Roger Moore Cause Of Death: James Bond Actor Dead At 89

James Bond actor Sir Roger Moore died Tuesday at age 89. His children Deborah, Geoffrey and Christian announced the news of their father’s passing with a statement on his official Twitter page.

Moore’s children revealed that Moore’s cause of death was cancer, though they did not specify what type. They noted that he had “a short but brave battle with cancer” before his death in Switzerland Tuesday. Moore battled prostate cancer in 1993 but eventually went into remission.

“The love with which he was surrounded in his final days was so great it cannot be quantified in words alone,” the statement from Deborah, Geoffrey and Christian reads.

“Thank you Pops, for being you and for being so very special to so many people,” they added. Per Moore’s wishes, a private funeral will be held in Monaco.

The trio, who are the children of Moore and his third wife Luisa Mattioli, note that Moore’s current wife Kristina Tholstrup, whom he married in 2002, is also grieving. “Our thoughts must now turn to supporting Kristina at this difficult time.”

Read the full statement below:

Moore, born Oct. 14, 1927, started acting in the 1940s, but he didn’t find fame until 1962 when he was cast as Simon Templar in “The Saint.” The British show also found success in the U.S., and Moore became a star. He brought that star power to the “James Bond” franchise.

The British actor played James Bond in seven movies over 12 years: “Live and Let Die” (1973), “The Man with the Golden Gun” (1974), “The Spy Who Loved Me” (1977), “Moonraker” (1979), For Your Eyes Only” (1981), “Octopussy” (1983) and “A View to a Kill” (1985). He was the fourth actor to play 007 — after Sean Connery, David Niven and George Lazenby — but he held the role for the longest.

Though his later roles weren’t comparable to the success of the Bond films, Moore remained working throughout his life. In his later years, the actor started doing voiceover work. His IMDb page states that he was announced to be in the animated movies “Troll Hunters” and “Astrid Silverlock,” both of which are currently in production.

In their statement, Moore’s children noted how much the world cared for their father: “The affection our father felt whenever he walked on to a stage or in front of a camera buoyed him hugely and kept him busy working into his 90th year, through to his last appearance in November 2016 on stage at London’s Royal Festival Hall. The capacity crowd cheered him on and off stage, shaking the very foundations of the building just a short distance from where he was born.”

Hollywood is making their affection for Moore known on social media today. Acotors, directors, writers, musicians and more have sent messages of mourning on Twitter. “Breaking Bad” star Bryan Cranston even revealed that he was lucky enough to meet with Moore before his death. “Saddened @sirrogermoore passed today. Had a great chat about acting & life 6 mo. ago. Generous and kind. RIP Mr. Bond,” Cranston wrote.

See what others, like Russell Crowe, Andrew Lloyd Webber and more had to say below: