The 84-year-old actor admitted that aging has taken its toll on him. Images from last week show the legendary 007 with his family helping him out.
Last November, Lazenby had an unfortunate fall and had to be hospitalized due to a serious head injury. He spent three weeks recovering in a California nursing home. He expressed his gratitude to his fans and family for the support and care they have given him. With a smile on his face and a prominent scar on his head, Lazenby shared the message that aging is not easy, but that he is fighting with all his might.
George Lazenby was the first film Bond not played by Sean Connery. He turned down the next role after five films. Producer Albert Broccoli had already considered both Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton, but when they also rejected him, he chose an Australian model and actor who he thought had the right physical qualities to be Bond.
The sixth Bond film from 1969 is said to have flopped, but the opposite is true. It was the second highest-grossing film of the year, behind only Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, grossing over $87 million. Which is more than three of the films with Moore or Connery’s unofficial Bond movie Never Say Never made.
Lazenby was also offered a role in Diamonds Are Eternal, but he turned it down. Being Bond was enough for him once.
At the end of July this year, he announced that he was quitting acting. In his farewell to his fans, he admitted that aging is no fun and thanked them for their support over the years. “It wasn’t an easy decision, but it’s time to retire. Starting today, I won’t be playing, making any more social appearances, giving any more interviews or signing autographs. It’s been a fun ride, but getting old isn’t fun,” he wrote on the social network, saying, that now he will spend more time with his family.
More than films in recent years, he attracted attention with inappropriate statements that caused a wave of resentment. On a tour of Australia linked to the Bond soundtrack, he used his narration to insult women and make homophobic slurs.
