a friend posted the following story today. I think it really speaks to the character of the man:
"As an seven year old in about 1983, in the days before First Class Lounges at
airports, I was with my grandad in Nice Airport and saw Roger Moore sitting at
the departure gate, reading a paper. I told my granddad I'd just seen James Bond
and asked if we could go over so I could get his autograph. My grandad had no
idea who James Bond or Roger Moore were, so we walked over and he popped me in
front of Roger Moore, with the words "my grandson says you're famous. Can you
sign this?"
As charming as you'd expect, Roger asks my name and duly signs the back of my
plane ticket, a fulsome note full of best wishes. I'm ecstatic, but as we head
back to our seats, I glance down at the signature. It's hard to decipher it but
it definitely doesn't say 'James Bond'. My grandad looks at it, half figures out
it says 'Roger Moore' - I have absolutely no idea who that is, and my hearts
sinks. I tell my grandad he's signed it wrong, that he's put someone else's name
- so my grandad heads back to Roger Moore, holding the ticket which he's only
just signed.
I remember staying by our seats and my grandad saying "he says you've signed the
wrong name. He says your name is James Bond." Roger Moore's face crinkled up
with realisation and he beckoned me over. When I was by his knee, he leant over,
looked from side to side, raised an eyebrow and in a hushed voice said to me, "I
have to sign my name as 'Roger Moore' because otherwise...Blofeld might find out
I was here." He asked me not to tell anyone that I'd just seen James Bond, and
he thanked me for keeping his secret. I went back to our seats, my nerves
absolutely jangling with delight. My grandad asked me if he'd signed 'James
Bond.' No, I said. I'd got it wrong. I was working with James Bond now.
Many, many years later, I was working as a scriptwriter on a recording that
involved UNICEF, and Roger Moore was doing a piece to camera as an ambassador.
He was completely lovely and while the cameramen were setting up, I told him in
passing the story of when I met him in Nice Airport. He was happy to hear it,
and he had a chuckle and said "Well, I don't remember but I'm glad you got to
meet James Bond." So that was lovely.
And then he did something so brilliant. After the filming, he walked past me in
the corridor, heading out to his car - but as he got level, he paused, looked
both ways, raised an eyebrow and in a hushed voice said, "Of course I remember
our meeting in Nice. But I didn't say anything in there, because those cameramen
- any one of them could be working for Blofeld."
I was as delighted at 30 as I had been at 7. What a man. What a tremendous man."
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4546286/Roger-Moore-s-witty-James-Bond-memoirs-packed-gossip.html