Author: Roger Moore
Publisher: Michael O’Mara Books
Date: 2008
Place: London
ISBN: 978-1-84317-332-8 (paperback)
Price: R199 (Exclusive Books)
Page No: 330
Reviewed by Brenda Daniels
An interview with Roger Moore published in the Sunday Tribune in late 2008 prompted me to buy ‘James Bond’s’ autobiography as soon as it became available in shops in South Africa. The article portrayed Moore as humorous, self-effacing and as someone who doesn’t take himself too seriously. In fact, he even cheerfully admits to being “the worst Bond ever”.
Moore certainly portrayed Bond with a tongue-in-cheek attitude and in his book disabuses readers of the notion that characters equal real people. Despite his self-deprecation Moore is an accomplished man and an astute businessman. Apart from his famous roles in seven Bond movies, The Persuaders and The Saint, Moore acted in (and directed) many other movies, TV series and, to a lesser extent, stage plays. Some were successful, many were not.
Taking us from his humble and loving background as an only child in wartime London, My Word is My Bond finishes up with Moore living in Switzerland, where he moved in order to avoid paying a whopping 85% tax on his high earnings in England. He lists at the end of the book the many, many countries he has visited over the years, mostly as a result of his work for UNICEF, something in which he became involved in his later years. For his dedication and compassion for the many children assisted by UNICEF, Moore was awarded an OBE and later a knighthood.
On the home front, Moore, now an octogenarian is married to his fourth wife and has three of his own children. Perhaps actor/character roles did blur a bit in the love department….
With tales of practical jokes, titbits about his relationship with other famous actors and a story book of photos, My Word is My Bond makes for lively and thoroughly enjoyable reading.
Highly recommended.
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