Tag: Roger Moore

Roger Moore visits Copenhagen: Eyewitness accounts from Magasin du Nord (1972)

Even before Roger Moore made his debut as James Bond 007 in "Live and Let Die" (EON 1973), he enjoyed a strong fan following in Denmark due to the popularity of the TV series "The Persuaders" (Danish title: "De uheldige helte" = The Unlucky Heroes, 1971-72) in which he played the dandyish lord Brett Sinclair opposite Tony Curtis as brash American Danny Wilde.

Nevertheless the publicity department at the renowned department store Magasin du Nord at Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen were taken aback by the response when they invited the citizens of the Danish capital to meet the British television star on Friday May 5, 1972.

Roger Moore in Magasin du Nord May 5, 1972

Roger Moore was visiting Copenhagen as a board member of the luxury goods firm Fabergé to promote their latest fragrance. Unfortunately, the arrangers at Magasin du Nord had grossly underestimated the public's interest in seeing the actor in the flesh. Several thousand children and adults flocked to the second floor of the department store hoping to catch a glimpse of the star, and the pressure of the crowds caused the situation to escalate into sheer chaos.

"People went berserk. They smashed our mirrors, and we had to call for ambulances."
– An employee of Magasin du Nord recalls Roger Moore's visit to the department store

One of many children who did not get the chance to greet Roger Moore was the eight-year-old Bent Nielsen. In 2006 he recalled on his blog that infamous day in May 1972 when his mother took him to see Moore at the store:

"When we arrived at Magasin we were directed to the second floor where we found a place in front of two large white doors behind the few other attendees who had already appeared. After a while more and more people showed up and eventually people started pushing from below as we got closer to the time where we would come in and meet Roger Moore. The queue grew, and the Magasin employees tried to form a chain by holding hands but people still continued to push and crowd, after which my mother put me up on the counter next to a cash register until the counter started to tilt back and forth when people just kept on crowding. My mother then lifted me back down and we had to push our way out through the crowd as things were now out of control, and we just got out of there as fast as possible.
On our way out of Magasin we heard over the speaker system that they expected to have the queue in order by the time Roger Moore appeared. We didn't believe them. Outside we happened to meet a lady who told us that she had seen Roger Moore walking down a side street near the store, even though her daughter was still standing in line to get in to see him. Despondently we decided to go home, not knowing if anyone in the store would get the chance to greet him".

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“Live and Let Die”: Signed pin-up photo of Roger Moore (SE og HØR 1973)

The eighth James Bond 007 film from EON Productions, "Live and Let Die", was released in Danish cinemas on December 17, 1973. Six weeks earlier the new James Bond star, Roger Moore, passed through Copenhagen on his way to visit Sweden's Princess Christina in Stockholm. The weekly gossip magazine SE og HØR caught up with Roger Moore for a brief chat and an autograph. The signed pin-up photo in which Moore "shoots from the hip" was featured in issue no. 45 on November 9, 1973.

"I swear by heroic parts because that's where the money is. I'd prefer not to elaborate on my financial interests and sex life although there is no doubt whatsoever that I am a hero: I have been married three times."
– Roger Moore

The accompanying text was written by the magazine's royal reporter Mogens "Mugge" Hansen. Three years later he had his own unauthorized James Bond pastiche, "Gun with the Wind", published in paperback in Denmark.

More about Mogens Mugge Hansen's unofficial James Bond novel "Gun with the Wind"

“Live and Let Die”: Danish souvenir programme (1973)

COLLECTABLE

 
In December 1973, the Danish branch of United Artists released this 16-page souvenir programme in A6 format to mark the Danish cinema release of "Live and Let Die" (EON Productions 1973). The programme was distributed for free in selected cinemas during the film's theatrical run in Denmark (albeit without perforations).

The programme text touches upon Roger Moore's preparations for his first turn as James Bond 007 as well as the careers of the director, Guy Hamilton, and the other main actors, Jane Seymour (Solitaire) and Yaphet Kotto (Kananga/Mr Big). Among other subjects covered are the cult of voodoo, Ross Kananga's crocodile farm and kitesurfing.

Oddly, United Artists' Danish press department fails to mention that the main Bond girl in "Live and Let Die", Jane Seymour, had her first speaking part in a Danish film just three years earlier. At 19 years old, Seymour played the daughter of Danish actors Ebbe Rode and Helle Virkner in the English-language war drama "The Only Way" (Oktoberdage), shot in and around Copenhagen in 1970.

"The Only Way": Oscar winner Norman Wanstall ("Goldfinger") talks about his work on Jane Seymour's Danish film debut

Lev og lad dø - dansk filmprogram A

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Roger Moore and the Crimefighters 4: “One Thousand and One Shoplifters” (Danish first edition, 1980)

NOVEL

 

Roger Moore og Krimipatruljen 4: A/S Butikstyveri (1980)

David Fleming (= Robin Smyth)

Danish first edition
Original:
 Roger Moore and the Crimefighters – One Thousand and One Shoplifters (Everest Books 1977)
Publisher: 
Grafisk Forlag
Publishing date: 
1980
Translator: 
Vivi Berendt
Cover artist: 
Ernst Køhler
Layout: 
Birgit Lerstrup
Format:
 96 pages, hardcover

Note: Roger Moore, the president of the Crimefighters, only appears on the last two pages.