He went to Goulburn Public School in his primary years, and Goulburn High School until 1954. Had I been so-called 'successful' and continued on I would probably have had three or four Hollywood wives and a drug addition. I didn't like Quantum of Solace. Meanwhile, no more Bond. One guy in Australia dropped friggin' spaghetti on my head, and I said 'What did ya do that for?' He said he had 18 films to consider. Actors aren't all that important. I've got an American wife and green card so I have the best of both worlds. (1971), On Her Majesty's Secret Service George Lazenby is currently filed for divorce from Pamela Shriver. I ran as hard as I could down to the beach where there would be witnesses in case he tried to hurt me further. (CBS, 1983), and "James" in an episode of the revived "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (NBC/USA, 1985-87). The rest of the cast is rounded out by some very recognizable comedic actors, and maybe even a Bond series veteran or two, but it's more fun if you discover their identities as you go. Sample Page; ; In 1968, Lazenby was cast as "James Bond", despite his only previous acting experience being in commercials, and his only film appearance being a bit-part in a 1965 Italian-made Bond spoof. "[22], "I draw a veil over the chap," said Desmond Llewelyn (who played Q in 17 Bond films). And he said: 'I never thought a family member would kick me when I was down'. George Lazenby and his fiancee, Christina Gannett, shortly before their marriage in 1971. That Lazenby refused to cut the long hair and beard he'd grown since filming of On Her Majesty's Secret Service wrapped for the movie's London premiere did not endear him to Broccoli and Saltzman. Anyone who's in touch with the kids knows what's happening, knows the mood. Peace - that's the message now. Aside from also making regular appearances at Bond-related public events and conventions, Lazenby was briefly considered to reprise 007 when producer Kevin McClory announced "Never Say Never Again" (1983), his remake of "Thunderball" (1965), but was dropped after Sean Connery agreed to once again take up the tuxedo and martini. Amazon.com: Vintage photo of George Lazenby, actor from Australia with Christina Gannett. s Secret Service Spouse(s): Christina Gannett (m. 1971; div. George Lazenby was born in Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia, and served in the Australian Army Special forces and as a military unarmed combat instructor. In her 10-page statement, Melanie tells how Lazenby was waiting with a gun when she returned home with a college friend an hour after her curfew. Except for TV commercials, he had no previous acting experience when he was cast as James Bond. Explore; . In a statement released by his spokesman Michael Sands he said: 'I wish Christina would show me a medical report, x-rays and pictures that show I broke her nose. (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". He is believed to be the only Bond star who did not have his hair enhanced at all. George Lazenby notoriously quit the James Bond franchise after starring in just one movie, 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service. The 90-minute movie is comprised of a longform interview with a still-handsome, seventy-something Lazenby intercut with Drunk History-style reenactments of the frequently hard-to-swallow episodes he recounts, mostly from his pre-Bond life. She says on one occasion when she was about 18, Lazenby pushed her head down a toilet into her own urine. The couple have three children, including twins born in 2005. 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. George Lazenby and his wife Pamela Shriver are fighting for custody of their three children. George Lazenby and his fiancee, Christina Gannett, shortly before their marriage in 1971. She describes the alleged 2004 Christmas Eve bust-up with Lazenby referred to by Shriver in her original court declaration. The Bond pictures were never without humor, but they got a lot goofier during the Moore era. Melanie became a real estate broker in New York. [citation needed], In 1973, Lazenby married his girlfriend of three years, Chrissie Townson, a member of the Gannett family. 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 moved to London in 1964; working as a car salesman and as a model, then as . Lazenby announced his official retirement from acting in 2003 in order to enjoy life with his family and his numerous pastimes, which included car and motorcycle racing and sailing. In fact, Lazenby's footage was edited from "Game of Death" when it was finally released to theaters in 1978. [43] They subsequently had two children, Zachary and Melanie. When she did it he gave her the money and allegedly told her: 'Congratulations - you are a whore. He said if he had not left the role he would have been "locked up by now You need mental conditioning to play Bond", he added. I don't know where my life would have gone if I hadn't have done it. George Robert Lazenby Gender Male Age 78 Date of birth Tuesday 05 Sep 1939 Birth place Ovada Private Hospital, Goulburn, NSW, Australia Occupations Ski Instructor (Finished 1965 (bef.)) In August 2008, it was reported that Shriver