:George Lazenby

George Robert Lazenby was born on 5 September 1939 in Goulburn, New South Wales,{{cite web |author= |title=Australians in Hollywood |url=http://www.portrait.gov.au/exhibit/hollywood/content/13.htm |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110320023333/http://www.portrait.gov.au/exhibit/hollywood/content/13.htm |archivedate=20 March 2011 |access-date=2 November 2010 |website=Australian National Portrait Gallery |publisher=}} 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.{{cite news |author=Doherty |first=Megan |date=10 September 2000 |title=Former 007 Celebrates His 61st Birthday Back In Queanbeyan |work=The Canberra Times |page=3}}

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.{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article105856039|title=£45 FINE IN TRAFFIC CASE RE-HEARING|newspaper=The Canberra Times|date=15 December 1961|access-date=17 February 2015|page=30|via=National Library of Australia|archive-date=28 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328171736/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/105856039|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article104590150|title=Advertising|newspaper=The Canberra Times|date=9 March 1963|access-date=17 February 2015|page=12|via=National Library of Australia|archive-date=28 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328171755/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/104590150|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article104278053|title=FAREWELL TO BELINDA|newspaper=The Canberra Times|date=10 April 1964|access-date=17 February 2015|page=29|via=National Library of Australia|archive-date=28 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328171725/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/104278053|url-status=live}}

Lazenby moved to London in 1963 to pursue a woman with whom he had fallen in love.Gordon, Chris. [http://www.goulburnpost.com.au/news/local/news/general/lazenbys-goulburn-bond/1986751.aspx "Lazenby's Goulburn bond"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101104140418/http://www.goulburnpost.com.au/news/local/news/general/lazenbys-goulburn-bond/1986751.aspx |date=4 November 2010 }} Goulburn Post. 3 November 2010{{cite web |last=Barnes |first=Candice |date=21 June 2014 |title=Bond and beyond: George Lazenby sets the record straight |url=http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/about-town/bond-and-beyond-george-lazenby-sets-the-record-straight-20140621-zsh9s.html |access-date=4 December 2017 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |archive-date=5 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161105214358/http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/about-town/bond-and-beyond-george-lazenby-sets-the-record-straight-20140621-zsh9s.html |url-status=live }} 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.{{Cite web |last=Kaye |first=Don |date=27 May 2017 |title=Becoming Bond: How a Car Salesman Landed the Role of James Bond 007 |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/becoming-bond-how-a-car-salesman-landed-the-role-of-james-bond-007/ |access-date=22 March 2024 |website=Den of Geek |language=en-US |archive-date=22 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240322045826/https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/becoming-bond-how-a-car-salesman-landed-the-role-of-james-bond-007/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite video |title=Becoming Bond |date=20 May 2017 |last=Greenbaum |first=Josh |type=Motion picture |language=en |author-link=Josh Greenbaum}} He was widely known for appearing in an advertisement for Fry's chocolate bars.Terry Coleman, '007 Mk2', The Guardian, 8 October 1968, p. 5 In 1966, he was voted Top Model of the Year.{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article107070289|title=CAPITALLETTER|newspaper=The Canberra Times|date=29 August 1968|access-date=17 February 2015|page=3|via=National Library of Australia|archive-date=28 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328164625/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/107070289|url-status=live}}

File:On Her Majesty's Secret Service (8).jpg while filming On Her Majesty's Secret Service in November 1968]]

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.{{cite video|title=Inside On Her Majesty's Secret Service|medium=DVD|location=OHMSS Ultimate Edition DVD|publisher =MGM Home Entertainment Inc.|year=2000}}

Lazenby dressed for the part by sporting several sartorial Bond elements, such as a Rolex Submariner wristwatch and a Anthony Sinclair tailored suit (Sean Connery’s tailor as James Bond) which had been ordered, but not collected, by Connery.Andere Tijden,[http://geschiedenis.vpro.nl/programmas/2899536/afleveringen/32270599/ De 'vergeten' 007] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091227205027/http://geschiedenis.vpro.nl/programmas/2899536/afleveringen/32270599/ |date=27 December 2009 }}. VPRO, Nederland 2, 20:25–21:25.

