KING FOR A DAY!

May 30th is San Fernando's Day and since my grandfather was also named Fernando, I will be celebrating for both of us today. Actually, this date commemorates King Ferdinand III of Castile who died on May 30, 1252.  He was one of the most successful kings of Castile and in 1671 he was canonized by Pope Clement X.  In the United States, the city of San Fernando and the San Fernando Valley are named after him and placed under his patronage.  So, hail King Ferdinand!

Sir Roger Moore, actor, dies aged 89.

Sir Roger George Moore KBE,  (14 October 1927 – 23 May 2017) was an English actor. He played the British secret agent James Bond in seven feature films between 1973 and 1985. He was also known for playing Simon Templar in the television series The Saint between 1962 and 1969. He was the star of other TV series, like Ivanhoe, The Alaskans, Maverick and The Persuaders. His filmography includes several notable titles: The Man Who Haunted Himself, Gold, Shout At The Devil, Sherlock Holmes In New York, The Wild Geese, Escape To Athena, ffolkes : North Sea Hijack, The Sea Wolves, Cannonball Run, The Naked Face, Bed & Breakfast and The Quest.
In 1999, Moore was created a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), and advanced to Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) on 14 June 2003.  The citation on the knighthood was for Moore's charity work, which dominated his public life for more than a decade.

"Live and Let Die" was the first Roger Moore-James Bond film I saw. I was 22 years old and a hard-core Connery fan (still am) so naturally I wanted to see how Moore would handle the task. I knew he was going to incorporate his Simon Templar characterization into it as they were quite similar in so many ways and I was absolutely right. He was The Saint with a larger budget. I enjoyed the Moore- Bond films very much, though! To me, he's the second best Bond ever! Just my opinion.