had filed for divorce from Lazenby. Christina, who is now believed to live in Europe, alleges Lazenby 'frequently' hit Melanie. [16], In July 1969, after making On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Lazenby returned home to Queanbeyan to see his parents. The latter would be the one where Bond goes undercover as a circus clown. So, anyway I figured he'd have a whole plate in front of him, so I could push it in his lap. On the evening following their mysterious opening encounter on the beach, George Lazenby as James Bond (establishing himself with some baccarat chemin-de-fer in his first appearance in the role) again gets to rescue Diana Rigg as Teresa or, as shell explain, Tracy, in the sixth 007 feature, On his first trip to HQ in London in his only appearance as James Bond, George Lazenby nails the hat-toss, jousts with Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell) and M (Bernard Lee), and reaches an excellent outcome, and an opportunity to pursue Blofeld, in, On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) -- (Movie Clip) A Well-Known Congenital Distinction, Complexity as Bond (George Lazenby), escorted by Yuri Borienko deeper into the secret Swiss Alpine lair, knows hes visiting the real Blofeld (Telly Savalas), who doesnt yet know Bond isnt the real genealogist Sir Hilary, come to consider his claim to a French noble title, in, On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) -- (Original Trailer), Theres a case to be made that the producers overshot the mark in compensating for the absence of Sean Connery, in the sixth James Bond feature, giving George Lazenby possibly more promotion than he needed, in the ever-revaluated. James Bond was so big that I myself didn't really exist. (1993), Eyes of the Beholder "[44], Lazenby played a role in the BBC's Play For Today series in 1973, starring in Roger Smith's The Operation. (2017), A Winter Rose Lazenby co-produced and co-wrote the picture, but the film did not have much of an impact at the box office. 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. Though Lazenby would later state that he never said that he would leave the role, O'Rahilly publicly announced that his client would not return as Bond before the film's premiere. Get involved in exciting, inspiring conversations with other readers. [54], In 2019, Lazenby starred as Dr. Jason Love in an audiobook version of James Leasor's spy novel Passport to Oblivion. $20 million. Lazenby nearly launched a comeback by signing with Hong Kong's Golden Harvest, and would have co-starred with the legendary Bruce Lee - under whom he studied martial arts and philosophy - in his feature "Game of Death" (1978), had the martial arts superstar not died unexpectedly in 1973. "How can you expect someone who's never acted before to take on a leading role? OHMSS very well made film Peter Hunt excellent, excellent, excellent fight stuff, excellent snow effects but I think the end result for George was that it was one of the better Bonds. Anyone who's in touch with the kids knows what's happening, knows the mood. 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. [dubious discuss] though this was not reported on at the time. "I've got an American wife and green card so I have the best of both worlds."[50]. He was offered a seven-movie deal by the Bond producers, but quit the role because he felt that the tuxedo-clad Bond would die out in the new hippie culture that had permeated society in the late 1960s and early 1970s. But she wont hear of it. 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). The film performed admirably at the box office, though not as well as the Bond pictures starring Connery, and was the second highest grossing film of 1969. His sister, Barbara, was an accomplished dancer. 'I did not have 'one' drink, while attending to Zack for eight years!' If I could get a TV series or a good movie, I swear I'd do it for nothing. Sign up for exclusive newsletters, comment on stories, enter competitions and attend events. They disregarded everything I suggested simply because I hadn't been in the film business like them for about a thousand years. "Then she assured me that I would be back at the top of my profession by the end of 1973. To view this content, please use one of the following compatible browsers: 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). It's true that it got me in, but it wasn't worth the ten years it cost me. [60] Zachary was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour when he was eleven and died at 19. But it's just me doing my own thing. That isn't quite wrong, but it isn't exactly right. Anybody that knows me and has been around me knows that I walked away from it, which wasn't a smart thing to do from a career stand-point. In retrospect you can only blame yourself. Newly married to newspaper heiress Christina Gannett in 1971, and the father of two young children, son Zachary and daughter Melanie, Lazenby did what so many other actors had done before him - he waded into the waters of international moviemaking, where his name and status as a former Bond lent star power to many a low-budget genre film . It was tough carrying the role after Sean Connery because he was good. I just went where the flavor was at the time. Christina Gannett is currently available. I look back and think, "How did that happen?" That an actor played the role of James Bond just one time is of less interest than the fact that he was not, in fact, an actor. Get involved in exciting, inspiring conversations. They had been married for 24 years. Relationships. 