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.{{cite web|url=http://commanderbond.net/article/2524|title=Happy 69th Birthday, George Lazenby!|date=5 September 2008|publisher=Commanderbond.net|access-date=12 October 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081015200014/http://commanderbond.net/article/2524|archive-date=15 October 2008}} Director Peter R. Hunt felt that just because Lazenby starred in the movie, it did not make him an actor.{{cite news |date=9 October 1968 |title=Australian Non-Actor Chosen to Play James Bond |newspaper=The Washington Post |page=D14}}

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".{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article136943162|title=FILM SPY HAS TEARFUL EYE TO GREET PARENTS|newspaper=The Canberra Times|date=10 July 1969|access-date=17 February 2015|page=3|via=National Library of Australia|archive-date=28 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328164626/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/136943162|url-status=live}} 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."{{cite news |date=10 July 1969 |title=James Bond Slimmer Now |newspaper=Sydney Morning Herald |page=7}}

Lazenby was offered the chance to portray Bond on film again, in The Man with the Golden Gun.{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article43461840|title=JAMES BOND—WHEN HE'S AT HOME|newspaper=The Australian Women's Weekly|date=6 August 1969|access-date=17 February 2015|page=7|via=National Library of Australia|archive-date=28 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328164740/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/43461840|url-status=live}} 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.{{Cite web |last=Sandwell |first=Ian |date=4 March 2024 |title=Why every James Bond actor quit |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a869479/james-bond-quit-connery-moore-lazenby-brosnan-dalton/ |access-date=22 March 2024 |website=Digital Spy |language=en-GB |archive-date=22 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240322170750/https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a869479/james-bond-quit-connery-moore-lazenby-brosnan-dalton/ |url-status=live }} Lazenby also felt that he had received poor treatment on the film set."Latest 007 Seeking to End His Bondage", Los Angeles Times, 24 November 1969, pg. 2. Several of his co-stars felt that Lazenby had made a mistake, including Diana Rigg{{cite news |author=Gene Siskel |date=3 December 1969 |title=The Movies: What's New, Diana? |work=Chicago Tribune |page=C-10}}{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article107905273|title=Lazenby quits 007|newspaper=The Canberra Times|date=25 November 1969|access-date=17 February 2015|page=14|via=National Library of Australia|archive-date=28 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328171758/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/107905273|url-status=live}} and Desmond Llewelyn.{{cite news |author=Knapp, Dan |date=27 December 1971 |title=A Visit With 007's Armorer |work=Los Angeles Times |page=E-17}}{{cite news |date=14 December 1969 |title=Glenn Takes Flier as Anti-Flight Hero |work=Los Angeles Times |page=26a}} Lazenby acknowledged the worry but insisted that he had made the correct decision.{{cite news |date=11 December 1969 |title=Lazenby does his thing |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article107908281 |access-date=17 February 2015 |newspaper=The Canberra Times |page=34 |via=National Library of Australia}}

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.{{Cite web |last=Garrett |first=Olivia |date=12 April 2023 |title=On Her Majesty's Secret Service could have changed the Bond franchise forever |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/on-her-majestys-secret-service-change-bond-at-70-comment/ |access-date=25 March 2024 |website=Radio Times |language=en-GB |archive-date=26 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240326000041/https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/on-her-majestys-secret-service-change-bond-at-70-comment/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last=Zec |first=Donald |date=16 December 1969 |title=Big film ... small fry |newspaper=Daily Mirror}} In the years since the film was released, public perception has become more positive.{{Cite web |last=Kaye |first=Don |date=16 January 2023 |title=On Her Majesty's Secret Service Is the Most Original James Bond Movie |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/on-her-majestys-secret-service-is-most-original-james-bond-movie/ |access-date=25 March 2024 |website=Den of Geek |language=en-US |archive-date=21 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240321213748/https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/on-her-majestys-secret-service-is-most-original-james-bond-movie/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Elvy |first=Craig |date=12 February 2020 |title=Why James Bond Fans Hated (But Now Love) On Her Majesty's Secret Service |url=https://screenrant.com/james-bond-majestys-secret-service-critical-opinion-change-explained/ |access-date=25 March 2024 |website=Screen Rant |language=en |archive-date=10 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230310151530/https://screenrant.com/james-bond-majestys-secret-service-critical-opinion-change-explained/ |url-status=live }}{{cite book |author=Pfeiffer, Lee |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MjzaYq8i4xYC |title=The Essential Bond: The Authorized Guide to the World of 007 |author2=Worrall, Dave |date=20 August 2002 |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=9780060505615}} 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.{{cite news|title=Of human Bondage|work=The Sunday Times|date=21 December 1969|page=11|issue=7647}}

File:On Her Majesty's Secret Service (2) (cropped).jpg

Lazenby was considered to reprise the role of James Bond in Never Say Never Again. However, Sean Connery was chosen for the role instead.{{Cite web |last=Simpson |first=George |date=16 April 2022 |title=James Bond: Sean Connery wanted Roger Moore in Never Say Never Again |url=https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/films/1596179/James-Bond-Roger-Moore-George-Lazenby-Never-Say-Never-Again-Sean-Connery |access-date=13 June 2024 |website=Express.co.uk |language=en}}

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.,{{Cite web |last=Cotter |first=Padraig |date=29 July 2022 |title=George Lazenby's Unofficial Second James Bond Movie |url=https://screenrant.com/return-man-from-uncle-george-lazenby-bond-appearance/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230531010757/https://screenrant.com/return-man-from-uncle-george-lazenby-bond-appearance/ |archive-date=31 May 2023 |access-date=21 March 2024 |website=Screen Rant |language=en}} and the 1996 video game Fox Hunt, parts of which were reedited into a feature film.{{cite magazine |date=December 1995 |title=On the Trail of Foxhunt |magazine=GamePro |publisher=IDG |pages=38–40 |issue=87}}{{cite web |author=Saylor, Mark |date=9 May 1997 |title=Cannes: Another Twist in the Path to Filmdom |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-05-09-fi-57000-story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220410122847/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-05-09-fi-57000-story.html |archive-date=10 April 2022 |accessdate=22 March 2024 |work=Los Angeles Times}} Additionally, he appeared in an episode of The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents called "Diamonds Aren't Forever."{{Cite web |title=Dick Van Dyke almost played the world's most famous spy! |url=https://www.metv.com/stories/dick-van-dyke-almost-played-the-worlds-most-famous-spy |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240321215621/https://www.metv.com/stories/dick-van-dyke-almost-played-the-worlds-most-famous-spy |archive-date=21 March 2024 |access-date=21 March 2024 |website=MeTV |language=en}} 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".{{Cite web |title=James Bond Spoof |url=https://www.cbc.ca/22minutes/m_videos/clips-season-20/james-bond-spoof |access-date=22 March 2024 |website=CBC.ca |archive-date=22 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240322072221/https://www.cbc.ca/22minutes/m_videos/clips-season-20/james-bond-spoof |url-status=live }}

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.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article110446466 |title=Actor Lazenby throws off his Bonds|newspaper=The Canberra Times|date=1 January 1971|access-date=17 February 2015|page=3|via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article46933156|title=GREER AND LAZENBY|newspaper=The Australian Women's Weekly|date=12 April 1972|access-date=17 February 2015|page=3|via=National Library of Australia|archive-date=28 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328172823/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/46933156|url-status=live}} 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".{{cite news |last=Mann |first=Roderick |date=13 August 1978 |title=Natalie Wood: Funny but She Doesn't Look 40 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/164986794 |access-date=13 June 2017 |journal=Los Angeles Times |page=27 |archive-date=29 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029072629/http://www.newspapers.com/image/164986794/ |url-status=live }}

