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"I hope I
can live up to your high standards."
George Lazenby
as
Ian Fleming's
James Bond
Bond Dossier:
Born On:
September 5th, 1939
From:
Queanbeyan City, New South Wales,
Australia
Eye Color:
Brown
Height:
6'2" (without shoes on)
Weight:
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) 186 pounds
Played Bond In:
1. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
(1969)
Box Office Gross: 1 Film:
$82 million ($381.3 million 2005 inflated)
Box Office Gross Per Film:
$82 million ($381.3 million 2005 inflated)
Bond Salary:
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) J50,000 British pounds
*Turned down an offer of $1,000,000 from
Bond co-producer Harry Saltzman and United Artists to star in Diamonds Are
Forever (1971). Lazenby and his manager demanded a salary of
$2,000,000 instead. Rather than pay Lazenby twice what they had
offered him, Bond production company Eon signed Sean Connery
instead for the base salary of $1.25 million. When Lazenby and
his manager demanded twice the amount offered by Eon, Bond co-producer
Cubby Broccoli refused to pay the sum and called it
"outrageous".
*Turned down a 14 year, 7 Bond film/5
non-Bond film (12 film overall) contract with United Artists. The contract
would have paid him $28 million for the 7 Bond films, and $5 million
for the 5 non-Bond films. Lazenby's manager however demanded $35
million for the 7 Bond films, and Bond co-producer Cubby Broccoli refused
to pay that much.
(sources: The History of United
Artists/David V. Picker/Harry Saltzman)
Lazenby Bond
Trivia
Lazenby was offered a 7 Bond film
contract from James Bond production company Eon before, during, and after
filming of On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Despite the popular belief that
he quit the role or that he was fired, he actually simply was in a lengthy
contract disupute, of which his saying he had quit the role was part of his
negotiating ploy. There was a lengthy dispute over Lazenby's Bond contract
because it was 14 inches thick and covered everything from how Lazenby
should behave in public, how he should dress, what car he should drive, how
he should wear his hair, that he always be cleanly shaven, how he handle
his personal life, where he should dine out, who he should be seen in
public with, among numerous other things over the 14 year length of the
contract. Lazenby felt he needed to be paid extra money in order to keep in
line with such a Draconian contract for so many years. In the end, Lazenby
turned down a very large amount of money and demanded twice what he
was offered, and Bond production company Eon and United Artists then removed
him from their plans in the Bond franchise.
Lazenby was offered a then huge actor's
salary of $1 million to play 007 in Diamonds Are Forever by Bond
co-producer Harry Saltzman and United Artists, but he demanded twice that
amount and thus was never signed for the role.
Ever
Wondered Why George Lazenby Only Made One James Bond Movie?
The question of how come George Lazenby
only played 007 in one Bond film has long been one of those great movie
trivia questions. There are many conflicting reports and stories on why
George Lazenby was only in one 007 movie, and there seems to be a real
dearth of the actual facts or story being printed in the press or known to
most of the public as to why he only donned the famous Bond tuxedo and
played the world's most famous film character just once.
The following is the true and complete
account of why George Lazenby only made one James Bond film, a subject that
has baffled many people for years, who have often wondered how a previously
unknown model/actor from a small town in the outback of Australia could have
been in his right mind to leave what was at the time the world's most
coveted celebrity status position, and thus end up being known as the
proverbial and quintessential one-hit wonder. The following article about
Lazenby's Bond contract negotiations is based on the historical accounts by
United Artists film studio and Eon Productions Company that detailed these
particular events in question. (Lazenbyland note: We have had NO independent confirmation that any of this is true, but thought the article was at least worth reproducing here.)
Why George Lazenby Didn't Have All The Time In The World
It has often
been reported that George Lazenby signed only a one film movie contract to
make On Her Majesty's Secret Service, choosing to decline the 7 film
contract that he was offered by Eon and United Artists. However this is in
fact incorrect. In October of 1968, Lazenby turned down the 14 year/7 film
contract that he had been offered and instead chose to sign a 7 year/4 film
contract instead. Lazenby also agreed in this contract to sign a Legal
Letter of Intent to play James Bond 007 in the James Bond film Diamonds Are
Forever, which was to follow Lazenby's first 007 movie, 1969's On Her
Majesty's Secret Service.
