Good-Bye, 007; Farewell, Lord Sinclair: RIP Sir Roger Moore (1927-2017)

A good obituary of Roger Moore appears in the Daily Mail thanks to Alexander Robertson and Marc Johnson — cheers to Sarah Hoyt who reveals that

HE WAS MY FIRST CRUSH WHEN I SAW HIM IN THE PERSUADERS.  I WAS TEN.

From the documentary, A Matter of Class:

Here is Roger Moore’s own story, as told by the famous actor himself. This profile also includes the recollections of colleagues and friends like Gregory Peck, Michael Caine, Tony Curtis, Carroll Baker and Maud Adams.

A couple of interesting quotes:

When Sean Connery played James Bond, he played it as the bad boy womanizer. And when Roger Moore played Bond, he played it as the man that — maybe — would marry the heroine …if the circumstances were right.
— Jackie Collins (26:53)

With women, I think the difference between Sean and Roger was that Sean macho'ed them into bed, and Roger loved [laughed?] them into it…
— Michael Caine

Meanwhile, Adrien Guilleminot has a long interesting commentary (en français) on the James Bond films in the Géo monthly.

With the heaviest of hearts, we must share the awful news that our father, Sir Roger Moore, passed away today. We are all devastated. pic.twitter.com/6dhiA6dnVg

— Sir Roger Moore (@sirrogermoore) May 23, 2017

The Daily Mail includes a selection of Sir Roger's quotes

IN HIS OWN SUAVE WORDS... 

Women have played a big part in my life on and off-screen and I think I’ve finally worked them out. I always make sure I have the last word. That word is ‘yes’.

‘It just gave me a stiff neck’ — explaining why taking Viagra left him neither shaken nor stirred.

Intelligence is my most endearing quality, according to [his wife] Kristina. That’s her Swedish sense of humour.

Being eternally known as Bond has no downside. People call me Mr Bond when we’re out and I don’t mind a bit. Why would I?

‘I had creaking knees and my leading ladies could have been my granddaughters’ — on his last appearance as James Bond in A View To A Kill, aged 57.

‘I lie all the time. I say different people, otherwise you’ll upset somebody’ — on his favourite Bond girl.

I’m one lucky b******. In my early acting years, I was told that to succeed you needed personality, talent and luck in equal measure. I contest that. For me it’s been 99 per cent luck. It’s no good being talented and not being in the right place at the right time.

The saddest thing about ageing is that most of my friends are now ‘in the other room’. I miss David Niven the most. I still can’t watch his films without shedding a tear.

Some of the things I’ve done in my life I’m ashamed of. We don’t talk about those, though. If I could give my younger self some advice it would be: ‘Grow up!’

I still have some of Bond’s suits in my wardrobe, but they don’t fit me now. In the 007 days I was so thin that if I turned sideways you could mark me absent.

My mum instilled in me the proverb: ‘I cried because I had no shoes, until I saw a man who had no feet.’ Those words are always with me and I’m a believer in showing kindness to others and not expecting repayment.

Medicine has always fascinated me and I’m a hypochondriac. It’s not that I wake up every morning and think: ‘I’m dying.’ At my age, I know I am.

Related: A 7-Year-Old Spots a Celebrity in an Airport, His Heart Sinking When Roger Moore's Autograph Does Not Read "James Bond"; What Happens Next?

Before 007, Roger Moore Starred with Tony Curtis in The Persuaders — Some Interesting Trivia on the TV Series, Courtesy of No Pasarán