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.{{Cite web |last=Wilkins |first=Budd |date=17 September 2019 |title=Blu-ray Review: Aldo Lado's Who Saw Her Die? on Arrow Video |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/blu-ray-review-aldo-lados-who-saw-her-die-on-arrow-video/ |access-date=13 May 2024 |website=Slant Magazine |language=en-US}} 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.{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47808991|title=George Lazenby takes a new domestic role|newspaper=The Australian Women's Weekly|date=17 October 1973|access-date=10 July 2012|page=2|via=National Library of Australia}}

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. 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."{{Cite news |last=Milliken |first=Robert |date=25 February 1973 |title=Aussie Actor 'Almost Killed' by Role of 007 |newspaper=Sydney Morning Herald |page=15}}

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.

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 $10,000 (${{Inflation|US|10000|1973|r=-2|fmt=c}} 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.{{cite news|url=http://www.worldwidedvdforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=17683|author=Bey Logan|title=George Lazenby Far Eastern Odyssey (Part 1)|work=Impact Magazine|issue=97|date=January 2000|access-date=18 February 2015|archive-date=18 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150218074750/http://www.worldwidedvdforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=17683|url-status=live}}

In the end, Lazenby shot three films for Golden Harvest: The Shrine of Ultimate Bliss,{{Cite web |title=The Shrine of Ultimate Bliss (1974) |url=https://www.avclub.com/film/reviews/the-shrine-of-ultimate-bliss-1974 |access-date=22 March 2024 |website=The A.V. Club |language=en}} The Man from Hong Kong (1975) (also known as The Dragon Flies),{{Cite web |title=The Man From Hong Kong (1975) |url=https://www.georgelazenbyofficial.com/filmography/the-man-from-hong-kong/ |access-date=22 March 2024 |website=GeorgeLazenby.com |language=en-GB |archive-date=22 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240322072223/https://www.georgelazenbyofficial.com/filmography/the-man-from-hong-kong/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Buckmaster |first=Luke |date=16 January 2016 |title=The Man from Hong Kong rewatched – chopsocky fun at a cracking pace |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/jan/17/the-man-from-hong-kong-rewatched-chopsocky-fun-at-a-cracking-pace |access-date=22 March 2024 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=22 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240322072221/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/jan/17/the-man-from-hong-kong-rewatched-chopsocky-fun-at-a-cracking-pace |url-status=live }} and A Queen's Ransom (1976).{{Cite web |title=A Queen's Ransom |url=https://www.tvguide.com/movies/a-queens-ransom/2030270114/ |access-date=22 March 2024 |website=TVGuide |language=en |archive-date=22 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240322072221/https://www.tvguide.com/movies/a-queens-ransom/2030270114/ |url-status=live }}

In the mid-1970s, Lazenby appeared in a number of television movies shot in his native Australia, and an episode of the local police drama series Matlock Police.{{Cite web |last=Blake |first=Jason |date=23 May 2011 |title=Aussie bloke of screen was larger than life |url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/aussie-bloke-of-screen-was-larger-than-life-20110523-1ezl6.html |access-date=23 March 2024 |website=Sydney Morning Herald |language=en |archive-date=23 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240323031624/https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/aussie-bloke-of-screen-was-larger-than-life-20110523-1ezl6.html |url-status=live }} He also returned to modelling, appearing in a number of advertisements for Benson & Hedges cigarettes.{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article51196451|title=Advertising|newspaper=Australian Women's Weekly|date=10 November 1976|access-date=17 February 2015|page=20|via=National Library of Australia|archive-date=28 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328173922/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/51196451|url-status=live}} In a 1977 interview with the Australian Women's Weekly, he stated that he did not really feel like an actor as he had very few acting credits, but hoped that he could find more work.{{cite news |date=7 December 1977 |title=People |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article46453836 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328173840/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/46453836 |archive-date=28 March 2024 |access-date=17 February 2015 |newspaper=Australian Women's Weekly |page=10 |via=National Library of Australia}}

File:George Lazenby, 2014 Supanova Pop Culture Expo.jpg

In the late 1970s, Lazenby moved to Hollywood, California, where he started taking acting lessons and set about trying to obtain more acting work.

