James Bond actor Roger Moore dies aged 89

James Bond star Sir Roger Moore has died at the age of 89 after a "short but brave" battle with cancer.

His children, Deborah, Geoffrey and Christian, posted a message on Moore's Twitter account confirming that their father had died at his home in Switzerland.

The actor played the 007 spy in seven Bond films including Live and Let Die and The Spy Who Loved Me.

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He became a tax exile from the UK in 1978 and has since split his time between his Swiss Alpine chalet and other homes in France and Monte Carlo.

The actor leaves behind a legacy for film fans as "the suavest Bond", says The Guardian. He also enjoyed a varied eight-decade career in film and on television.

Born in 1927 in Stockwell, south London, to a policeman father, Moore grew up in Battersea and then Devon, where he was evacuated during the war.

Accepted into the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Moore studied for two terms before being called up for national service in 1946 aged 18.

During a posting in Germany, the young officer became involved in organising army entertainment. On leaving the army, he began working as a model, taking bit-part acting roles.

Moore first became a household name for British audiences when he played Simon Templar – the "Robin Hood of crime" – in the smash hit series The Saint from 1962 to 1969.

He then starred in odd couple detective series The Persuaders as aristocrat Lord Brett Sinclair.

In 1972, Moore was approached to replace Sean Connery as James Bond. The resulting film, Live and Let Die, proved a box office success on both sides of the Atlantic. It led to Moore remaining in the role for six more films, making him the longest-serving Bond to date.

Moore also starred in many Hollywood films, including The Wild Geese in 1978 and the 1980 screwball comedy The Cannonball Run.

In 2003, he was knighted in the Queen's birthday honours for his work with the children's charities Unicef and Kiwanis International.

Married four times, Moore leaves behind his wife of 15 years, Kristina Tholstrup, and three adult children from his second and longest marriage to the Italian actress Luisa Mattioli.