Five facts about British actor Roger Moore

London: British actor Roger Moore, who won international fame playing fictional secret agent 'James Bond', died of cancer on Tuesday aged 89, his family said.

Here are five facts about him.

* Moore, the son of a policeman, started out with ambitions to be an artist but after losing his job as a cartoon animator he switched to acting following an invite from a film director friend.

* Moore served in the British army during World War 2 before moving to the United States for a period in the 1950s to kickstart his acting career.

* Moore enjoyed his break-out role in action-crime television series "The Saint" in 1953, before taking over the role of Bond, the hedonistic spy, from Sean Connery in the 1973 film "Live and Let Die".

* Moore starred in seven Bond films in total over a 12-year period, including "The Spy Who Loved Me", "For Your Eyes Only", "Octopussy" and "A View to a Kill".

* The international smash hit film franchise, which saw Moore go to exotic locations to fight crime, womanise and drink martinis helped him win a number of awards and recognition, including a Golden Globe in 1980. He was knighted by Britain's Queen Elizabeth in 2003.