In 1978, Broccoli described casting Lazenby as his biggest mistake, claiming that the actor couldn't deal with fame and labelling him as "very arrogant". He felt that Lazenby did not understand how a film set worked and did not mesh well with the rest of the cast and crew.{{cite news |date=5 June 1978 |title=The Man Who Makes 007 Run |work=Los Angeles Times |page=G8}} Sean Connery came to Lazenby's defence, saying that in the time that he knew Lazenby, he had not acted arrogant, instead applying that label to Broccoli.{{cite news | last=Mann | first=Roderick | date=13 July 1978 | page=H12 | title=Sean Connery Back in Bondage? | journal=Los Angeles Times | url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/165078984 | access-date=13 June 2017 | archive-date=6 December 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206235814/http://www.newspapers.com/image/165078984/ | url-status=live }}

Lazenby went on to add:

It hasn't been easy, trying to climb back{{nbsp}}.... I admit I acted stupidly. It went to my head, everything that was happening to me. But remember, it was my first film{{nbsp}}.... Now what I've got to do is live down my past; convince people I'm not the same person who made a fool of himself all those years ago. I know I can do it. All I need is the chance.

In 1978, he took out an advertisement in Variety, offering himself for acting work in any role for very little money. He told a journalist for the Chicago Tribune. "People ask me if the Bond movie wasn't worth it if it got me into acting. It's true that it got me in, but it wasn't worth the ten years it cost me."{{Cite news |last=Wisehart |first=Bob |date=10 September 1978 |title=Movies: 007 rises, falls, then rises again |work=Chicago Tribune |page=E23}} The following year, he had a substantial supporting role in Saint Jack (1979), directed by Peter Bogdanovich.{{Cite web |title=Saint Jack |url=https://movingimage.org/event/saint-jack/2022-02-06/ |access-date=22 March 2024 |website=Museum of the Moving Image |language=en-US |archive-date=22 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240322082231/https://movingimage.org/event/saint-jack/2022-02-06/ |url-status=live }} The Australian magazine Filmink called it "one of the best things – if not the best thing – Lazenby ever did outside of Bond."{{cite magazine|magazine=Filmink|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/top-ten-corman-part-four-connections-with-australia/|title=Top Ten Corman – Part Four, Connections with Australia|first= Stephen|last= Vagg|date=17 May 2024}}

Lazenby was particularly keen to obtain a role in The Thorn Birds, but the project would not be produced until years later, and without him. He did manage to secure roles in Hawaii Five-O and Evening in Byzantium.{{Cite web |last=Bashian |first=Lori |date=3 October 2022 |title=James Bond actors over the years: Where are the 007s now? |url=https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/james-bond-actors-over-the-years-where-007s-now |access-date=23 March 2024 |website=Fox News |language=en-US |archive-date=23 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240323035631/https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/james-bond-actors-over-the-years-where-007s-now |url-status=live }} The latter was seen by Harry Saltzman, who offered him a leading role in a proposed science fiction film, The Micronauts. Lazenby made a guest appearance as Jor-El on the television series Superboy, in a two-part episode during the series' second season in 1990.{{Cite web |last=Wells |first=Brock |date=6 October 2022 |title=10 Things You Never Knew About The Forgotten Superboy TV Show |url=https://www.cbr.com/trivia-forgotten-superboy-tv-show/ |access-date=22 March 2024 |website=Comic Book Resources |language=en |archive-date=22 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221022105228/https://www.cbr.com/trivia-forgotten-superboy-tv-show/ |url-status=live }} He appeared with Sylvia Kristel in several new Emmanuelle films in 1993, many of which appeared on cable television.{{Cite news |last=Paton |first=Maureen |date=15 November 2019 |title=George Lazenby: 'Being a ladies man is one of the best things in the world' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-filter/george-lazenby-ladies-man-one-best-things-world/ |access-date=22 March 2024 |work=Telegraph.co.uk |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235 |archive-date=18 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230918162801/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-filter/george-lazenby-ladies-man-one-best-things-world/ |url-status=live }} In 1993, Lazenby had a part in the film Gettysburg as Confederate General Johnston Pettigrew.{{Cite web |title=Filmography |url=https://www.georgelazenbyofficial.com/filmography/ |access-date=22 March 2024 |website=George Lazenby |language=en-GB |archive-date=22 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240322162909/https://www.georgelazenbyofficial.com/filmography/ |url-status=live }}

