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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.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
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.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />


In his review of ''[[Batman & Robin (film)|Batman & Robin]]'', widely regarded as the weakest and least successful film in the [[Batman in film|''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".<ref name=":1">{{cite news |author=LaSalle |first=Mick |author-link=Mick LaSalle |date=20 June 1997 |title=Batman Chills Out |work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]}}</ref> Actor [[Paul McGann]] has described himself as "the George Lazenby of ''[[Doctor Who]]''"<ref name=":0">{{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]]}}</ref> because, although he has continued in the role of the [[Eighth Doctor]] in other media, he made only two appearances on television as the eponymous [[Time Lord]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gearan |first=Hannah |date=2023-11-02 |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=2024-03-21 |website=[[Screen Rant]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Lujan |first=Adam |title='Doctor Who': Every former Doctor return appearance, ranked |url=https://ew.com/gallery/doctor-who-returning-doctors/ |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |language=en}}</ref>
In his review of ''[[Batman & Robin (film)|Batman & Robin]]'', widely regarded as the weakest and least successful film in the [[Batman in film|''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".<ref name=":1">{{cite news |author=LaSalle |first=Mick |author-link=Mick LaSalle |date=20 June 1997 |title=Batman Chills Out |work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]}}</ref> Actor [[Paul McGann]] has described himself as "the George Lazenby of ''[[Doctor Who]]''"<ref name=":0">{{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]]}}</ref> because, although he has continued in the role of the [[Eighth Doctor]] in other media, he made only three appearances on television as the eponymous [[Time Lord]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gearan |first=Hannah |date=2023-11-02 |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=2024-03-21 |website=[[Screen Rant]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Lujan |first=Adam |title='Doctor Who': Every former Doctor return appearance, ranked |url=https://ew.com/gallery/doctor-who-returning-doctors/ |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |language=en}}</ref>


In 2009, [[Sondre Lerche]] released a song called "Like Lazenby" on his album ''[[Heartbeat Radio]]'', in which he laments squandered opportunities wishing for a "second try". Lerche wrote the song after receiving a VHS of the film ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' as a child, after sending 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 (with Lazenby's interviews), he found it to be "a perfect metaphor for life's disappointments".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.undertheradarmag.com/interviews/sondre_lerche_on_james_bond_and_george_lazenby/|title=Sondre Lerche: on James Bond and George Lazenby|website=Undertheradarmag.com|access-date=4 December 2017}}</ref>
In 2009, [[Sondre Lerche]] released a song called "Like Lazenby" on his album ''[[Heartbeat Radio]]'', in which he laments squandered opportunities wishing for a "second try". Lerche wrote the song after receiving a VHS of the film ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' as a child, after sending 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 (with Lazenby's interviews), he found it to be "a perfect metaphor for life's disappointments".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.undertheradarmag.com/interviews/sondre_lerche_on_james_bond_and_george_lazenby/|title=Sondre Lerche: on James Bond and George Lazenby|website=Undertheradarmag.com|access-date=4 December 2017}}</ref>

Revision as of 13:59, 24 March 2024

This article is about the actor. For the early Australian settler, see George Lazenby (cabinetmaker).

George Lazenby
Lazenby at the 2008 Big Apple Comic Con
Born
George Robert Lazenby

(1939-09-05) 5 September 1939 (age 85)
Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia
OccupationActor
Years active1965–present
Known forJames Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Spouses
  • Chrissie Townson
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1973; div. 1995)​
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 2002; div. 2011)​
Children6 (1 deceased)

George Robert Lazenby (/ˈleɪzənbi/; born 5 September 1939)[1] is an Australian actor. 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). Having appeared in only one film, Lazenby's tenure as Bond is the shortest among the actors in the series.

Beginning his professional career as a model, Lazenby had only acted in commercials when he was cast to replace original Bond actor Sean Connery.[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? (1972), The Shrine of Ultimate Bliss (1974), The Man from Hong Kong (1975) and The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977). After his career stalled during this period, he moved into business and invested in real estate.

Lazenby later appeared in roles that parodied the James Bond character. In 2017, a Hulu docudrama film, Becoming Bond, featured Lazenby recounting his life story and portrayal of Bond.

