Roger Moore, Actor Known for Playing James Bond, Dies at 89

Per Second News----Roger Moore, the suavely insouciant star of seven James Bond films, has died in Switzerland. He was 89.

The British actor died Tuesday after a short battle with cancer, according to a family statement posted on Moore's official Twitter account.

"We know our own love and admiration will be magnified many times over, across the world, by people who knew him for his films, his television shows and his passionate work for UNICEF, which he considered to be his greatest achievement," the statement said.

The family noted that Moore made his final public appearance last November on stage at London's Royal Festival Hall. "The capacity crowd cheered him on and off stage, shaking the very foundations of the building just a short distance from where he was born," Moore's children said.

A private funeral for Moore will be held in Monaco, his children said in their statement. He is survived by his fourth wife, Kristina Tholstrup.

Roger Moore as James Bond in 'A View To A Kill' in 1984. Keith Hamshere/Getty Images

Mr. Moore was the oldest Bond ever hired for films in the canon, taking on the role when he was 46. (Sean Connery, who originated the film character and with whom Mr. Moore was constantly compared, was 33, although in the spoof “Casino Royale,” David Niven was in his 50s.) Mr. Moore also had the longest run in the role, beginning in 1973 with “Live and Let Die” and winding up in 1985 with “A View to a Kill.”