On 5 November 2013, comedian Jim Jefferies stated in an interview that Lazenby would be playing Jefferies's father in the then upcoming second season of his FX network sitcom Legit.{{Cite web |last=Beinstock |first=Hal |date=5 November 2013 |title=Q&A with 'Legit' stand-up comic Jim Jefferies |url=https://www.amny.com/entertainment/q-a-with-legit-stand-up-comic-jim-jefferies-1-6384914/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240322072221/https://www.amny.com/entertainment/q-a-with-legit-stand-up-comic-jim-jefferies-1-6384914/ |archive-date=22 March 2024 |access-date=22 March 2024 |website=amNewYork Metro |language=en-US}} He appeared as himself in the 2017 docudrama "Becoming Bond".{{cite web |last=Debruge |first=Peter |date=17 May 2017 |title=Film Review: 'Becoming Bond' |url=https://variety.com/2017/film/reviews/becoming-bond-review-george-lazenby-1202430250/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171128032217/http://variety.com/2017/film/reviews/becoming-bond-review-george-lazenby-1202430250/ |archive-date=28 November 2017 |access-date=4 December 2017 |website=Variety}} In 2019, Lazenby starred as Dr. Jason Love in an audiobook version of James Leasor's spy novel Passport to Oblivion.{{Cite web |last=Jeffery |first=Morgan |date=18 December 2019 |title=George Lazenby: 'They offered me £1 million cash to do a second Bond film – I walked away' |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/news/radio/2019-12-18/george-lazenby-passport-to-oblivion/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027135236/https://www.radiotimes.com/news/radio/2019-12-18/george-lazenby-passport-to-oblivion/ |archive-date=27 October 2020 |access-date=25 August 2020 |website=Radio Times}}

In 2024, Lazenby announced his retirement from acting and public appearances. He cited his concerns over his age and a desire to spend more time with his family.{{cite web |author=Kuznikov |first=Selena |date=25 July 2024 |title=George Lazenby Retires: Actor Who Played James Bond in One Film Is Done With Acting |url=https://variety.com/2024/film/actors/george-lazenby-james-bond-retires-acting-1236084880/ |access-date=25 July 2024 |work=Variety}}

File:On Her Majesty's Secret Service (13).jpg and George Lazenby during On Her Majesty's Secret Service]]

Lazenby's single portrayal of the iconic Bond character, and his lack of standing as a favourite in the series, has resulted in his name being used as a metaphor for forgettable, non-iconic acting efforts in other entertainment franchises, and for entities that are largely ignored.

