SIR ROGER MOORE RECEIVES THE CINEMA RETRO ACHIEVEMENT AWARD AT PINEWOOD STUDIOS "SPY WHO LOVED ME" REUNION EVENT - Celebrating Films of the 1960s & 1970s
On Sunday night Sir Roger Moore received a Lifetime Achievement Award
for his services to the television and film industry from Cinema Retro
magazine.
Moore, who turned 81 last week, was guest of honor at a special gala dinner
at Pinewood Studios, which paid tribute to his
favourite James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me. Also in attendance were
fellow cast and crew members from the 1977 film, regarded by many as Moore’s
best outing as Bond, including actor Richard Kiel, who played the
outlandish ‘Jaws’, Oscar-winning Bond production
designers Sir Ken Adam and Peter Lamont, stuntmen Martin Grace and Paul Weston, both of whom have doubled for Moore in the Bond films, actresses Caroline Munro
and Valerie Leon and screenwriter Christopher Wood.
Hosted by Gareth Owen and Andy Boyle of www.bondstars.com, over 150
guests spent the day at the studio meeting the cast and crew, watching a new
digitally-restored print of The Spy Who Loved Me, posing next to the Lotus Esprit from the movie
andclimaxing the day by attending a gala dinner with James Bond himself in the
legendary Pinewood dining room. The event, when announced in May, sold out in
24 hours, proving Moore’s popularity is still as strong as ever. A portion of
the proceeds were donated to UNICEF.
Sir Roger receives a standing ovation. Cinema Retro's Gareth Owen, one of the organizers of the event is on Sir Roger's left, with director John Glen depicted between them. On the right is Cinema Retro's Lee Pfeiffer and Bond girl Valerie Leon behind him.
Sir Roger accepts the Retro award as his wife, Lady Kristina applauds.
Moore, whose eagerly awaited autobiography “My Word is my Bond” was
published last week, has received many awards during his distinguished career,
but mainly for his work as Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF, a role he has held since 1991. In presenting the surprise Retro award to Sir Roger, co-publisher Lee Pfeiffer explained that Moore's achievements as an actor have often been overlooked. Pfeiffer compared Sir Roger to Cary Grant by stating that both men made their performances seem so effortless that many critics felt they were simply playing themselves. Pfeiffer contradicted this viewpoint by stating that Sir Roger's performances in films such as The Man Who Haunted Himself, Gold, Shout at the Devil, The Wild Geese and The Sea Wolves were "consummate performances by a consummate artist." The audience responded with an extended standing ovation. " Upon
receiving his award last night, a clearly moved Sir Roger told the audience, “I first came to this
studio in 1947 to audition for The Blue Lagoon and have enjoyed a very happy
relationship with the studio since through The Persuaders and seven Bond
movies. I have been very lucky in my career and am absolutely thrilled to
receive the Retro award at Pinewood tonight. It’s made an old aspiring actor
feel very special!”
Cinema Retro publishers Lee Pfeiffer (L) and Dave Worrall present The Retro award to Sir Roger Moore.
In 1999, Moore
was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in recognition of
his achievements on behalf of UNICEF and was Knighted in 2003. However, whilst
the man himself jokes about his acting ability and “lucky career”, he has, in
fact, entertained millions of people around the world both on TV and in the cinema,
and to this day remains a British icon in the industry.
Gala dinner photographs by Mark Mawston. All rights reserved.