It should be noted that Lazenby felt he
wasn't going to make another Bond film during the middle of On Her
Majesty's Secret Service's production because he had grown extremely tired
of the treatment he was receiving on all accounts. However this does not
change the fact that he was still under contract, and that the Bond producers
always thought he was going to make the next Bond film. The producers
simply believed this was a ploy by Lazenby's managers to get him a better
deal, which it in fact was. The fact that Lazenby already felt he was done
at that point changes none of the below.
Also some of Lazenby's comments in
interviews have been largely taken out of context to make it seem like he
implied that he only was signed and obligated for one Bond film. That is
absolutely wrong. Lazenby was only paid for one Bond film, with an
additional first payment for his next Bond film. Meaning then, that because
he had only been paid for one, that was the only one he had to make
legally, providing he was not released from his contract. This has then
been taken out of context and skewed by numerous media reports and
"non-biased" interviewers as to mean he was only signed to a one
picture deal, which is totally incorrect.
The 7 year/4 film contract that Lazenby
signed was at industry minimum standard pay for a lead actor in films as big
as the Bond films, with the built in industry pay increases for each
successive film. This did not sit well with the Bond producers who wanted
the young 28 year old Lazenby locked in to his contract for 7 films at the
minimum pay rate they wanted him to get. Lazenby's managers however advised
him that it would be better to sign a smaller contract at first, then
re-negotiate his longer 7 film deal later on, so that he could demand more
money for future films after he had already made some Bond films.
It has been widely reported that when
Lazenby announced he was quitting the role of Bond during the filming of On
Her Majesty's Secret Service that he indeed was only obligated
contractually to make that film. But that is not accurate. Lazenby was in
fact signed and obligated to make 4 Bond films over a 7 year period. During
filming of On Her Majesty's Secret Service, the Bond producers constantly
offered him the 7 film deal. Meaning he would then sign for 3 extra films
in addition to the 4 that he had already signed on for. This offer to
Lazenby was eventually extended to 7 Bond films after On Her Majesty's
Secret Service, or 8 Bond films in total, and then finally to 7 Bond films
after On Her Majesty's Secret Service, in addition to 5 non-Bond films made
by United Artists. Lazenby wanted to sign the contract that included the 5
non-Bond films, but his personal manager told him not to.
It was announced to the press once again
that Lazenby was leaving the role of Bond at the premiere of Secret
Service. It was Lazenby's publicist that actually made the announcement.
Lazenby also said he was leaving the 007 role while on an airing of The
Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. By this point Bond producers Harry
Saltzman and Cubby Broccoli were furious with Lazenby and did not know what
to do with him. Contrary to popular belief, Lazenby was not free from his
contract at this time. He was still obligated to make 3 more Bond movies.
Also contrary to popular belief, Lazenby was not fired at this time.
Instead the Bond producers decided to let Lazenby out of his Bond contract
the day after the premiere of On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
The big dispute between Lazenby and Bond
co-producer Cubby Broccoli was over the rules in Lazenby's contract. He
actually could be fired for something as simple as not shaving every day
while not even filming a Bond movie. There was even a clause in his
contract that stated that he had to get his dinner guests approved by Cubby
Broccoli before he could be seen dining out with them in public. There were
numerous clauses of this nature in his contract and none of them sat well
with Lazenby.
The Bond producers finally realized that
they had to let Lazenby out of his contract because he was not going to
behave as they wanted him to unless they did so. For example, Lazenby's
wearing a beard and long hair in public, hanging out at nightclubs and
bars, and saying he was quitting the role numerous times. This sort of
thing was done by Lazenby so that he could get the 7 film deal he wanted,
but minus all the Draconian rules it had contained within it. In order to
do that he first had to get out of the original contract that he had
signed.
Although Cubby Broccoli didn't want to
take these clauses out of Lazenby's deal he realized he had no choice, so
Saltzman and Broccoli released Lazenby from his deal. They then began
negotiating with him on his new contract. The many reports that he was by
this time officially no longer Bond are wrong. At this time Harry Saltzman
and Lazenby negotiated with each other directly, minus Broccoli and
Lazenby's managers. Saltzman had been given full power by United Artists
and Broccoli to get Lazenby whatever deal he wanted as long as it stayed
within the salary range they wanted to pay him. Lazenby would then take the
offers to his manager for approval.
