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Sir Roger Moore’s personal humidor (cigar box) looks set to have a license to thrill in an upcoming sale at a Berkshire auction house.
The late James Bond actor’s humidor was kept in his office at Pinewood Studios from the 1970s until 2016, where he kept an office until his death in 2017.
Roger Moore gifted the humidor to Gareth Owen, who was his PA, manager, fixer and biographer from 2002 until the actor’s death in 2017. It comes via descent through Owen’s family to be offered at auction at Dawsons.
The humidor is beautifully crafted in American walnut with a brass lock, brass hinges and a key with gold coloured tassel. Inside there are three (unsmoked) Cuban Habana cigars, a slim line metal Habana cigar case and a loosely inserted metal plaque, which reads ‘Roger Moore 1967.’ It is accompanied by a typed letter signed by Gareth Owen, on a single sheet of Roger Moore’s headed notepaper, with a crest in the top centre. To further verify it, is a ‘certificate of authenticity’ signed by Gareth Owen, printed on cream card with the same crest in the top centre, which reads: ‘This is to confirm that this cigar box belonged to Roger Moore, back in the days when he smoked! . . . Gareth Owen PA to Sir Roger Moore 1st August 2017.’
A cigar aficionado in his personal life, Moore had a special clause written into his contract, that meant that he received an unlimited supply of Montecristos during filming. Seeing it as a sleek addition to his portrayal of the international spy, Moore also wanted to differentiate his particular Bond character from previous versions, by making him a cigar smoker. Connery had always smoked cigarettes in his version of Bond, turning down a Romeo y Julieta in favour of a cigarette in Goldfinger (1964).
Moore was the third actor to play Bond, stepping into the role from 1973-1985. He played the part in seven feature films by Eon Productions, including 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 first Bond to smoke a cigar in the role, which was in Live and Let Die in 1973 (with other Bonds having, until that point, only smoked cigarettes).
Moore’s association with Pinewood Studios began in 1947 when, as a young lieutenant serving in the Combined Services Entertainment Unit, he screen-tested for the male lead in The Blue Lagoon (1949). In the early 1970s he took an office there, while working on the TV series, The Persuaders and became a permanent resident. In honour of his time at the studios, Pinewood created ‘The Roger Moore Stage’, with HRH The Countess of Wessex unveiling it on October 15, 2017.
Denise Kelly, Head of Dawsons Entertainment & Popular Cultured department, said: “We are delighted to be offering Sir Roger Moore’s personal humidor for sale at Dawsons Auctioneers. It comes with such excellent provenance and has such a direct link to Sir Roger and the time he spent at Pinewood Studios from the 1970s until 2016. It is rather special knowing that Sir Roger kept this in his personal office at Pinewood and used it regularly, before gifting it to his personal assistant.”
The humidor has an estimate of £8,000-10,000 on December 12.
