If I could get a TV series or a good movie, I swear I'd do it for nothing. There were also reports that Monty Python's John Cleese wanted him to play Jesus Christ in their Biblical spoof "Life of Brian" (1979), but scheduling conflicts prevented him from taking the part. Actors aren't all that important. At my thinnest point from the disease (I was 97 pounds and 5'8'') my Dad asked me if I was worried that "my legs might break and go up my ass" or sing "Here she comes, Miss Ethiopia" to the Miss America tune when I would walk past him. James Bond was so big that I myself didn't really exist. In 1971, Lazenby married his first wife Christina Gannett - heiress to the publishing company Gannett - with whom he had two children, Zachary and Melanie. The couple later had three children - a son, George, born in 2004, and twins Caitlin and Samuel, born in 2005. During the 80's and 90's, Lazenby signed a contract with ABC's American . Mechanic (Finished 1965 (bef.)) He's now the subject of Josh Greenbaum's Becoming Bond, a very funny original Hulu documentary that, through pure coincidence, made its debut on the streaming service only about 48 hours before the news of Moore's passing broke. Samuel Robert Lazenby , Zachary Lazenby . ", "George Lazenby moves house to Brentwood, California, for $2.8m", "Life of Brian: The Criterion Collection", George Lazenby at the National Film and Sound Archive, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=George_Lazenby&oldid=1142129753, Season 4 episode 38: "In the Name of the Queen", Season 11 episode 21: "The Year of the Horse", Season 1 episode 12: "The End of the World", Season 4 episode 15: "Diamonds Aren't Forever", Season 2 episode 1: "Return of the Shadow Assassin", This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 17:45. Shriver includes as an exhibit a copy of the letter she says she left Lazenby when she walked out on him after a row allegedly turned physical at Wimbledon last year. He studied martial arts under, He was set to co-star in the biggest budgeted action/martial arts film of all time in 1973, along with. | A chance encounter with Bond series producer Albert R. Broccoli in a hair salon in 1966, in London, had given Lazenby his first shot at getting the role. (Gourley's other credentials include having played Bond creator Ian Fleming on Drunk History and on the Superego podcast, a gift for mimicking accents, and Bond-geek superknowlege.) But Lazenby says the declarations are 'contrived, unfounded and without merit'. [62] Their divorce was finalized in May 2011. 5 September 1939: Full name: George Robert Lazenby : Years active: 1965-2003, 2012-present: Spouse(s) Christina Gannett (1971-1995; divorced), Pam Shriver (2002-2008; divorced) Children: George Samuel Lazenby, Melanie . Lazenby said he was 'sorry that he ignored Melanie from the time she was 12 years old', but claimed he was busy attending to his son Zack's needs - 'because he was dying from his brain tumors'. Born c. 1975; died after lengthy bout with brain cancer at age 19 in 1994. His lead role in the prime time soap opera, He was Golden Harvest studios original replacement for. I was surprised that they could pull it off, but they blew it with the next one. (2000), Star of Jaipur He was the second actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions film series, playing the character in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969). In fact, Lazenby's footage was edited from "Game of Death" when it was finally released to theaters in 1978. Pam Shriver (m 2002 - 2011) , Christina Gannett (m 1971 - 1995) Children. Some of this is just fan-protectiveness, naturally; die-hards will always want to claim that the obscure document most folks don't know is superior to the popular one that they do. 9/5/1939) He is the only actor to play the role of Bond only once in an . He appeared with Sylvia Kristel in several new Emmanuelle films in 1993, many of which appeared on cable television. It went to my head, everything that was happening to me. Say what you will about his performance in the movie, he's very convincing in the action scenes more than the older, suaver, Britisher Moore ever was, certainly. He owns mansions in Hawaii, USA; Brentwood, California, USA; Australia; and a 600 acre estate/ranch in Valyermo, Unincorporated Los Angeles County, California, USA. "But it's all commercial rubbish, such as the guy getting the girl at the end of the Battle of Britain," he said. People aren't going to films because film-makers are putting out films people don't want to see. Not until the rough-and-ready Australian actually broke a stuntman's nose in a fight scene, performed as one of his many screen tests, did Broccoli finally decide to take a chance on him. Biography George Lazenby was born in Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia, and served in the Austr. One guy in Australia dropped friggin' spaghetti on my head, and I said 'What did ya do that for?' 'I wanted to play fair with Pam to let her share the kids 50/50. He was a martial arts instructor in the Australian army, and holds more than one black belt in the martial arts. [13]a, Lazenby dressed for the part by sporting several sartorial Bond elements such as a Rolex Submariner wristwatch and a Savile Row suit, which had been ordered, but not collected, by Connery. Fame is short-lived and you're the last to know when you are no longer hot. It was to insulate me from the madness around Bond. (in which his character is identified only by the initials J.B.), 1996 video game Fox Hunt[31] (parts of which were reedited into a feature film[32][bettersourceneeded]) and an episode of The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents, entitled "Diamonds Aren't Forever". "Now he's offering me one. They dated for 3 years after getting together in 1970 and married in 1973. That was after Bond, I think I had done three Kung Fu movies so I was pretty accurate, you know. George has won several celebrity stock car races and dirt-bike races, as well as amateur and professional races in both. Dance instructor. (The Bond company, so to speak.). When he was young he spent 18 months in hospital after having an operation which left him with only half a kidney. 'I never left George until after our son passed away and our daughter was 21 years old, out of fear that he meant what he said and would follow through on it.'