In which G.M. Norton shows his appreciation for a living legend and style icon.
Dashing,
suave, handsome, funny, charming. You could be forgiven for thinking I
am being terribly egotistical and these superlatives are to describe
myself. But alas, no. This is merely an attempt to highlight the focus
of this week’s posting – Sir Roger Moore.
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| The infamous eyebrow |
From
time to time, I will shine the spotlight on my style icons and
everybody’s favourite eyebrow raising gentleman has the dubious honour
of being my first.
In case you’re wondering why Sir Roger is this week’s chosen one, there is good reason although you may want to sit down and fix yourself a glass of the strong stuff. Believe it or not but this Sunday, Sir Roger will celebrate his 85th birthday. Eighty-blinking-five. Makes you feel old, doesn’t it? Quick, pour yourself another drink.
Every
inch the archetypal English gentleman, Sir Roger was the ideal person
to play Britain’s most well-known spy, doing so in seven James Bond films. Of
course, he had the perfect education leading up to it – firstly,
studying at the Simon Templar School for Saints before advancing to the
Sinclair and Wilde Anglo-American College of Persuaders.
His
Bond portrayal was quite an influence on my eight-year-old self who watched wide-eyed as he saved the world from megalomaniacs
while surrounded by ladies with an aversion to wearing clothes. That’s
not to mention the underwater motorcar (sadly though, he’s the only Bond
never to get behind the wheel of an Aston Martin).
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| Don't worry, ladies - I'll get the spider |
It
has long been rumoured that the boffins at Lynx ‘acquired’ pheromones
from Sir Roger to create its famous ‘Lynx effect’. Upon close inspection
of the above photograph, one must believe there’s a ring of truth in it.
Even
Sir Roger readily admits that he’s not the best actor, once
commenting that his acting range consists of “Left eyebrow raised,
right eyebrow raised.” But when it comes to cutting a dash and having a
sense of style though, he really is head, shoulders and torso above most so-called leading men. As Carly Simon sang for The Spy Who Loved Me theme
tune, ‘Nobody does it better.’
Not
many people could pull off a Safari suit as effortlessly as Sir Roger
did in his first Bond outing, Live and Let Die. Sartorial standards were
clearly set very high in this film as he also wore a rather dashing
Chesterfield overcoat as he trod the uncompromising streets of Harlem.
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| Yes, Mr Taxi Driver, I have coordinated my tie with your motorcar |
Even
when he’s not playing Bond, Sir Roger remains a preening peacock, with
lots of eccentric flourishes. He also has a sense of humour to match,
happy to send himself up in Cannonball Run.
To conclude, here’s 007 facts about Sir Roger:
001) His father was a policeman.
002) He’s never worn jeans.
003) For a short time, he resided in Radcliffe in Bury, Greater Manchester (on the same street that I briefly lived).
004) His
007 contract provided him with an unlimited supply of Montecristo
cigars during filming, typically running into thousands of pounds.
005) He didn’t perform any of his own stunts in Bond.
006) In seven Bond films, he never ordered a Vodka Martini (shaken, not stirred).
007) He suffers from Hoplophobia (fear of firearms)
Happy birthday for tomorrow, Sir Roger!
G.M. Norton
Protagonist of ‘Norton of Morton’
How do you suppose he mastered his fear of firearms to act in all of the gun scenes he's done over the years?!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the kind comments you've left me recently on my blog, I have been trying to get in touch for a little while but sometimes I can't comment on other people's blogs, there's a glitch somewhere in blogger responsible for it I'm sure!
Porcelina xx
That's quite alright, Porcelina - I'm not finding Blogger to be the easiest of things to get to grips with. Snags ahoy! I was equally perplexed about the fear of firearms factual nugget, especially as Sir Roger served in the forces too. Apparently it caused countless retakes during such scenes when crossfire was involved. I suppose that it only goes to shows the kind of chap he is!
ReplyDeleteNot my fav Bond tbh- I'm more of a Sean or Daniel girl but agree about the suaveness.... I also have problems commenting if I'm using my phone- but works fine on the old laptop.
ReplyDeletePS- If you do get on Twitter I'm @oldfashionedsus
I have such lovely memories watching Moore on a rainy bank holiday and the tongue-in-cheek way he delivered his lines. My favourite Bond is undoubtedly Mr. Connery though. Anybody who can pull off a baby blue towelling playsuit as he did in Goldfinger deserves that accolade. I am still tinkering about with it but should be up-and-running on the old Twitter this coming week. I will electronically follow you then, Susie with immediate haste.
ReplyDelete