Roger and Thee

One day after the death of actor Roger Moore at age 89, there continues to be a flood of discussion on the Web about this former star of The Saint, The Persuaders!, and a series of James Bond films.

Bill Koenig offers a nice appreciation of Moore in The Spy Commend that mentions how generous he was in complimenting other men who played the part of Agent 007. The New York Times’ A.O. Scott and author-blogger Gary Dobbs both seek to make the case that—in spite of criticism to the contrary—Moore made the best big-screen Bond. The Book Bond’s John Cox has posted a gallery of Bond novel fronts featuring Moore. And as others have done, the classic-film blog Silver Scenes effuses over the movie and TV performer’s comportment:

I think what appealed to me most about Roger was his stately bearing. He was a gentleman in an age of very few gentlemen. Tailored suits, the finest cuff-links, impeccable hair … he always dressed for the occasion. Sometimes that occasion was yachting on the Riviera, other times hosting a race in London. If one was to look up the word debonair in the Webster’s dictionary, “Sir Roger Moore” should be the definition. It was like a real baron, no—a prince—took time off from his royal duties to try acting for a lark, to have the pleasure of entertaining the masses. And what pleasure he gave us!

Finally, author Lee Goldberg—who, in his younger days, talked several times with Roger Moore on the set of A View to a Kill for Starlog Magazine (“He was such a nice man, so funny and self-effacing … with an amazing memory for names”)—posted a link from his Facebook page to the published results of their exchanges.

Expect to see more tributes to Moore in the coming days.

READ MORE: “Roger Moore, R.I.P.,” by Jason Whiton (Spy Vibe); “Roger Moore Dead: This Anecdote About the James Bond Actor Just Keeps Getting Better As You Read,” by Christopher Hooten (The Independent); “‘One of Nature’s True Gentlemen’: Your Roger Moore Stories” (The Guardian).