FILM LEGEND LOST What was Sir Roger Moore’s cause of death, how old was the James Bond actor and what sort of cancer did he have?

SIR Roger Moore will be remembered as a James Bond legend after passing away in May 2017.

But why did the star pass away? And how was the news announced? Here's what we know about the sad announcement...

Sir Roger passed away on May 23, 2017, after losing a short battle with cancer, aged 89.

In the statement from his family, they added: “It is with a heavy heart that we must announce our loving father, Sir Roger Moore, has passed away today in Switzerland after a short but brave battle with cancer.”


The film legend’s cancer battle had not been the star’s only health issues in recent years.


Sir Roger was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 2013 - which left him “unable to drink martinis”.


Diabetes is life-long health condition caused by high levels of glucose – or sugar – in the blood.

Glucose levels are so high because the body is unable to properly use it. In people diagnosed with diabetes, their pancreas doesn’t produce any insulin, or not enough insulin. In 2012, Sir Roger had to learn to walk again after a bout of pneumonia, and had a pacemaker fitted after collapsing on stage. The James Bond legend previously battled pneumonia as a five year old – when he was left on the brink of death in hospital before making a recovery. Pneumonia is a bacterial infection which causes swelling of lung tissue. When you have pneumonia, the alveoli – tiny air sacs where oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged – fill with fluid. It affects around eight in 1,000 adults a year, and it’s more common in autumn and winter – but it’s not usually contagious.

What sort of cancer did Roger Moore have?

It is yet to be confirmed what type of cancer sir Roger had been battling in recent months.

In 1993, the star was reported as having suffered with prostate cancer, he later underwent a radical prostatectomy (removal of the prostate gland) and made a recovery.

Then, in 2012, the actor admitted that he “regretted” basking in the sun as a young man – as he had suffered a string of skin cancers in later years.

He told The Sun: "I (wish I) would... have given myself a warning about having too much sunshine. I've had so many skin cancers as a result.

"No one thought about sun screen or creams in my younger days. Even when they started to give warnings, I thought, 'Well, that won't happen to me.'

"I would get sunburned so I did not have to wear make-up in front of the cameras. Every leading man was sunburned."

The statement provided by his family stated that, in accordance with Roger's wishes, "there will be a private funeral in Monaco.”