Early life

George Robert Lazenby was born on 5 September 1939 in Goulburn, New South Wales,[3] at Ovada Private Hospital, to railway worker George Edward Lazenby and Sheila Joan Lazenby (née Bodel), who worked at a Fosseys retail store. He went to 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 having an operation which left him with only half a kidney.[4]

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.[5][6][7]

Early jobs and modelling

Lazenby moved to London in 1963 to pursue a woman with whom he had fallen in love.[8][9] 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.[10][11] He was widely known for an advertisement for Fry's chocolate bars.[12] In 1966, he was voted Top Model of the Year.[13]

James Bond

Lazenby with Diana Rigg 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.[12] Broccoli later saw him in the Big Fry commercial and felt he could possibly be a Bond, on which basis he invited him to do a screen test.[14]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.[15]

Broccoli offered him an audition. The position was consolidated when Lazenby accidentally punched a professional wrestler, who was acting as stunt coordinator, in the face, impressing Broccoli with his ability to display aggression.[14][16] Director Peter R. Hunt later said:

We wanted someone who oozed sexual assurance, and we think this fellow has that. Just wait till the women see him on screen ... I am not saying he is an actor. There is a great deal of difference between an actor and a film star. Didn't they find Gary Cooper when he was an electrician?[17]

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 it's all commercial rubbish, such as the guy getting the girl at the end of the Battle of Britain," he said. "I'll just have to wait and see."[18] 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."[19]

Lazenby said he intended to make the next Bond film, which was to be The Man with the Golden Gun.[20] However, by November 1969, and prior to the release of OHMSS, Lazenby said he no longer wished to play another Bond role, saying, "The producers made me feel like I was mindless. They disregarded everything I suggested simply because I hadn't been in the film business like them for about a thousand years."[21] His co-star Diana Rigg was among many who commented on this decision:

The role made Sean Connery a millionaire. It made Sean Connery ... I truly don't know what's happening in George's mind so I can only speak of my reaction. I think it's a pretty foolish move. I think if he can bear to do an apprenticeship, which everybody in this business has to do – has to do – then he should do it quietly and with humility. Everybody has to do it. There are few instant successes in the film business. And the instant successes one usually associates with somebody who is willing to learn anyway.[22]

Rigg was also quoted as saying, "I can no longer cater for his obsession with himself. He is utterly, unbelievably ... bloody impossible."[23]

"I draw a veil over the chap," said Desmond Llewelyn (who played Q in 17 Bond films). "How can you expect someone who's never acted before ... to take on a leading role?"[24]

Lazenby grew a beard and long hair. "Bond is a brute ... I've already put him behind me. I will never play him again. Peace – that's the message now," he announced.[25]

He said:

I much prefer being a car salesman to a stereotyped James Bond. My parents think I'm insane, everybody thinks I'm insane passing up maybe millions of pounds. Nobody believed me. They thought it was a publicity stunt. But it's just me doing my own thing.[26]

He later elaborated:

Fantasy doesn't interest me. Reality does. Anyone who's in touch with the kids knows what's happening, knows the mood. Watch pop music and learn what's going to happen. Most film-makers don't watch and aren't in touch. People aren't going to films because film-makers are putting out films people don't want to see. As for the so-called "Tomorrow movies" they are only tomorrow movies with yesterday directors ... Actors aren't all that important. Directors are. I'm terribly impressed with Dennis Hopper. I'd like to work for him. I also like Arthur Penn, John Schlesinger and Peter Yates ... What I'm going to do is look for a great director first, a good screenplay second. Meanwhile, no more Bond. I make better money doing commercials.[27]

At the time of the release of OHMSS, Lazenby's performance received mixed reviews. Some felt that, while he was physically convincing, some of his costumes were inappropriate – "too loud" according to some – and that he delivered his lines poorly.[28]

Others, however, have developed differing views in the decades since the film. In the 1998 book The Essential James Bond, Lee Pfeiffer and Dave Worrell write:

Although OHMSS was routinely dismissed by critics who cited Lazenby as a brave but disappointing successor to Connery, the intervening years have been notably kinder to both the film and its star. Indeed, due in no small part to Peter Hunt's inspired direction, OHMSS generally ranks among the top films with fans. Likewise, Lazenby has emerged as a very popular contributor to the series and has enjoyed large enthusiastic audiences during his appearances at Bond related events. In summary, OHMSS is a brilliant thriller in its own right and justifiably ranks amongst the best Bond films ever made.[29]

Lazenby claimed that he once met Connery in a restaurant, and Connery praised his performance.[30]

Broccoli told the press shortly after the film's release:

I don't agree with the press. I think they should have given him A for effort. It's true he's not Olivier but Olivier could not play Bond in any circumstances... John Aspinall's mother Lady Osborne told me she thought he was the best of the Bonds.[31]

