"So I went in and bought it," he laughs. "They had to alter the sleeves but then it really made me look the part." Having turned 80 in September, he is still a striking-looking man with a thatch of thick white hair, well-chiselled face, and a still-trim frame. He eats what he likes and, he says, he's keen on booze. Nor does he work out. "When I was three, I had one-and-a-half kidneys removed. The doctors told my parents I'd be lucky to get to double figures," he says. "But here I am and I don't believe doctors anymore. It certainly shaped the man I became." You would imagine that, having been cast as the youngest 007 in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Lazenby was made for life. While he was only paid £10,000 for his first Bond movie, he was offered six more and a million pounds to sign on the dotted line. But, as even his dearest friends would attest, he is not the easiest man. He explains with a shrug: "I didn't want to be put in a straitjacket. I didn't want to be defined as James Bond. So I turned down Harry Saltzman's offer and walked away." Bond producer Saltzman unsurprisingly greeted George's decision with a mix of incredulity and undisguised fury. And at the time he was an extremely powerful man in the movie industry. Roger Moore became the next Bond and, for the next decade, whenever George landed a film role, Saltzman would make it known he'd have no part in the distribution, with the result that Lazenby was quietly replaced. Despite this, he remains distinctly unbothered by the experience. Now George is back in the espionage game, starring in an audio series as reluctant spy Dr Jason Love, who takes a break from his Somerset GP practice at the invitation of MI6 and with the inducement of an irresistible sports car. Passport To Oblivion is the first of 10 planned outings based on a series of internationally bestselling books by James Leasor featuring a starry cast including Glynis Barber, Nickolas Grace, Michael Brandon and Terence Stamp. 'It seemed like an interesting challenge," he confides. "I'd never done audio before and I enjoyed it, although it was hard work. There were over 164 pages of script, so it was a long day. "If it's a success, I think they'll adapt more of the books. "I'd certainly be happy to play Dr Love again and especially if they assemble a similarly strong cast." The Leasor novels, which have sold in their millions,bedroom.fan base but this is the first time they have been adapted as audio dramas. And while this might also be George's first outing doing audio, an increasingly popular medium, variety has been the spice of his career so far. In 1973, he leapt at the chance of being in a Bruce Lee movie in Hong Kong. "Bruce gave me $10,000 and then upped and died before the film could be made. "But I stayed around and made three other Kung Fu movies." Mr Lazenby, you will have gathered, is one of life's chancers. When his girlfriend, publishing heiress Christina Gannett, got pregnant in 1975, he married her and t
I may be 80, but I have no trouble getting women says 007 star George Lazenby
"So I went in and bought it," he laughs. "They had to alter the sleeves but then it really made me look the part." Having turned 80 in September, he is still a striking-looking man with a thatch of thick white hair, well-chiselled face, and a still-trim frame. He eats what he likes and, he says, he's keen on booze. Nor does he work out. "When I was three, I had one-and-a-half kidneys removed. The doctors told my parents I'd be lucky to get to double figures," he says. "But here I am and I don't believe doctors anymore. It certainly shaped the man I became." You would imagine that, having been cast as the youngest 007 in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Lazenby was made for life. While he was only paid £10,000 for his first Bond movie, he was offered six more and a million pounds to sign on the dotted line. But, as even his dearest friends would attest, he is not the easiest man. He explains with a shrug: "I didn't want to be put in a straitjacket. I didn't want to be defined as James Bond. So I turned down Harry Saltzman's offer and walked away." Bond producer Saltzman unsurprisingly greeted George's decision with a mix of incredulity and undisguised fury. And at the time he was an extremely powerful man in the movie industry. Roger Moore became the next Bond and, for the next decade, whenever George landed a film role, Saltzman would make it known he'd have no part in the distribution, with the result that Lazenby was quietly replaced. Despite this, he remains distinctly unbothered by the experience. Now George is back in the espionage game, starring in an audio series as reluctant spy Dr Jason Love, who takes a break from his Somerset GP practice at the invitation of MI6 and with the inducement of an irresistible sports car. Passport To Oblivion is the first of 10 planned outings based on a series of internationally bestselling books by James Leasor featuring a starry cast including Glynis Barber, Nickolas Grace, Michael Brandon and Terence Stamp. 'It seemed like an interesting challenge," he confides. "I'd never done audio before and I enjoyed it, although it was hard work. There were over 164 pages of script, so it was a long day. "If it's a success, I think they'll adapt more of the books. "I'd certainly be happy to play Dr Love again and especially if they assemble a similarly strong cast." The Leasor novels, which have sold in their millions,bedroom.fan base but this is the first time they have been adapted as audio dramas. And while this might also be George's first outing doing audio, an increasingly popular medium, variety has been the spice of his career so far. In 1973, he leapt at the chance of being in a Bruce Lee movie in Hong Kong. "Bruce gave me $10,000 and then upped and died before the film could be made. "But I stayed around and made three other Kung Fu movies." Mr Lazenby, you will have gathered, is one of life's chancers. When his girlfriend, publishing heiress Christina Gannett, got pregnant in 1975, he married her and t
0 Comments