. [6][7][8], Lazenby moved to London in 1963 to pursue a woman with whom he'd fallen in love. But I always admired him. Most film-makers don't watch and aren't in touch. The lengths Lazenby went to to get the role included spending his last pounds on acquiring a tailor-made suit from Sean Connery's tailor, which was originally made for Connery, along with purchasing a very Bondish-looking Rolex watch.Lazenby quit the role of Bond right before the premiere of his only film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), citing he would get other acting roles, and that his Bond contract, which was fourteen pages thick, was too demanding on him.In his post-Bond career, Lazenby has acted in TV movies, commercials, various recurring roles in TV series, the film series "Emmanuelle", several Bond movie spoofs, TV guest appearances, provided voice for several animated movies and series, and several Hong Kong action films, using his martial arts expertise. But Sean Connery, who'd quit the role with one film remaining on his contract only to be lured back twice, eventually got to seven, too. In Becoming Bond, he insists that he was offered a six-film contract plus a generous signing bonus, a package he declined on the advice of his manager. I am not saying he is an actor. Lazenby eventually completed four kung fu films in the East, but none had the international drawing power of Lee's features. Lazenby vehemently denies the allegations. I'd saturate myself and pass out. Supposedly contracted to make twenty sequel television movies of the original. Now I can give my full concentration to acting. He appeared in a TV movie Cover Girls (1977). I cant believe its come to this,' he said. s Secret Service Spouse(s): Christina Gannett (m. 1971; div. . 'When I looked up, George was furious and threatened to kill me if I didn't agree with him. Melanie says: 'He said that I was his "old family" and then (pointing to Pam and Georgie) that he had a "new family" and that he didn't need me anymore. Lazenby refused to play Bond again thanks to bad career advice, leaving him to languish in relative obscurity for much of the 1970s before resurfacing as a supporting player in several television series and made-for-TV movies. Broccoli told the press shortly after the film's release: I don't agree with the press. "I'll just have to wait and see. It's true that it got me in, but it wasn't worth the ten years it cost me. George Robert Lazenby was born on the 5th September 1939, in Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia, and is an actor and former model, best known to the world for portraying I was terrified.'. Born George Robert Lazenby in Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia on Sept. 5, 1939, he served in the Australian Armed Special Forces and worked at several jobs in his native country - car salesman and ski instructor, among others - before departing for London in 1964. He was widely known for an advertisement for Fry's chocolate bars. I will never play him again. [13][15] Director Peter R. Hunt later said:.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}, We wanted someone who oozed sexual assurance, and we think this fellow has that. I felt sorry for George, but I was afraid to get trapped in the closet with him in that state. [on being cast as James Bond] At first I was very humble about it and naive. I can look back and laugh because I didn't hurt anyone except myself. I never punched her in my life. (In 1978) I enjoy the States, to be quite honest about it. George Lazenby is a 82 year old Australian Actor. On the On Her Majesty's Secret Service Blu-ray, former United Artists CEO David Picker, among others, says it was the latter. (On the unmade The Golden Needles of Ecstasy) I'm excited to be able to concentrate on just acting in this film. This account already exists. I'm sort of glad I did it and I know I won't have to do it again. His agent, Maggie Smith, told him that he should apply for Bond, since in her opinion, his arrogance would surely win him the role. Looking back, the one thing I missed out on was reality. ', Melanie adds: 'My Dad was insistent that he was doing the right thing and that these lessons - even though they were harsh - needed to be taught. Watch pop music and learn what's going to happen. [12], In 1968, after Sean Connery had left the role of James Bond, producer Albert R. Broccoli met Lazenby for the first time while they were getting their hair cut at the same barbershop. Melanie says she did not speak to her dad for about 18 months after he invited her over for Christmas, only to allegedly make her spend Christmas Day alone after telling her she was his 'old family' and he did not need her any more. [42] He spent the next 15 months sailing around the world with Chrissie Townson which ended when she became pregnant with their first child, prompting Lazenby to settle down and try to re-activate his career as an actor. Sometimes he would attack me under the influence of alcohol, sometimes sober.'. [2] He declined to return in subsequent Bond films and instead pursued roles in films throughout the 1970s that included Universal Soldier (1971), Who Saw Her Die? ", Had a recurring role on the daytime soap "General Hospital" (ABC), Was a series regular on the syndicated prime time soap opera "Rituals", Returned to regular TV work on the syndicated "Superboy" as Jor-El, Portrayed Mario, opposite Sylvia Kristel's Emmanuelle in a series of softcore made-for-cable films, Appeared as General Pettigrew in the feature, "Gettysburg", Played a role in the CD-ROM game, "Fox Hunt", Lent his voice to The King, head of the Royal Flush gang, on the animated "Batman Beyond" (WB), Appeared on several episodes of "The Pretender" (NBC), Announced his official retirement from acting. Forever enshrined in the footnotes of pop culture history as the second actor to play James Bond on screen - and the one with the shortest tenure in the role - George Lazenby was a former model plucked from relative obscurity to replace Sean Connery as 007 in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (1969). The couple have three children, including twins born in 2005. Help us build our profile of Christina Gannett! People ask me if the Bond movie wasn't worth it if it got me into acting. Twin Sitters I just don't think I'm going to make it here. So, when she got in the car, I went for her. DVD review Cine Outsider", "George Lazenby takes a new domestic role", "George Lazenby Far Eastern Odyssey (Part 1)", "George Lazenby: 'They offered me 1 million cash to do a second Bond film I walked away', "Paul McGann: The latest twist in his tale", "Sondre Lerche: on James Bond and George Lazenby", "Pam Shriver files for divorce from former Bond George Lazenby", "Which James Bond Just Got His License to Divorce? Races and dirt-bike races, as well as amateur and professional races in both: I do want. The prime time soap opera, he was young he spent 18 in... ( in 1978 speak. ) cable television to make it here 'What did ya that! The influence of alcohol, sometimes sober. ' it again 18 months hospital... 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