George Lazenby

Biography

George Robert Lazenby (; born 5 September 1939) is a retired Australian actor. He began his professional career as a model and an actor in commercials. He had no film acting experience when he was cast as the fictional British spy James Bond for the film On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969). Lazenby replaced the original Bond actor, Sean Connery, but declined to return for subsequent films in the series, instead pursuing roles in Universal Soldier (1971), Who Saw Her Die? (1972), The Shrine of Ultimate Bliss (1974), and The Man from Hong Kong (1975).

== Early life == George Robert Lazenby was born on 5 September 1939, in Goulburn, New South Wales, at Ovada Private Hospital, to railway worker George Edward Lazenby and Fosseys retail worker Sheila Joan Lazenby (née Bodel). He attended Goulburn Public School in his primary years and Goulburn High School until 1954. His sister Barbara was an accomplished dancer. When he was young, he spent 18 months in hospital after he underwent an operation that left him with only half a kidney. When Lazenby was about 14, he moved with his family from Goulburn to Queanbeyan, where his father ran a store. He served in the Australian Army, then afterwards worked as a car salesman and mechanic.

=== Early jobs and modelling === Lazenby moved to London in 1964 to pursue a woman with whom he had fallen in love. He became a car salesman in Finchley, where he was spotted by a talent scout who persuaded him to become a model. He was soon earning £25,000 a year. He was widely known for appearing in an advertisement for Fry's chocolate bars. In 1966, he was voted Top Model of the Year.

== James Bond ==

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. Broccoli later saw him in the Big Fry commercial and felt he could possibly portray Bond, on which basis he invited him to do a screen test. Lazenby dressed for the part by sporting several sartorial Bond elements, such as a Rolex Submariner wristwatch and an Anthony Sinclair tailored suit (Sean Connery’s tailor as James Bond) which had been ordered, but not collected, by Connery. Broccoli offered him an audition. During the audition, Lazenby accidentally punched a professional wrestler, who was acting as stunt coordinator, in the face, impressing Broccoli with his ability to display aggression. Director Peter R. Hunt felt that just because Lazenby starred in the movie, it did not make him an actor. In July 1969, after making On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Lazenby returned home to Queanbeyan to see his parents. He said he had 18 films to consider, but most of them were bad, adding that he had to "wait and see." He also told the press, "I don't think I'm ready for anything like Hamlet yet but I'd love to play Ned Kelly." Lazenby was offered the chance to portray Bond on film again, in The Man with the Golden Gun. However, prior to the release of On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Lazenby decided to leave the role of Bond after his agent, Ronan O'Rahilly, convinced him that the secret agent would be archaic in the liberated 1970s. Lazenby also felt that he had received poor treatment on the film set. Several of his co-stars felt that Lazenby had made a mistake, including Diana Rigg and Desmond Llewelyn. Lazenby acknowledged the worry but insisted that he had made the correct decision. At the time of the release of On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Lazenby's performance received mixed reviews. Critics felt that while he was physically convincing, he delivered his lines poorly. In the years since the film was released, public perception has become more positive. Broccoli publicly defended Lazenby's performance, saying that while he was not the best actor, he was still great for the role of Bond. He did admit that he found Lazenby's post-movie attitude annoying, feeling that he did not respect the character and was arrogant.

Lazenby was considered to reprise the role of James Bond in Never Say Never Again. Sean Connery was chosen for the role instead. Lazenby has appeared as James Bond in various parodies and unofficial 007 roles, including the 1983 television film The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E., where his character is identified only by the initials J. B., and the 1996 video game Fox Hunt. Additionally, he appeared in an episode of The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents called "Diamonds Aren't Forever." In 2012, Lazenby made a guest appearance on the Canadian sketch comedy series This Hour Has 22 Minutes, spoofing the 007 series in a skit called "Help, I've Skyfallen and I Can't Get Up".

== Post-Bond career == Lazenby made another film a year after On Her Majesty's Secret Service – Universal Soldier (1971), which he helped write. He said the movie was "anti-guns and anti-Bond". Due to his reported poor treatment on the set of On Her Majesty's Secret Service, he sought out a director whom he would work with better and found Cy Endfield. Lazenby helped to fund the film. Lazenby admitted that after he left the role of Bond, he was unhireable. He landed few roles, to the point that his agent described him as "difficult". Lazenby next appeared in the 1972 Italian giallo film Who Saw Her Die? opposite Anita Strindberg, a performance for which he lost 35 pounds and received positive reviews. He spent the next 15 months sailing around the world with Chrissie Townson; the trip ended when she became pregnant with their first child, prompting Lazenby to settle down and try to reactivate his career as an actor. In February 1973, Lazenby revealed that he had spent all of the money he had earned from playing Bond, had experienced two nervous breakdowns, and had become an alcoholic. He felt that if he had continued in the role, he would have gone crazy due to the mental stress that the role brings. He later said, "I burnt some bridges behind me, and it was fun, really. I'm sort of glad I did it and I know I won't have to do it again. I can look back and laugh because I didn't hurt anyone — except myself." Lazenby played a role in the BBC's Play for Today series in 1973, starring in Roger Smith's The Operation. He was meant to follow it with an Anglo-Italian western made in Turkey, followed by a film about rioting students in pre-Castro Cuba, but neither was made.

=== Hong Kong === In 1973, Lazenby said he was "flat broke" when he went to Hong Kong to meet Bruce Lee and producer Raymond Chow. They ended up offering him $10,000 ($72,500 today) to appear in a film with Lee, which was going to be the Golden Harvest film Game of Death. However, the plan collapsed after Lee's sudden death. Lazenby was meant to meet Lee for dinner on the day Lee died. In the end, Lazenby shot three films for Golden Harvest: The Shrine of Ultimate Bliss, The Man from Hong Kong (1975) (also known as The Dragon Flies), and A Queen's Ransom (1976).