British actor Roger Moore, best known for playing the legendary spy James Bond, has died at the age of 89, his family has announced Tuesday.
Moore was the third actor to play the famous spy, ‘007’, in a run that began with Live and Let Die in 1973 and continued through A View to a Kill in 1985.
His family took to twitter to confirm the news, saying he had died after “a short but brave battle with cancer“.
The statement, from his children, read:
“Thank you Pops for being you, and being so very special to so many people.”
“With the heaviest of hearts, we must share the awful news that our father, Sir Roger Moore, passed away today. We are all devastated,” they said.
According to the family, Sir Roger, who died in Switzerland, will have a private funeral in Monaco in accordance with his wishes.
“The love with which he was surrounded in his final days was so great it cannot be quantified in words alone.
“Our thoughts must now turn to supporting Kristina [his wife] at this difficult time.
“We know our own love and admiration will be magnified many times over, across the world, by people who knew him for his films, his television shows and his passionate work for UNICEF which he considered to be his greatest achievement,” read the statement from Deborah, Geoffrey and Christian.
Moore was the perfect fit to tackle the career-defining 007 role, as he had been the star of the British television spy series The Saint, which ran in the 1960s.
He took on roles that poked fun at his sophisticated and flamboyant image later in life with appearances in Spice World and Boat Trip.
Offscreen, Moore was well known for his humanitarian work and was appointed as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador in 1991.
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