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James Bond is one of those characters that will seemingly be around in film forever. There have been many actors that have played the famous character, currently with Daniel Craig at the helm. For more than a decade, though, Roger Moore played James Bond, and many felt that he was perfect for the role. The Moore version of Bond was a playboy type with a quick wit and a lot of gadgets at his disposal. There’s a lot of debate on who the best Bond was, but Moore was certainly among the top of the list and will be remembered for that role, amongst others, for years to come.

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Before becoming Bond, Moore was born in London, England on October 14, 1927. He grew up during the second World War and became interested in entertainment afterward. It wasn’t acting that initially drew Moore in, though, but rather animation. Moore had aspirations of drawing animated movies and shows, but was let go when he had an error on one of his animations. It was then that Moore decided to pursue acting, taking classes that put him on stage for the first time. After several years of stage acting, Moore was ready to be on screen for the first time.

Moore’s film debut came in the 1954 movie “The Last Time I Saw Paris”. Though it was a small role at the time, it helped to build the base for Moore’s career. For the rest of the decade, he appeared in films such as “The Alaskans” and “The Miracle”, while also taking on the title role in the TV shows “Ivanhoe” and “Maverick”.

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Throughout much of the 1960s, Moore’s time was occupied with the TV series “The Saint” in which he played Simon Templar. The series ran for six seasons with more than 100 episodes, really helping to put Moore on the map. When Sean Connery’s time as James Bond (at least in his first stint) was coming to an end, there was a lot of talk about who would replace the long-time Bond in the early 1970s. With his time on “The Saint” wrapping up, Moore was the perfect fit.

Moore made his debut as James Bond in the 1973 film “Live and Let Die”. From there, he starred as Bond in several more films over a 10 year span, including “A View to a Kill”, “The Man with the Golden Gun” and “For Your Eyes Only”. Other films that Moore has appeared in during his career outside of the Bond universe include “The Quest”, “Boat Trip” and his final film with 2017’s “The Saint” that was filmed years prior. All in all, films starring Moore pulled in nearly $600 million at the box office in North America.

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Moore was a great Bond, though he would be the first to admit that he didn’t think he had much ability as an actor. “My acting range has always been something between the two extremes of ‘raises left eyebrow’ and ‘raises right eyebrow,’” he said. “I was fortunately always offered jobs because I was so pretty,” Moore added. “Women used to complain about it…I enjoy being a highly overpaid actor.”

Talking about his portrayal of the famous character, Moore said that “My James Bond wasn’t any different to my Saint or my Persuaders or anything else I’ve done. I’ve just made everything that I play look like me and sound like me.” Thankfully for Moore, it worked masterfully.

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Throughout much of his career, Moore had unfortunately struggled with his health. This dated back to his childhood when he was frequently being hospitalized for a series of ailments that included several infections. In the early 1990s, Moore had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, but during that first bout had been able to get through treatment to rid the disease. Sadly, the health issues continued even after that successful treatment, which included an irregular heartbeat that nearly claimed his life while on a Broadway stage and diabetes.

Moore was diagnosed with a tumor once again in the early 2010s, and then diagnosed with prostate cancer for a second time. Moore wasn’t able to fight off the cancer again at his age, passing away on May 23, 2017 in Switzerland. He was 89 years old at the time of his death, and was surrounded by his friends and family when he passed away, getting to say goodbye to those that loved him the most.

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Though painful, Moore’s daughter Deborah (who also became an actress) said that his final days were filled with happiness. “Right up until the end he still had his sense of humor and was still joking with the nurses,” she said. “He never, ever complained. He was amazing.” Many other celebrities had also extended their condolences to the family while also offering up their memories of the late actor.

Director Edgar Wright, who directed films such as “Baby Driver” and “Shaun of the Dead” said that Moore was “My first Bond and one of the first actors that I loved as a kid. And a lovely, funny, warm person to boot.” Jane Seymour added that “I am devastated to learn of Roger Moore’s passing. THe first leading role I ever had as a Bond girl was such a new and frightening world and Roger held my hand and guided me through every process.”

“He taught me about work ethic and humility,” she continued. “He was so funny, ind and thoughtful to everyone around him and in that Roger taught me what a movie star really was and should be…He was my Bond.” Many shared these sentiments, as Moore was universally loved as a person, and the favorite iteration of James Bond to a lot of fans of the series.