Sir Roger Moore turned 83 today. They say you shouldn’t meet your heroes but I always hold out a little hope I’ll meet him one day. He was my first pin-up hero, the first ‘person I wanted to be’. I’m not sure who bought me the giant Roger Moore poster on my wall when I was only 4, but I really wish I still had it.
As I spent a huge proportion of my childhood in front of the telly (which is why I’m 25 stone and live on crisps*), he came into my live (suavely) as Simon Templar in The Saint and as Lord Brett Sinclair in The Persuaders with the late, great Tony Curtis. I’ve been watching reruns of The Saint lately and they still stand up; he’s still heroic.
He was also my first style icon. Whenever my grandmother would take me to buy clothes, even as a 3-year-old, I only wanted to buy shirts and ties – that’s what Roger always wore. Not sure they were matching paisley-patterned ones, mind you, but it was good enough for me.
Then he became James Bond. I’m not going to get into one of those Sean v Roger arguments about who was the best – but for me, there’s only one. Roger was my James Bond – and his ability with a quip was incomparable. I’m fed up with people saying he can’t act. He’s Roger Moore – when you’re Roger Moore, you don’t need to act. In any case, he was a fine actor.
He’s also an incredibly sexy man, despite my friend Melissa’s belief that “no one wants to shag Roger Moore!” I beg to differ, I could name at least six – all of them straight blokes.
Happy Birthday, Sir Roger, you’re a real hero of mine. Hope we can meet one day.
*not really
I Have Grave News 
Yep, I agree, and he’s also kind to animals. Because of his relentless activism Selfridges in London stopped importing Foie Gras. He was PETA ‘s(People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) person of the year last year because of that.
He also wrote to every member of Parliament trying to get the importation of Foie Gras into Britain banned.
What a great guy!
And you’re right, James Bonds since, have not cut it, have they? The lines were just right – he had a terrific way of delivering a double entendre and a comic line.
Long live Roger Moore!!!