Why on earth was George ...

• Sep 8, 2005 04:00 AM ET
• by Maitland McDonagh

Question: Why on earth was George Lazenby given the role of James Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service? Was Sean Connery ill? Was there a contract dispute? Were the producers mad?

Answer: No longer the little-known actor who rocketed to fame in Dr. No (1962), Sean Connery retired from playing James Bond after his fifth outing, You Only Live Twice (1967). Australian model George Lazenby won the role after a high-profile search for a new 007, and I'm not alone in thinking he was actually good in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) and would probably have grown into the role if given half a chance. But he didn't click with audiences, and the producers begged Connery to return for Diamonds Are Forever (1971), after which Roger Moore stepped into the part. Connery returned for Never Say Never Again, which was made outside the official Bond movie "canon" and opened head-to-head with Octopussy in 1983; but that's another story. I always found Moore too light ,and think Timothy Dalton got a raw deal, but we all have our own ideas about what James Bond should be like. I pity the actor who follows Pierce Brosnan.