Saltzman then offered Lazenby a contract
for 7 more Bond films and 5 non-Bond films minus all the Draconian clauses
in the deal. However, the offer was still to start at the minimum industry
standard pay with the same built in industry standard increases for each
successive film. Lazenby and his now rather infamous top personal
manager/publicist Ronan O'Rahilly, a well known British producer who
created Radio Caroline, worked for The BBC and who also managed The Beatles
for just one week's time (although some people say it was actually for just
one day's time), turned that offer down. They countered it by asking for
twice the pay rate offered, as well as Lazenby getting twice as big a
dressing room, twice as big a limo, twice as big a trailer, twice as big a
personal expense account with Eon, and also with a clause in the contract
that stated that Lazenby would keep all the Saville Row suits, Rolex
watches, and Bond cars used in his films.
Although Saltzman, and in particular
United Artists, were willing to meet these demands, Cubby Broccoli was not.
Broccoli insisted that since Sean Connery did not even get much of that
treatment, it did not make sense to give it to Lazenby, even though he
would essentially become the world's biggest movie star if he signed the
deal. Broccoli remarked how Richard Burton had made similar demands from
Eon and UA while he and Lazenby were the final two candidates for the Bond
role, and that they wouldn't give Burton what he wanted. In Broccoli's mind
he felt that George Lazenby was better for Bond than Burton, but he also
felt that if Eon and UA weren't willing to give Burton the sort of perks
that he had wanted, it would be foolish to give them to Lazenby. Broccoli
therefore would not agree to Lazenby's demands.
Studio heads from United Artists then
met with Saltzman and Broccoli in New York and instructed them to offer
Lazenby a longer term deal, termed "a lifetime contract", in the
hopes that this would entice him to take the money being offered, as it
would ensure that Lazenby would be at the top of the movie business for
many years. The thinking behind this was that Lazenby would take less money
and perks than he was asking for if he had a guaranteed, extremely
lucrative, and heralded gig for the rest of his career, and that this would
then firmly establish in the public and press that Lazenby was Bond for
life and that Connery, or no one else was going to be Bond.
Eon offered Lazenby 10 additional Bond
movies, which would have given him a total of 11 Bond films in all. The
contract was to cover a period of 20 years beginning in 1970 and ending in
1990. Lazenby's last Bond film was to be shot in 1988, and released
in 1989. This film eventually became Licence To Kill starring Timothy
Dalton, who in a strange twist of irony was actually offered the role of
Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service before auditions for unknowns were
held.
Cubby Broccoli felt that it was of
absolute top priority that they establish in the minds of the press and the
public that Bond was Lazenby's gig exclusively and that he be known
entirely for Bond. In Broccoli's view, Eon could fully groom Lazenby for
the Bond role since he was known simply for it and had not been a
professional actor; and that by having everyone know Lazenby had a lifetime
contract that would cover two whole decades, it would make the public not
only change their mind's that only Connery was clearly Bond, but it would
also eventually lead to Lazenby replacing Connery in the public's minds as
the definitive Bond.
When Lazenby was offered this deal he
was anxious to sign it, but he still had to get approval for it from his
managers. This was because Lazenby had signed an agreement with his
managers that they had to approve of all of his deals. He had signed this
agreement just days after he had won the Bond casting. Lazenby felt that
his biggest obstacle and hurdle in playing Bond was the public's belief
that Bond was Connery's gig, so the lifetime contract was the perfect way
for him to overcome that, since everyone would be told that he was signed
for the next 20 years. This would stop any sentiment amongst the
movie-going public that Connery could be brought back if people were hard
on Lazenby and stayed away from his films at the box office.
When Lazenby showed the contract offer
to his main manager, he was advised by him that Bond would not last that
much longer past the early 1970's because it was no longer a viable
character for the times. He advised Lazenby that the tuxedo-clad super-spy
had become a cultural dinosaur that was out of touch with the realities of
the popular hippie culture of the time. He also advised Lazenby that by signing
this contract, he would become completely type cast in the Bond role and
then find himself stuck in a star role that was no longer fit for the
times, and one that would not enjoy even half the success that it had in
the earlier 1960's Sean Connery era. Lazenby did not agree with this advice
and wanted to sign the contract, but his managers would not approve of it,
and because he had signed the agreement with them that he couldn't sign any
deals without their approval, he could not accept the offer.