In his review of Batman & Robin, widely regarded as the weakest and least successful film in the Batman film franchise, Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle said that George Clooney "should go down in history as the George Lazenby of the series".{{cite news |author=LaSalle |first=Mick |author-link=Mick LaSalle |date=20 June 1997 |title=Batman Chills Out |work=San Francisco Chronicle}} Actor Paul McGann has described himself as "the George Lazenby of Doctor Who".{{cite web |last=Mottram |first=James |date=22 September 2011 |title=Paul McGann: The latest twist in his tale |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/paul-mcgann-the-latest-twist-in-his-tale-420758.html |access-date=13 November 2019 |website=The Independent |archive-date=13 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191113005556/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/paul-mcgann-the-latest-twist-in-his-tale-420758.html |url-status=live }} McGann's only starring television role as the Eighth Doctor was in the 1996 television movie.{{Cite web |last=Gearan |first=Hannah |date=2 November 2023 |title=Eighth Doctor Actor Paul McGann Enthusiastically Considers Another Doctor Who Return |url=https://screenrant.com/doctor-who-eighth-doctor-paul-mcgann-return-response/ |access-date=21 March 2024 |website=Screen Rant |language=en |archive-date=28 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328173809/https://screenrant.com/doctor-who-eighth-doctor-paul-mcgann-return-response/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite magazine |last=Lujan |first=Adam |title='Doctor Who': Every former Doctor return appearance, ranked |url=https://ew.com/gallery/doctor-who-returning-doctors/ |access-date=21 March 2024 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |language=en |archive-date=25 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230525020407/https://ew.com/gallery/doctor-who-returning-doctors/ |url-status=live }}

In 2009, Sondre Lerche released a song called "Like Lazenby" on his album Heartbeat Radio, in which he laments squandered opportunities and wishes for a "second try". Lerche had received a videotape of the film On Her Majesty's Secret Service as a child; he sent away for a free copy of the movie, only to find he had joined a James Bond film club. He got into trouble when his mother was contacted to pay for the membership. Years later, watching the movie again on DVD, he found it to be "a perfect metaphor for life's disappointments".{{cite web |last=Lerche |first=Sondre |author-link=Sondre Lerche |date=Fall 2009 |title=Sondre Lerche: on James Bond and George Lazenby |url=http://www.undertheradarmag.com/interviews/sondre_lerche_on_james_bond_and_george_lazenby/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201032406/http://www.undertheradarmag.com/interviews/sondre_lerche_on_james_bond_and_george_lazenby/ |archive-date=1 December 2017 |access-date=4 December 2017 |website=Under the Radar}}

The title of Matthew Bauer's 2022 documentary The Other Fellow, about the lives of real men named James Bond, is inspired by Lazenby's line in the beginning of On Her Majesty's Secret Service, "This never happened to the other fellow", a reference to Sean Connery. Bauer told Filmink that he chose the title because "these are the situations that our characters face – continuously being in the shadow of this movie icon."{{Cite web|author=Smith, Magda|title=Bauer, Matthew Bauer and The Other Fellow |url=https://www.filmink.com.au/bauer-matthew-bauer-and-the-other-fellow/|website=FilmInk|language=en-AU|url-status=live|date=7 December 2022|access-date=7 December 2023|archive-date=7 December 2023|archive-url=https://archive.today/20231207150429/https://www.filmink.com.au/bauer-matthew-bauer-and-the-other-fellow/}}

File:George Lazenby 2001.jpg

While working as a car salesman at the age of 21, Lazenby fathered a daughter, Jennifer, with Maureen Powell, who was then an Australian army sergeant and a physical education and fitness instructor at Royal Military College, Duntroon.{{cite web |date=11 April 2012 |title=EXCLUSIVE: George Lazenby's secret love child to take stand in divorce battle with Pam Shriver to say 'he's a good man' |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/exclusive-george-lazenby-s-secret-love-child-to-take-stand-in-divorce-battle-with-pam-shriver-to-say-he-s-a-good-man-6929600.html |access-date=22 March 2024 |website=Evening Standard}}

