The Biography Channel - Roger Moore Biography

An academically bright young man, he attended Hackford Road elementary and then Battersea Grammar School, always doing well and usually coming within the top three of his class. He developed a love of swimming and showed talent as a sprint swimmer. Living through the blitz on London during World War II, he remembers their garden fence railings being taken down to melt for munitions and thinking how strange it was that their fence would be made into bombs and bullets to kill people. He became a prefect and developed a love of artwork and drawing, deciding to become an artist of some sort.

After leaving school at age fifteen, his first job was with Publicity Picture Productions in London. They made animated cartoon films and Moore worked as a tracer and filler-in, as part of the animation process. It was at this time that he joined the studio worker’s union, A.C.T.T., of which he is still a member. After being fired from Publicity Picture Productions, he did some work as an extra with Caesar and Denham Studios.

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Moore’s film debut was playing a Roman soldier in their production of ‘Caesar and Cleopatra’ (1945) with Claude Rains and Vivien Leigh. Having never imagined himself an actor, Moore rather took to the idea, when approached by the film’s director, Brian Desmond Hurst, who had noticed his potential. He offered to arrange a place for Moore and to pay his tuition fees at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. It was a fantastic opportunity and Moore accepted. Whilst waiting for his place at the Royal Academy, he continued working as an extra in films such as ‘Perfect Strangers’ (1945), with Robert Donat and Deborah Kerr, ‘Gaiety George’ (1946) and ‘Piccadilly Incident’ (1946).

At age 18, Moore went off to do his National Service and trained as an Officer, serving in the entertainment branch and enjoying the camaraderie he experienced in the army. Following his Officer training, he was posted to Germany where he experienced a bad motor accident that split open his jaw and head. After months spent recovering in a hospital in Hamburg, Moore went back to Britain on home leave and at age 19, married his Royal Academy classmate sweetheart, ice skater Doorn van Steyn on 9 December 1946 at the Wandsworth Town Hall.