16 replies to this topic

[O.H.M.S.S.]

Some people always say that George Lazenby was very unpopular on the set and that especially Diana Rigg didn't like him or something like that, but if you see some pictures of them behind the scenes they look like having a good time. So anyone could clear this up for me? How was Lazenby's relation with the rest of the cast and crew?

[PrinceKamalKhan]

On the OHMSS DVD documetary, one of the stunt coordinators said something along the lines of George was just like one of the guys when it came to hanging around with the stunt men. However, Lazenby did get miffed when he didn't get a special invitation to a party they were hosting since he was the "star". To which Cubby Broccoli said something like "You're not a star because you say you're a star. You're not a star because I say you're a star. You're a star when the public calls you a star."

[DamnCoffee]

"You're not a star because you say you're a star. You're not a star because I say you're a star. You're a star when the public calls you a star."

And its a real shame that never happened

[HH007]

Well, as far as Diana Rigg goes, George said that whole "I'm eating onions (or garlic, I can't remember) for our love scene" was just a joke that was taken out of context by the press who happened to overhear it. However, Lazenby did say that Rigg was an ally "at first," which is a bit vague. What does he mean by "at first?" But I do know that he and Telly Savalas got along quite well, and that most of the crew seem to speak favorably of him now.

[DamnCoffee]

Yeah the press absolouty slaughtered that quote just because Diana said "I'm having Garlic for lunch George, I hope you are!", I mean that ws obviously a joke - damn press .

[HH007]

Yeah the press absolouty slaughtered that quote just because Diana said "I'm having Garlic for lunch George, I hope you are!", I mean that ws obviously a joke - damn press .

Did you notice how the press tried to do the same thing to Daniel Craig in the lead up to CR? What is with those people?

[lazenbyland]

I think with all the evidence and quotes out there now that George did have some difficulties on the set of OHMSS. The question is whether these were down to him.

Remember almost overnight he was thrown into the biggest role in the world. It would be very difficult for an established actor to handle this, let alone someone who was new to the movie business.

Its also clear that George was very poorly advised and I suspect he was left wondering exactly how he SHOULD behave with different advice coming from all directions. The movie business can be a very bitchy place. It's also clear that many just had it in for George because he wasn't Sean. Remember George was also only 28/29 years old when he made OHMSS, a very young age. It seems from the attitudes around at the time that George fell into the company of those who "dropped out" of society. Of course, the reality was that they could only drop out as long as the rest of society didn't. Its likely he put his trust into people who really shouldn't have been trusted at all. Also the film makers should have protected him from this rather than coming up with draconian contracts.

George has already admitted that he should have had more respect for Diana Rigg but it seems that, for whatever reason, their relationship broke down. But at least George has been "man" enough to admit this. It's a shame that others can't see that perhaps their behaviour was perhaps a notch or two below what it should have been as well.

But don't think that everything was hunky dory before OHMSS or afterwards. Connery was sick and tired of being ripped off when he made YOLT, and ony came back to DAF if he did not have to negotiate with either Cubby Broccoli or Harry Saltzman.

But in such a creative environment, differences will always appear. You see this all the time. As long as the final product isn't threatened, then these differences can be useful in driving things along. In Lazenby's case, Peter Hunt did what he could to get a good performance out of him. And this included making life difficult. Hunt locked him away in his trailer on set before shooting the final scene as he wanted George to be emotional when he came to shoot it. And it worked perfectly.

If you're interested we have the full story on why George didn't continue with Bond over at Lazenbyland

www.angelfire.com/nm/lazenbyland

[PrinceKamalKhan]

Some people always say that George Lazenby was very unpopular on the set and that especially Diana Rigg didn't like him or something like that, but if you see some pictures of them behind the scenes they look like having a good time. So anyone could clear this up for me? How was Lazenby's relation with the rest of the cast and crew?

This is a good fan site for a lot of information on On Her Majesty's Secret Service-

http://www.ohmss.ohmss-007.com/

[triviachamp]

"You're not a star because you say you're a star. You're not a star because I say you're a star. You're a star when the public calls you a star."

