Sir
Roger George Moore (CBE) was born on October 14 1927 in Stockwell, south London,
the son of a policeman. Roger's intention was to become a painter, and at the
age of 15 attended art school, and after graduating he worked in an animation
studio. Roger's acting debut was as an extra in the mid-1940's, and following
this early experience he enrolled at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA).
Roger appeared
on the West-End Stage in several plays before his National Service with the British
Army. Whilst in the army, Roger served with a Combined Services Entertainment
Unit in Germany, with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. After
he had finished his National Service, Roger again worked in the theatre, but also
on television and radio, he also worked for a time as a model and as a salesman.
In
1953 Roger Moore left the UK and went to the United States, where he got a movie
contract with MGM, and made several films playing supporting roles. After his
contract with MGM had finished Roger then moved to Warner Brothers where he again
made several films including The Sins of Rachel Cade. Late in 1956 Roger
signed with Columbia Pictures, and in early 1957 he started shooting the television
series Ivanhoe - a Screen Gems / Sydney Box co-production (Screen
Gems was the television arm of Columbia). Ivanhoe is set in 12th century
England, and is based on the novel by Sir Walter Scott. Roger plays the lead as
Sir Wilfred of Ivanhoe. The interior scenes for Ivanhoe were shot at
Elstree Studios in England, but because of the inclement winter weather in the
UK the exterior scenes were shot at the Columbia Ranch in California. Later in
the filming schedule, the shoot returned to the UK with exteriors shot at Beaconsfield
Studios in England, and the exterior scenes were filmed in the Buckinghamshire
countryside. Ivanhoe first aired in the UK on Independent Television (ITV)
in 1958 and ran for 39 episodes.
Roger
Moore as Ivanhoe
Roger
returned to the United States in the late 1950s to star as Silky Harris
in The Alaskans (1959 - 1960). Roger also stars as Beauregard Maverick
in the western series Maverick (1960 - 1962). After Maverick, Roger
Moore returned to the big-screen and made three films for Warner Brothers, one
of these films is the western Gold for Seven Sinners (1961).
Roger
Moore as Beau Maverick
The
ITC / ATV series The Saint is Roger's next role, and in this series he
stars as Simon Templar - The Saint. This series was made in the
UK, and its original run was from 1962 until 1969. The Saint is based on
the character created by Leslie Charteris in the 1920s. The series had a run of
118 x 60 minute episodes in total, the first 71 in monochrome, and then 47 episodes
in colour. Roger Moore also directed some of the episodes himself, he also formed
a production company - Bamoore Film Productions with Robert S. Baker, a producer
of The Saint, to make the show in colour from 1966.
(The
Sign of the Saint)
