Sir Roger Moore, best known for playing 'James Bond', dies at 89

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Tuesday, May 23, 2017
Sir Roger Moore, best known for playing 'James Bond', dies at 89
Roger Moore, the longest-serving movie star to play iconic British spy James Bond in the famed film series, has died in Switzerland.

LONDON -- Roger Moore, the longest-serving movie star to play iconic British spy James Bond in the famed film series, has died in Switzerland after a brief bout with cancer. He was 89.

A message from his family shared on the actor's official Twitter account Tuesday read: "With the heaviest of hearts, we must share the awful news that our father, Sir Roger Moore, passed away today. We are all devastated."

The statement continued that Moore "has passed away today in Switzerland after a short but brave battle with cancer.

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"The love with which he was surrounded in his final days was so great it cannot be quantified in words alone."

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In this Feb. 10, 2012 file photo, actor Max von Sydow poses at the International Film Festival Berlinale, in Berlin.
AP Photo/Gero Breloer, File

The family's statement read:

"It is with a heavy heart that we must announce our loving father, Sir Roger Moore, has passed away today in Switzerland after a short but brave battle with cancer. The love with which he was surrounded in his final days was so great it cannot be quantified in words alone.

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 affection our father felt whenever he walked on to a stage or in front of a camera buoyed him hugely and kept him busy working into his 90th year, through to his last appearance in November 2016 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.

Thank you Pops for being you, and for being so very special to so many people.

Our thoughts must now turn to supporting Kristina at this difficult time, and in accordance with our father's wishes there will be a private funeral in Monaco.

Deborah, Geoffrey and Christian"