Lazenby's inability to realize this was one reason for downfall unfortunately. He isn't the only one to suffer because of this however.

[MHazard]

My only info is what's on the DVD, but reading between the lines and guessing, I would think that Lazenby had a bit of an "I'm the Star" attitude. I suspect that the actors he was dealing with found this particularly offensive as they were actors and probably thought of him as a mere male model, who couldn't act and thought he knew everything. You can see how this would rub people the wrong way. Certainly, his lack of acting experience is visible at times in the movie, particularly in some wooden lines and is likely the reason he had all the Hilary Bray stuff dubbed. On top of that, Lazenby was into the whole 60's thing and thought short haired James Bond had no future. So, you have:

1. A lead with no acting experience who thinks he's a star;

2. His acting performance has a lot of misses, particularly in line delivery;

3. He's probably voicing the opinion to a set full of veteran Bond actors and crew, all of whom have made very successful and well received movies that Bond is passe.

No mystery to me why they thought he had an attitude. Laz seems to concede as much in his interview.

[LadySylvia]

Actually, we really don't know how bad Lazenby's behavior was. Yes, he may have been guilty of some attitude problems. But what if the same could be said about other members of the cast and crew? To dump all the blame on Lazenby, because one doesn't like him as an actor or even a person seems a little short-sighted to me.

[LadySylvia]

Lazenby's inability to realize this was one reason for downfall unfortunately. He isn't the only one to suffer because of this however.

You might as well say the same about Connery, who had a reputation for being difficult on the set by the time he was filming THUNDERBALL.

I think that Lazenby's downfall had more to do with listening to bad advice from his agent.

[triviachamp]

Lazenby's inability to realize this was one reason for downfall unfortunately. He isn't the only one to suffer because of this however.

You might as well say the same about Connery, who had a reputation for being difficult on the set by the time he was filming THUNDERBALL.

I think that Lazenby's downfall had more to do with listening to bad advice from his agent.

I said one reason. And at least Connery had three Bond films before being getting difficult. And yes the Laz did have bad advice and his belief that he was already a star was probably one reason he followed it.

[ACE]

I think with all the evidence and quotes out there now that George did have some difficulties on the set of OHMSS. The question is whether these were down to him.

Remember almost overnight he was thrown into the biggest role in the world. It would be very difficult for an established actor to handle this, let alone someone who was new to the movie business.

Its also clear that George was very poorly advised and I suspect he was left wondering exactly how he SHOULD behave with different advice coming from all directions. The movie business can be a very bitchy place. It's also clear that many just had it in for George because he wasn't Sean. Remember George was also only 28/29 years old when he made OHMSS, a very young age. It seems from the attitudes around at the time that George fell into the company of those who "dropped out" of society. Of course, the reality was that they could only drop out as long as the rest of society didn't. Its likely he put his trust into people who really shouldn't have been trusted at all. Also the film makers should have protected him from this rather than coming up with draconian contracts.

George has already admitted that he should have had more respect for Diana Rigg but it seems that, for whatever reason, their relationship broke down. But at least George has been "man" enough to admit this. It's a shame that others can't see that perhaps their behaviour was perhaps a notch or two below what it should have been as well.

But don't think that everything was hunky dory before OHMSS or afterwards. Connery was sick and tired of being ripped off when he made YOLT, and ony came back to DAF if he did not have to negotiate with either Cubby Broccoli or Harry Saltzman.

But in such a creative environment, differences will always appear. You see this all the time. As long as the final product isn't threatened, then these differences can be useful in driving things along. In Lazenby's case, Peter Hunt did what he could to get a good performance out of him. And this included making life difficult. Hunt locked him away in his trailer on set before shooting the final scene as he wanted George to be emotional when he came to shoot it. And it worked perfectly.

If you're interested we have the full story on why George didn't continue with Bond over at Lazenbyland

www.angelfire.com/nm/lazenbyland

Nice post and good site!

