Faces of Holmes: Roger Moore

“… possible actors in this drama …”

– The Adventure of The Second Stain (SECO)

Roger Moore, the British actor known mainly for his 12 years portraying James Bond and before that was television’s The Saint, portrayed Sherlock Holmes in the 1976 made for television movie Sherlock Holmes in New York.

Moore has been decorated four times in the last 20 years. In 1999, he was first honored as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire or CBE. The badge for the CBE is in the form of a cross patonce (having the arms growing broader and floriated toward the end), the obverse of which bears the left facing busts of King George V and Queen Mary; the reverse bears George V’s Royal and Imperial Cypher. Both are within a ring bearing the motto of the Order. The badges are enamelled with pale blue crosses and crimson ring, and is suspended from a ribbon that is rose-pink with pearl-grey edges, with the addition of a pearl-grey central stripe for the military division.

On February 10, 2003, Moore was presented the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for his work battling child traffickers as special representative to UNICEF.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany is the only federal order of Germany and was created in 1951. The badge is a golden Cross enamelled in red, with a central disc bearing a black eagle. The ribbon is red with gold-black-gold stripes.

 

On October 8, 2003, Moore was advanced from being a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire and was now a Knight Commander or Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE). Moore was presented with another badge, identical to his earlier CBE badge from 1999, along with an eight-pointed star.

The eight-pointed silver star used by Knights and Dames Commanders, is slightly smaller than the version worn by Knights Grand Cross or Dames Grand Cross. It is worn pinned to the left breast. It bears a crimson ring with the motto of the Order inscribed. Within the ring, the effigies of George V and Mary of Teck are shown.

 

 

 

 

The Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters is one of France’s highest honors. French Culture Minister Christine Albanel hailed the 81-year-old former star of the James Bond films as a “legend of the big and small screen”. “France is happy and proud to honour a legendary actor with an immense heart,” said Albanel. Moore said at the Paris award ceremony on October 28, 2008 that the Arts and Letters award to him was worth “more than an Oscar”.

The medal of the Order for Knights is an eight-point, green-enameled asterisk, in silver; the obverse central disc has the monogram letters of “A” and “L” on a white enamelled background, surrounded by a golden ring emblazoned with the phrase “République Française”.

The reverse central disc features the head of Marianne on a golden background, surrounded by a golden ring bearing the words “Ordre des Arts et des Lettres”.

The ribbon of the Order is green with four white stripes.