Broccoli did admit that he found Lazenby's post-movie attitude annoying feeling that he did not respect the character and was arogent.[31]

Diana Rigg and George Lazenby

Although Lazenby had been offered a contract for seven movies, his agent, Ronan O'Rahilly, convinced him that the secret agent would be archaic in the liberated 1970s, and as a result he left the series after the release of On Her Majesty's Secret Service in 1969.[14]

Lazenby has portrayed James Bond several times over the years in numerous parodies and unofficial 007 roles, notably the 1983 television film The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E. (in which his character is identified only by the initials J.B.),[32] 1996 video game Fox Hunt,[33](parts of which were reedited into a feature film[34]) and an episode of The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents, entitled "Diamonds Aren't Forever".[35] 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".[36][37]

Post-Bond career

For a time there was some talk Lazenby would appear in a western, Deakin.[38] He talked to the press about his use of LSD and marijuana[39] and was involved in a well-publicised incident helping a friend who was arrested in Germany.[40] He grew his hair and a moustache and talked about rejecting the "trappings of materialism".[41][42]

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... a [comedy] with no plot. It is really just a series of happenings which keep the audience entertained. This is the kind of film which is coming out in Europe now."[41][43]

Lazenby admitted that after he left the role of Bond he was unhireable. He landed very few roles to the point which his agent described him as 'difficult'."[44]

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.[45] 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.[46]

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 been gone crazy due to the mental stress that the role brings, he went on to say. "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."[47]

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.[47]

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 ($68,600 today) to appear in a film with Lee, which was going to be the Golden Harvest film Game of Death. However this collapsed after Lee's sudden death – Lazenby was actually meant to meet Lee for dinner on the day Lee died.[48]

Instead it was announced Lazenby would make The Golden Needles of Ecstasy for Golden Harvest. "I'm excited to be able to concentrate on just acting in this film," he said. "On Universal Soldier I was involved in the production, the writing and even a bit in direction. I don't think I'm a good enough actor to get fragmented like that on a job. Now I can give my full concentration to acting. I hope it will be good and lead to other roles."[49]

Lazenby revealed he had been consulting an astrologer for four years. "Even before I made the Bond picture she said I would become famous, and that there would be big problems for a couple of years," he said. "Then she assured me that I would be back at the top of my profession by the end of 1973. It's absolutely fantastic, because everything she has told me has happened."[50]

In the end, Lazenby did not make Golden Needles but shot three other films for Golden Harvest, The Shrine of Ultimate Bliss,[51] The Man from Hong Kong (1975) (also known as The Dragon Flies),[52][53] and A Queen's Ransom (1976).[54]

Australia

In the mid-1970s, he appeared in a number of television movies shot in his native country Australia, and an episode of the local police drama series Matlock Police.[55] He also returned to modelling, appearing in a number of advertisements for Benson and Hedges cigarettes.[56] A few years later in an interview with The Australian Women's Weekly, he stated that he did not really feel like an actor as he had very few acting roles. Though he then added that he would embrace being an actor if he was offered more jobs.[57]

Hollywood

Lazenby in 2014

In the late 1970s, Lazenby moved to Hollywood, California, where he started taking acting lessons and set about trying to reactivate his career.[57]

In 1978, Broccoli described casting Lazenby as his biggest mistake, claiming that he couldn't deal with fame and labeling 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.[58] Sean Connery came to Lazenby's defence saying that in the time that he knew Lazenby he had not acted as arrogant instead giving the label to Broccoli.[59]

Lazenby went on to add:

It hasn't been easy, trying to climb back... I admit I acted stupidly. It went to my head, everything that was happening to me. But remember, it was my first film... 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.[44]

In 1978, he took out an advertisement in Variety, offering himself for acting work. He offered to work any role for very little money, in a later interview 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."[60] The following year, he had a substantial supporting role in Saint Jack (1979), directed by Peter Bogdanovich.[61]

Lazenby was particularly keen to do The Thorn Birds,[57] but that project was not made until a number of years later and without Lazenby. He did manage to secure roles in Hawaii Five-O and Evening in Byzantium.[62] The latter was seen by Harry Saltzman who offered Lazenby a leading role in a proposed science fiction film The Micronauts. According to Lazenby, Saltzman previously claimed that the pair would never work together again.[57]

Lazenby made a guest appearance on the television series Superboy, as an alien disguised as Jor-El, in a two-part episode during the series' second season in 1990.[63] He appeared with Sylvia Kristel in several new Emmanuelle films in 1993, many of which appeared on cable television.[64] In 1993, Lazenby had a part in the film Gettysburg as Confederate General Johnston Pettigrew.[65]

