London - British actor Roger Moore, who
won international fame playing fictional secret agent James
Bond, died of cancer on Tuesday aged 89, his family said.
Here are five facts you may not know about him:
* Moore, the son of a policeman, started out with ambitions
to be an artist but after losing his job as a cartoon animator
he switched to acting following an invite from a film director
friend.
* Moore served in the British army during World War Two
before moving to the United States for a period in the 1950s to
kickstart his acting career.
* Moore enjoyed his break-out role in action-crime
television series "The Saint" in 1953, before taking over the
role of Bond, the hedonistic spy, from Sean Connery in the 1973
film "Live and Let Die"'.
* Moore starred in seven Bond films in total over a 12-year
period, including "The Spy Who Loved Me", "For Your Eyes Only",
"Octopussy" and "A View to a Kill".
* The international smash hit film franchise, which saw
Moore go to exotic locations to fight crime, womanise and drink
martinis helped him win a number of awards and recognition,
including a Golden Globe in 1980. He was knighted by Britain's
Queen Elizabeth in 2003.