I think there is a little more nuance to the story. Some observations:

1) Media management in the 1960's was a lot less hands on then than it is now. These days, the integrated entertainment industries want all their stars to be on message. Then, there was more freedom. Then, too, there was a lot less media intrusion and a lot less media to intrude. News could be, somewhat, controlled. Especially showbiz news which then was far more specıalısed and less important. It was a bit of a closed shop.

2) Lazenby was hired for a certain modernity and contemporaneous quality he bought to the part. If Connery's Bond helped create the Swinging Sixties, Lazenby's Bond was the Swinging Sixties. His slight anti-authoritarian line was good.

3) Film sets are very disciplined places with everybody working closely together for long, intense periods of time - especially when on an isolated location for months. Emotions magnified. While Lazenby's behaviour was not punk-like disrespect, it certainly seemed unprofessional. From bedding his leading lady (and a number of other co-stars - imagine the office romance x 12!) to being grumpy and surly. Remember, Lazenby before this was a highly paid and pampered male model who was the centre of attention at all times. All of a sudden, he is part of that gypsy film crew. It must have been culture shock for him. Lazenby also took to ringing the church bell in Murren (a small, conservative Swiss town) with an air rifle from his hotel! This behaviour, coupled with his then refusal to sign the contract, must have gone down like Kevin McClory attending Cubby's Thalberg party. However, other stars routinely behaved much, much worse.

4) "Draconian contracts" - the whole point of casting Bond is that the actor signs to series. From Connery to Craig, no Bond actor has ever initially signed to do a single Bond film. Connery was signed 6 in 6 years, Lazenby was signed to whatever (never sure about the exact number 5 films in 7 years?) and from Moore onwards, the actors signs a 3 picture deal with a producers' option for a 4th. Of course, this gets varied but initially, that is the deal! The biggest unspoken and hugely ignored part of the whole saga is why the producers did not get Lazenby to sign before announcing him? Or, if they did, did Lazenby actually break his contract? If the former, it showed hubris on the part of the producers.

5) The producers (and this was a Harry film, the next was a Cubby film) were in a quandry. After much fanfare, they had announced and promoted the new Bond - the man who took over from Connery arguably had the most thankless task in film history. He had been co-operative and charming on the press launch. Now, that same man, was not going to return and they had to sell the film while not promoting their leading man! Talk about snookered. It should be noted here that OHMSS was an immensely successful film worlwide. Hugely profitable. But, significantly less so than its immediate predecessors (which, inflation adjusted, are the amongst the biggest hits ever made). Whether this was down to just Lazenby, the trend of Bond box office, or hampered marketing, we will never know.

So, how do they explain the fact that their man would not be back? During the production, they begin to spin. Because of 1)above, they begin spinning that Lazenby was 2) above and this led to 3) above. They always omit 4) above - he did not return because they did not have him under contract. According to Lazenby, Saltzman tried to get him back after OHMSS for DAF. The spin continues well after OHMSS has been released. The producers themselves have distance from the product. Only fans kept the flame burning. Now, of course, the public and critics love the film. And it fits in well with the character based Bonds now being made. People can understand it now.

To answer the question, if you ask the stuntmen, they loved him on set. The girls liked him but, silly man, he shat on his own doorstep! Yes, while he was never professionally undisciplined, his personal vanity probably did rub people up the wrong way but no more than other leading actors. However, this was magnified later in the press as a reason why he did not return when really it was because they had not signed him up! Regardless of the truth, what one does in the press, echoes for all eternity...

[triviachamp]

From bedding his leading lady (and a number of other co-stars

So he slept with Rigg? And those Allegy girls? I guess you need to do something to pass the time!

So Laz was never signed to a contract? That could explain why he could quit. Weird that they never signed a contract with him. Do we know this is a fact?

[RazorBlade]

I wish I could have slept with Diana Rigg. and the other 12 beauties. sigh*

[Mr. Blofeld]

I wish I could have slept with Diana Rigg and the other 12 beauties. *sigh*

As do I; the Laz was so lucky...