On 5 November 2013, comedian Jim Jefferies stated in an interview that Lazenby would be playing his father in the then upcoming second season of his FX network sitcom Legit.[66]

In 2019, Lazenby starred as Dr. Jason Love in an audiobook version of James Leasor's spy novel Passport to Oblivion.[67]

Joanna Lumley 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.[68][69]

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".[69] Actor Paul McGann has described himself as "the George Lazenby of Doctor Who"[68] because, although he has continued in the role of the Eighth Doctor in other media, he made only three appearances on television as the eponymous Time Lord.[70][71]

In 2009, Sondre Lerche released a song called "Like Lazenby" on his album Heartbeat Radio, in which he laments squandered opportunities wishing for a "second try". Lerche wrote the song after receiving a VHS of the film On Her Majesty's Secret Service as a child, after sending 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 (with Lazenby's interviews), he found it to be "a perfect metaphor for life's disappointments".[72]

In 2010, Roger Moore, who also played James Bond, provided the voice of a talking cat character named Tab Lazenby in the film Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, which contained several references to, and parodies of, Bond films.[73]

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 as Bond in the beginning of On Her Majesty's Secret Service, "This never happened to the other fellow" in reference to Sean Connery. Bauer told Filmink he chose the title because "These are the situations that our characters face – continuously being in the shadow of this movie icon."[74]

Lazenby attending the tennis match of his future wife, Pam Shriver, in 2001

Personal life

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 PE/fitness instructor at Royal Military College, Duntroon.[75]

In 1973, Lazenby married his girlfriend of 3 years, Christina Ross "Chrissie" Townson (now Matser), an heiress of the Gannett family.[46] They subsequently had two children, daughter Melanie Andrea Lazenby, born on September 13, 1973, and son Zachary "Zack" Lazenby, born on November 9, 1974, at Woden Valley Hospital (now Canberra Hospital) in Garran, Canberra, ACT.[76] Zachary was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour when he was eleven and died at 19 in 1994. The two divorced shortly after in 1995. Melanie is a real estate broker in New York, working for Douglas Elliman.[77][78] She married her partner Matthew McLennan, also an Australian, in an extravagant three-day wedding in New York.[79]

In 2002, Lazenby married former tennis player Pam Shriver and they had three children.[80][81] The family lived in Brentwood, California.[80] In August 2008, it was reported that Shriver had filed for divorce from Lazenby. Documents filed in Los Angeles Superior Court cite "irreconcilable differences".[82] Their divorce was finalized in May 2011.[83]

Filmography

Film

Film
Year Title Role Notes Refs
1969 On Her Majesty's Secret Service James Bond [84]
1971 Universal Soldier Ryker Writer and executive producer
1972 Who Saw Her Die? Franco Serpieri
1974 Stoner Joshua Stoner Released in the United States as The Ultimate Bliss [51]
1975 The Man from Hong Kong Jack Wilton Released in the United States as The Dragon Flies [53]
1976 A Queen's Ransom George [54]
1977 The Kentucky Fried Movie The Architect Segment: "That's Armageddon"
1978 Death Dimension Capt. Gallagher Aka Black Eliminator, Freeze Bomb
1979 Saint Jack Senator [61]
1981 Last Harem Prince Almalarik
1986 Never Too Young to Die Drew Stargrove [85]
1987 Hell Hunters Heinrich
1992 Eyes of the Beholder Jack Wyman
1993 Gettysburg J. Johnston Pettigrew [65]
The Evil Inside Me Grandinetti
1994 Twin Sitters Leland Stromm
1996 Fox Hunt Chauncey [86]
1998 Star of Jaipur John Steele
1999 Gut Feeling —
2000 Four Dogs Playing Poker Carlo
2002 Spider's Web Leland De Winter
2003 Winter Break Campbell Grady Alternate title: Sheer Bliss
2014 A Winter Rose Henry
2015 Hunter General Bullmount
2016 Dance Angels Captain Hugo
2017 Death Game General Bullmount
Becoming Bond Himself Docudrama [87]
2019 Passport to Oblivion Dr Jason Love
2021 In the Blink of An Eye G
TBA Mundije US President Post-Production
TBA Z Dead End Agent Smart Filming
TBA The Order Peters Pre-production

