it, half figures out it says 'Roger Moore' - I have absolutely no idea who that is, and my hearts sinks. I tell my grandad he's signed it wrong, that he's put someone else's name - so my grandad heads back to Roger Moore, holding the ticket which he's only just signed.
I remember staying by our seats and my grandad saying "he says you've signed the wrong name. He says your name is James Bond." Roger Moore's face crinkled up with realisation and he beckoned me over. When I was by his knee, he leant over, looked from side to side, raised an eyebrow and in a hushed voice said to me, "I have to sign my name as 'Roger Moore' because otherwise...Blofeld might find out I was here." He asked me not to tell anyone that I'd just seen James Bond, and he thanked me for keeping his secret. I went back to our seats, my nerves absolutely jangling with delight. My grandad asked me if he'd signed 'James Bond.' No, I said. I'd got it wrong. I was working with James Bond now.
Many, many years later, I was working as a scriptwriter on a recording that involved UNICEF, and Roger Moore was doing a piece to camera as an ambassador. He was completely lovely and while the cameramen were setting up, I told him in passing the story of when I met him in Nice Airport. He was happy to hear it, and he had a chuckle and said "Well, I don't remember but I'm glad you got to meet James Bond." So that was lovely.
And then he did something so brilliant. After the filming, he walked past me in the corridor, heading out to his car - but as he got level, he paused, looked both ways, raised an eyebrow and in a hushed voice said, "Of course I remember our meeting in Nice. But I didn't say anything in there, because those cameramen - any one of them could be working for Blofeld."
I was as delighted at 30 as I had been at 7. What a man. What a tremendous man.
Moore's capacity to define the role and embrace the wittier aspects of the character were a necessary shake-up for the franchise (who else could pull off a canary-colored skisuit?!) There's many here, including myself, who appreicate the darker interpretations of Bond; however, there is something so thrilling and fun about watching Roger. He's everyone's favorite guilty pleasure.
His films are fun, popcorn, escapist and downright daft. But you wouldn't have it any other way. In fact, his films are the more inherently rewatchful - personally, TWTGG is always going to be one of my favorite Bond films. Not only due to Roger's performance (his best in the series) but also due to all the outright nonsense that populates the story.
I met Roger in 2008 and was able to shake the man's hand.
He had enormous success and lived to the ripe age of 89. I don't necessarily feel sad about his passing, but happy that he achieved as much as he did.
I feel this is one of the coolest pictures of Sir Rog out there...
It will be one my biggest regrets that I didn't get a chance to meet him.
However, he will always be with me. When growing up, I wanted to be him as much as I wanted to be his Bond (I love every character he played) and even today, when I'm in a tough spot or facing a crisis I instinctively ask myself: How would Sir Rog react?
'The 12 Days Of Christine' with Sheridan Smith. I think it was from 2015, but I saw it last year I'm sure. It may be the one you are referring to.
Impossible to talk about it without spoiler issues, but how Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith manage to tell such complete and satisfying stories in 30 minutes is incredible.
Yes that's the one....superb.
I do feel blessed that I got a chance to have a good chat with him that day..he was so natural and the perfect gent.
Basically exactly as you see him as 007.
As @mattjoes put it earlier, Sir Rog's basic humanity shone through in every performance. There was a nobility there which some of us gravitated towards. An honesty. We could feel it in him, and it came through in his acting.