At 89.
Was the Bond of my generation.
The first Bond to die. RIP.
RIP - the first Bond I ever saw was his first as well (Live and Let Die.)
This was the Bond I grew up with. Octopussy was the only time I could say pussy around adults
RIP
All time favorite Bond MOVIES were Roger Moore.
He wasn’t the best Bond, but he was my Bond.
I used to walk past him nearly every day when I used to work in Monaco, seemed like a true gentlemen, RIP.
Amen.
RIP Roger.
I was prepared to dislike him in Live and Let Die, having grown up with Connery. I did not, I liked him very much.
For Your Eyes Only was my first bond film, and is still one of my faves. RIP sir.
Which I actually watched on the weekend. Not my favorite Bond, by far, but still an important part of the franchise.
For me, I remember him first as Simon Templar fom the TV series “The Saint”. As a Bond, he wasn’t my favourite. Of his Bond films, I liked The Man with the Golden Gun the best.
A View to a Kill will always have a special place in my heart.
For anyone else feeling Bond nostalgia today, I would like to again recommend the excellent James Bonding podcast, with Matt Gourley and Matt Mira
Great memory!
No.. But Barry Nelson is generally overlooked since he pre-dated Connery by several years.
I also have fond memories of The Saint. I had no idea he was that old. RIP
Moooooonraker…
Yup… Roger Moore was my generation’s Bond, and he did the role justice. Whether acting suave and debonair with Octopussy, or tussling with Jaws in a space, he just seemed to be so very, very cool.
RIP.
Also David Niven if you count his turn at the character. Most Bond aficionados don’t count either Nelson or Niven in the series because Nelson’s Bond was in a TV anthology and Niven’s bond was in a weird-ass spy spoof comedy.
On Roger Moore, some people hated his Bond for the generally schlocky material of that era. It’s hard to argue that his Bond isn’t cornier than others. Moonraker and Octopussy skirted (and sometimes crossed) the line into lampooning Bond. Defenders will say it wasn’t him - that it was the scripts he was given, but there was a personable quality about Moore’s Bond that defied being the Ian Fleming creation.
If you’re looking for the icy cold spy with a license to kill, you won’t really find him in Roger Moore. You mostly get a charming gadabout that seems to really be enjoying his time playing around the world. Blowing up improbable villain lairs was something he did between cocktails, womanizing, and tossing around one-liners like a vaudeville comic.
I guess that’s why I can’t hate his Bond. I don’t think he was a particularly good Bond, but he was an enjoyable one. Roger Moore made saving the world fun to watch.
RIP
While I admire the rest of your remarks, I also would have loved to have read the Bond-Kzin Wars or The Mote in Bond’s Eye.
Gah! David Niven!
I loved him in The Saint and still watch it every once in awhile. I also liked the fun he brought into the Bond character.