Roger Moore played James Bond long before his film debut 007

Even casual fans have a good idea of ​​how James Bond actors changed over the years. Sean Connery was the original 007, then George Lazenby assumed the position of “On the Secret Service of His Majesty” of 1969 before Connery returned for a final output (official) in “Diamonds Are Forever” of 1971. After that, a new link in the form of Roger Moore, who debuted in the role of “Live and Let Die of 1973.

However, his first exit as James Bond did not start with the best note. In fact, the first day of being James Bond was a dangerous disaster for Moore, who was injured filming a sequence of action for “Live and Let Die”. Fortunately, he did not prevent him from facing the 007 mantle, with Moore playing the character in seven films between 1973 and 1983. Today, he still has the record of the greatest amount of appearances such as Bond in the official films of Eon Productions (although Connery coincided with his seven appearances if he includes the “never Say Never Never” unofficial “).

But if we are being technicians about things, Moore not only had an appearance of his own unofficial link, he actually played the character long before 1973. In fact, he played Bond on the screen after Connery was only two films in his mandate, as part of a British varieties program in which Moore delivered an even more cheerful version of 007 than in any of his appearance of movies.

Roger Moore became a family name for his interpretation of Simon Temlar in the British mysterious crime thriller “The Saint”. The actor debuted on the paper in 1962, the same year that Sean Connery first appeared as Bond in “Dr. No”, the film that started the most lasting franchise of the cinema. The following year, Connery would put the tuxedo once again by “Russia With Love”, while Moore was busy becoming a television star with his main role in “The Saint.” But in 1964, both Connery and Moore would play Bond on the screen, the first one in what is now frequently cited as the best Bond movie, “Goldfinger” and the latter in a brief sketch in a television varieties program.

In the summer of 1964, Moore played 007 with Millicent Martin, who would later become one of the best invited stars in NBC’s “Fraser” when she played Daphne’s mother, Gertrude Moon. However, between 1964 and 1966, Martin starred in his own BBC variety program, “Mainly Millicent” (later shortened to “Millicent”) and it was this series that gave us Moore’s first performance as James Bond.

In the sketch, Moore interprets a version of the character that is on vacation in a resort, just to meet his old love interest and his Russian spy Sonia Sekova (Martin). Then, the couple acts a slap routine where both detectives distrust the other’s attempts to kill them potentially when they are not looking. Not all jokes land, but it is a fascinating look at what a young Moore could have done if Bond’s role is given before his appearance of “living and letting die.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ro7vdommms

Of course, Moore was actually offered Bond’s role long before his official debut appearance. The actor revealed in his autobiography: “My word is my bond”, which had been approached to take care of Connery in 1967, but due to his commitments to “the saint” could not accept. Even so, he technically played the character long before that.

Roger Moore’s debut as James Bond in a comedy sketch is appropriate taking into account the way he would become famous for adopting a more cheerful approach to the character during his official mandate of 007. Moore deliberately separated his link from the Connery version, and with the help of the director of “Live and Let Die Excellence of yours. The monitoring, “The Man With the Golden Gun” of 1974, would see Moore divert more towards the territory of Connery, which almost was disastrous for him and the franchise. But as time passed, the star would hug the most absurd elements of her performance, and became a beloved link for a whole generation in the process.

As such, I could not think of a better history of origin for Moore’s link than his sketch “mainly militant”, which, although clearly it is not the kind of things in which Moore would have thought a lot, at least he saw the actor completely comfortable in his role as 007, something that he would redesign as his official films advanced.

Interestingly, the actor revealed TIME That even before his spy TV representation, he had begun to play with no less than the original Bond Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman producers. “I started ‘the saint’, but at the same time, I had developed an unpleasant habit, or continued an unpleasant habit of play,” he explained. “I found myself playing at least once a week, on the other side of the table, with the broccoli of Cubby and Harry Saltzman. What better way of a potential link to meet the producers.” According to Moore, the couple even invited him to see “Dr. No”, which links the actor with the franchise even before he appeared in “Mainly Milicent.”