Television

Television
Year Title Role Notes Refs
1973 Play for Today David Adler Episode: "The Operation"
1974 Matlock Police David Parkes Episode: "In the Name of the Queen" [55]
1976 Is There Anybody There? John Hersey TV film
1978 Evening in Byzantium Roger Tory Miniseries [62]
The Newman Shame John Brandy TV film
1979 Hawaii Five-O John Cossett Episode: "The Year of the Horse" [88]
B.J. and the Bear Burglar / Paul Desmond 2 episodes
1982 General Hospital Reginald Durban 5 episodes
1983 Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E. J.B. TV film [32]
1984 Hotel Emmett Saunders Episode: "Tomorrows"
The Master Mallory Episode: "Hostages"
Rituals Logan Williams 9 episodes
1985 Cover Up Simon Locke Episode: "Jack of Spades"
1987 The Grand Knockout Tournament Himself TV special
1989 Freddy's Nightmares Dr Clark Episode: "The End of the World"
Alfred Hitchcock Presents James Grant Episode: "Diamonds Aren't Forever"
1990 Superboy Jor-El 2 episodes [63]
1993 Emmanuelle Forever Mario TV film [89]
Emmanuelle's Revenge [89]
Emmanuelle in Venice [89]
Emmanuelle's Love [89]
Emmanuelle's Magic [89]
Emmanuelle's Perfume [89]
Emmanuelle's Secret [89]
1994 Kung Fu: The Legend Continues Chi'Ru Master Episode: "Return of the Shadow Assassin"
1998 Team Knight Rider Nigel Davies Episode: "The Return of Megaman"
1999 Baywatch Commander McCabe Episode: "The Big Blue"
1999–2000 The Pretender Major Charles 4 episodes
Batman Beyond Mr. Walker/King Voice, 3 episodes
2012 This Hour Has 22 Minutes Bond Episode #20.9 [37]
2014 Legit Jack Jefferies 2 episodes [66]

Documentaries

Film
Year Title Role Notes Refs
1970 Omnibus Himself Documentary
Episode: "Ian Fleming Creator of the James Bond Myth"
1973 Life and Legend of Bruce Lee Himself Documentary
1974 The Last Days of Bruce Lee Himself Documentary
Kung Fu Killers Himself Documentary
Heisse Ware aus Hongkong Himself Documentary
1975 Celebrity Squares Panellist Game show
2 episodes
1984 Bruce Lee, The Legend Himself Archive footage
1993 Death by Misadventure: The Mysterious Life of Bruce Lee Himself Documentary
1995 In Search of James Bond with Jonathan Ross Himself Documentary
1997 The Secrets of 007: The James Bond Files Himself
1999 The James Bond Story Himself Documentary
2000 Harry Saltzman: Showman Himself Documentary
2002 E! True Hollywood Story Himself Documentary
Episode: "The Bond Girls"
Premiere Bond: Die Another Day Himself Documentary
In Other Times Himself Documentary
Best Ever Bond Himself Documentary
2006 Press Day in Portugal Himself Documentary
2007 Where Are They Now Himself Episode: "Hey Dad"
On Her Majesty's Secret Service: George Lazenby – In His Own Words Himself Documentary
Casting on "Her Majesty's Secret Service" Himself Documentary
2008 Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! Himself Documentary
2009 Whatever Happened To? Himself Episode: "Undercover Agents"
2012 Everything or Nothing Himself Documentary
The Path of the Dragon Himself Documentary
2017 And the Winner Isn't Himself Documentary
2018 A Very Bond Farewell with George Lazenby Himself Documentary
2019 Real Men Himself Documentary
2021 OHMSS50: The Concert Himself Video
2021 OHMSS50: Video Report Himself Video documentary
TBA This Never Happened to the Other Fella Himself Documentary
Post-production

Video games

Video games
Year Title Role Notes Refs
1996 Fox Hunt Chauncey Live-action video game [90]

Unmade films

Roles originally offered to Lazenby

Notes

^a Cy Endfield directed the Big Fry commercial.[96]

References

  1. ^ "George Lazenby biography". The New York Times. accessed 4 June 2011.
  2. ^ "New '007' selected". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. 3 October 1968. p. 3A.
  3. ^ Australian National Portrait Gallery. "Australians in Hollywood". National Portrait Gallery. Archived from the original on 20 March 2011. Retrieved 2 November 2010.
  4. ^ Doherty, Megan (10 September 2000). "Former 007 Celebrates His 61st Birthday Back In Queanbeyan". The Canberra Times. p. 3.
  5. ^ "£45 FINE IN TRAFFIC CASE RE-HEARING". The Canberra Times. 15 December 1961. p. 30. Retrieved 17 February 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
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