'I was surprised to learn that - at the age of 65 - that he was having another child. In 1971, Lazenby married his first wife Christina Gannett - heiress to the publishing company Gannett - with whom he had two children, Zachary and Melanie. There is a great deal of difference between an actor and a film star. You can opt-out at any time by signing in to your account to manage your preferences. I am not saying he is an actor. His lead role in the prime time soap opera, He was Golden Harvest studios original replacement for. I just don't think I'm going to make it here. Roger Moore made reference to Lazenby in his commentary for a 2007 DVD release of The Man with the Golden Gun: I have a great deal of e-mail contact with George Lazenby; he's sort of in on the joke circuit that we simply send jokes to each other. She claims he threatened to kill her when she told him she wanted a divorce and says she was so fearful he meant it that it took years before she found the courage to leave him in 1994. [43], In February 1973, he 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. Throughout this busy period, Lazenby also continued to play up his pedigree as a former Bond; he was the Aston Martin-driving "JB" in "The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E." Years later, watching the movie again on DVD (with Lazenby's interviews), he found it to be "a perfect metaphor for life's disappointments". Is an accomplished skier and in fact had won two skiing contests in Australia before becoming James Bond. George Lazenby born in 1939, about Christina Gannett we lack data on his year of birth,. He also said that I was the only reason that he and my Mom argue and that if they got a divorce that I could feel responsible for it.'. "I don't know him at all. [24], I much prefer being a car salesman to a stereotyped James Bond. It is really just a series of happenings which keep the audience entertained. George Lazenby Entertainment - Actor Why Famous: for portraying James Bond in the 1969 James Bond film Age: 83 (b. (Credit Image: KEYSTONE Pictures USA) Save up to 70% with our image packs Pre-pay for multiple images and download on demand. The first film that Lazenby was signed to make with. But OHMSS really is a marvelously rewatchable curiosity that looks and feels like no other entry in the long-running series. Melanie says she would only see Lazenby about once a year after her parents' divorce but made a decision to have more contact with him to have a relationship with her half-brothers and sister when he started a family with Shriver. However this collapsed after Lee's sudden death Lazenby was actually meant to meet Lee for lunch on the day Lee died. "[46], He revealed he had been consulting an astrologer for four years. Full Name: George Robert Lazenby Date of Birth: 5th September 1939 Place of Birth: Queanbeyan, NSW, Australia . Broccoli had made a mental note to remember Lazenby as a possible candidate at the time when he thought Lazenby looked like a Bond. Watch pop music and learn what's going to happen. He was soon earning 25,000 a year (515,000 today). The actor scored well on both fronts - reportedly, he broke a stunt man's nose during a fight scene - and was announced as the new James Bond in the series' sixth film, "On Her Majesty's Secret Service." She claims: 'One time, he went into the bathroom and saw that my toilet was not flushed and he pulled me out of a chair in the living room, dragged me into the bathroom, lifted the toilet seat up, and pushed my face inside of the toilet bowl into my own urine - to teach me a lesson about flushing toilets.'. I am not sure if the gun was loaded or unloaded. I'm terribly impressed with. The series - in which he played a writer and former love interest of main vixen Tina Louise - fared poorly and was cancelled after only a year. He holds the unique distinction of having been both The Marlboro Man and James Bond, as he played 007 in one film and was also the European Marlboro Man. 'I retreated and became quiet until he dropped his guard for a second and then I ran downstairs screaming that he had no right to hurt me. Even Lazenby himself has told the story both ways. (1969), The 24th Annual Mrs. America Pageant 'He looked furious and he yelled "You park where I tell you to!"'. George Robert Lazenby (born September 5, 1939) is an Australian actor best known for portraying James Bond in the 1969 film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Net worth. This account already exists. "[20] His co-star Diana Rigg was among many who commented on this decision: The role made Sean Connery a millionaire. In 1971, Lazenby married his first wife Christina Gannett - heiress to the publishing company Gannett - with whom he had two children, Zachary and Melanie. 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