George Lazenby was born on September 5, 1939 in Goulburn, Australia. After
serving in the Australian Army, he turned to selling cars for a living, before cashing
in on his matinee-idol looks to become a top male model in London, where he had
arrived in 1964 (the very same year that 11-year old Pierce Brosnan also arrived
and that Ian Fleming died, coincidentally).
The search for a new actor to portray James Bond had begun in 1968, after Sean
Connery had announced he was finished with the role. Lazenby won the role of Bond
in On Her Majesty's Secret Service despite having no prior acting experience save
for TV commercials, where he was very popular doing commercials for Big Fry
Chocolates. Lazenby was up against John Richardson, Anthony Rogers, Robert
Campbell and Hans de Vries, but Lazenby won the role based on a screen-test fight
scene.
There was apparently much conflict on the set of that film, with Lazenby having
strained relationships with director Peter Hunt and Bond Girl and former Avengers
star Diana Rigg, as well as the producers. Today he admits he took bad advice,
when he announced that he would not be doing any more Bond films. Connery was
lured back for the next one, and Lazenby's acting career floundered. Ironically,
Lazenby's Bond film is considered by many fans to be one of the best in the series.
During the early 1970s, Lazenby worked in Hong Kong, and was going to make a
film with Bruce Lee right before the actor's untimely death. A few years ago, after a
long layoff during which he raced cars, he returned to acting. He often attends
James Bond fan conventions. His most recent acting appearance has been in the
multimedia Fox Hunt.
Filmography
On Her Majesty's Secret Service 1969
Universal Soldier 1971
Chi l'ha Vista Morire 1972
Man Called Stoner 1973
A Queen's Ransom 1974
The Man From Hongkong 1975
The Kentucky Fried Movie 1977
Cover Girls 1977
Death Dimension aka Freeze Bomb, aka The Kill Factor 1978
Evening in Byzantium 1978 (tv miniseries)
Saint Jack 1979
General Hospital 1980 (TV)
L'Ultimo Harem 1981
Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E. 1983
Rituals 1984
Never Too Young to Die 1986
Hell Hunters 1986
Eyes of the Beholder 1992
Emmanuelle Forever 1993
Gettysburg 1993
The Legend of Emmanuelle 1994
The Secret World of Emmanuelle 1994
Fatally Yours 1995
Fox Hunt (interactive multimedia) 1996
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