When Lazenby then had to turn this offer
down, Harry Saltzman broke off contract talks and went back to United
Artists along with Cubby Broccoli to discuss their options. At that point
they first considered looking for a new Bond, and also offering a huge contract
to Sean Connery. They then decided to sign American actor John Gavin to the
Bond role as an insurance policy. Gavin's contract stated that if they
could not get Lazenby or Connery signed in time to make the scheduled
filming start of Diamonds Are Forever, that Gavin would then make the film.
However, if either Connery or Lazenby could be re-signed to make the film,
Gavin would then receive a one-time $500,000 severance pay, and no longer
be attached to the role. UA and Eon could not simply delay the film because
they already had sold some of the film's overseas profits to various
investors, and if the film was delayed they could then be sued for that
money.
UA and the Bond co-producers finally
decided to simply offer Lazenby a film contract for Diamonds Are Forever at
a salary of $1 million. Saltzman met Lazenby in London, in February of
1970, and offered him $1 million to make Diamonds Are Forever, and told him
that after that film was completed that they could then either negotiate
further films for Lazenby, or that if Lazenby wanted to then quit he could.
Saltzman explained to Lazenby that they did not have time to cast another
Bond, that it had cost them over $1 million just to cast him, and that they
could not take on neither that task, nor cost again at the time. So
Saltzman told Lazenby that, Eon needed enough time to prepare for Bond 007
actor casting again if it had to be done over. He also informed Lazenby
that Eon/UA had to make the scheduled production start of Diamonds Are
Forever, because if they did not, John Gavin would get the role, and they
didn't want that to happen.
Lazenby was also willing to sign this
deal. However when he brought it to his main personal manager he was told
that the salary was not high enough. Although Lazenby just wanted to take
the deal, he still had to get the approval from his managers. Lazenby was
told to tell Saltzman that he would make just one more 007 film for a
salary of $2 million, and that he would then not make any more Bond films
after that. When Lazenby told this to Saltzman, he was informed that the
producer had only been authorized to offer up to $1 million by his
partners, and that he would have to discuss the $2 million demand with
them.
Saltzman flew back to New York to meet
with Broccoli and studio heads from United Artists to discuss his last
meeting with Lazenby. When Saltzman informed them of Lazenby's final
demand, Cubby Broccoli became outraged. Saltzman and UA were actually
willing to pay the $2 million salary but Broccoli refused. He was
particularly angry at Lazenby not only demanding such an astronomically
huge salary at that time, but also the news that even if Lazenby got such a
pay he would still not make another Bond film. The $1 million film salary
that they were offering to Lazenby to star in Diamonds would have made him
the highest paid male lead for base salary in movie history. Broccoli
therefore felt that Lazenby's $2 million asking price was simply an out of
line demand, especially considering Lazenby would not commit to more than
one more film.
It was then that United Artists decided
that Lazenby was out of consideration for the Bond role. United Artists
executive David V. Picker, then ordered Saltzman and Broccoli to re-sign
Sean Connery at any cost. They offered Connery a then huge base salary of
$1.25 million, as well as 12.5 percent of the film's net US profits, extra
pay for the film going over the set shooting schedule, and also funding for
Connery to produce and star in 3 film projects of his own choosing.
This was seen as the biggest deal ever
for an actor for a single film to that point. In the end, Connery ended up
earning a reported $6 million total for Diamonds Are Forever (three times
the amount Lazenby had asked for), and he donated his entire $1.25 million
base salary that he earned from the film to the Scotish International
Educational Trust, which Connery co-founded. Only one of Connery's 3
non-Bond films allocated in the deal was actually produced, and Connery
claimed that Bond co-producer Cubby Broccoli never paid him the $4.75
million of the film's profits that he was owed, although there was never
any legal verification or ruling that was true. Connery signed the deal
just days after Lazenby's handlers had made their final salary demands.
Gavin was paid his $500,000 contract buyout by United Artists.
Lazenby, for having signed a Legal
Letter of Intent to star as 007 in Diamonds, had been given an early
initial payment of his salary for that film prior to the time that Connery
had been officially signed to return the Bond role. Under the agreement in
Lazenby's Legal Letter of Intent, if he did not star as James Bond in
Diamonds Are Forever, he would have to reimburse Eon for the initial
payment he had received for the film. Lazenby reimbursed Eon for this money
after Connery signed.
Trivia and the story
behind Lazenby's contract negotiations were obtained from United
Artists/Harry Saltzman interview archives/George Lazenby interview
archives/Cubby Broccoli interview archives/and David V. Picker interview
archives.
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