Farewell 007: A real-life hero

Having come to believe James Bond was for real, holding men in thrall with his exploits and getting to romance the prettiest girls, it may have come as a shock that one of the actors who portrayed Agent 007 is no more. Roger Moore was Bond in seven films over 12 years: the quintessential Englishman who dropped bon mots while disposing of arch villains. He was perhaps as popular as the first Bond, suave Scot Sean Connery. Many Bond fans might say they liked Moore a lot as he seemed to get the best gadgets from Q — a car that became a submarine, presciently predictive gizmos like a watch that hid so many other uses.

Besides his eight-decade career as the dapper hero The Saint and James Bond, Moore was well known for the time he gave freely to charity. In fact, his knighthood was more for his philanthropy, including as a Unicef goodwill ambassador, learning about the causes for dwarfism and the benefits of breastfeeding, as he himself put it. He was proud that for an actor, he knew a fair bit about world issues, yet was so humble as to believe he was 99 per cent lucky as he didn’t have much by way of personality or talent. Of course, we in India are more inured to actors playing larger-than-life roles far beyond the celluloid world, with many going on to become legendary political leaders like MGR, N.T. Rama Rao and Jayalalithaa. Such people leave a lasting impression even as they entertain us when wearing the greasepaint.