In 1973, Lazenby married his girlfriend of three years, Christina Ross "Chrissie" Townson (later Matser), an heiress of the Gannett family. They subsequently had two children, daughter Melanie Andrea Lazenby, born on 13 September 1973, and son Zachary "Zack" Lazenby, born on 9 November 1974, at Woden Valley Hospital (now Canberra Hospital) in Garran, Canberra, ACT.{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article110787479|title=Actor's wife has son|newspaper=The Canberra Times|date=11 November 1974|access-date=17 February 2015|page=8|via=National Library of Australia|archive-date=16 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216181335/http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article110787479|url-status=live}} Zachary was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour when he was 11 and died at age 19 in 1994. The two divorced shortly after, in 1995. Melanie is a real estate broker in New York, working for Douglas Elliman.{{cite web | url=https://www.elliman.com/newyorkcity/associate/527-a-542-ml/melanie-mclennan-lazenby | title=Melanie McLennan Lazenby - NYC Real Estate Agent | Douglas Elliman | access-date=10 September 2023 | archive-date=26 September 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926154916/https://www.elliman.com/newyorkcity/associate/527-a-542-ml/melanie-mclennan-lazenby | url-status=live }}{{Cite web |author=Candace Taylor |date=1 March 2012 |title=Lazenby's 007 moment |url=http://therealdeal.com/issues_articles/lazenby-melanie-lazenby/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223233558/https://therealdeal.com/issues_articles/lazenby-melanie-lazenby/ |archive-date=23 December 2017 |access-date=18 February 2015 |work=The Real Deal}}

In 2002, Lazenby married former tennis player Pam Shriver and they had three children,{{Cite news |date=8 August 2008 |title=Shriver files for Lazenby divorce |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7550194.stm |access-date=21 March 2024 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB |archive-date=21 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240321213748/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7550194.stm |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=11 August 2008 |title=Pam Shriver – no luck with older dudes |url=https://montrealgazette.com/sports/tennis/pam-shriver-no-luck-with-older-dudes-updated |access-date=21 March 2024 |website=Montreal Gazette |archive-date=28 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328174451/https://montrealgazette.com/sports/tennis/pam-shriver-no-luck-with-older-dudes-updated |url-status=live }} including son George Junior Lazenby, born on 12 July 2004. {{cite web |title=George Lazenby on X |url=https://x.com/lazenbyofficial/status/1811702249913028650?t=6I9PFgGsOfZBN5Z9QRl62g&s=19 |website=X |access-date=12 July 2024}} The family lived in Brentwood, California. In August 2008, it was reported that Shriver had filed for divorce from Lazenby, citing "irreconcilable differences".{{cite news |date=8 August 2008 |title=Pam Shriver files for divorce from former Bond George Lazenby |url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24147538-2703,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090724162657/http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24147538-2703,00.html |archive-date=24 July 2009 |access-date=8 August 2008 |work=The Australian}} Their divorce was finalised in May 2011.{{cite web |last=Finn |first=Natalie |date=16 May 2011 |title=Which James Bond Just Got His License to Divorce? |url=https://www.eonline.com/news/242172/which_james_bond_just_got_his_license |access-date=9 September 2021 |website=E! Online |archive-date=9 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210909190400/https://www.eonline.com/news/242172/which_james_bond_just_got_his_license |url-status=live }}

In late 2023, Lazenby was injured in a fall and he was briefly hospitalised.{{Cite web |title=Former James Bond star George Lazenby, 84, recovering after suffering brain injury |url=https://www.smoothradio.com/news/entertainment/james-bond/george-lazenby-brain-injury/ |access-date=1 April 2024 |website=Smooth |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=18 December 2023 |title=James Bond actor George Lazenby is recovering from a fall: 'Not easy getting older' |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2023-12-18/james-bond-actor-george-lazenby-is-recovering-from-a-fall-not-easy-getting-older |access-date=1 April 2024 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}} On 18 December, he returned home.{{Cite web |title=James Bond Star George Lazenby Safely Home After Fall: 'What a Fighter' |url=https://people.com/james-bond-star-george-lazenby-safely-home-after-fall-8417307 |access-date=1 April 2024 |website=People |language=en}}

{{Main|George Lazenby filmography}}

{{Reflist}}

{{commons category}}

• {{official website|https://www.georgelazenbyofficial.com/}}
• {{IMDb name|493872}}
• [https://archive.today/20121127095137/http://colsearch.nfsa.afc.gov.au/nfsa/search/display/display.w3p;adv=yes;group=;groupequals=;holdingType=;page=0;parentid=;query=Number:428606;querytype=;rec=0;resCount=10 George Lazenby at the National Film and Sound Archive]

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