George Lazenby revealed he’s retiring, telling fans he will no longer make public appearances or sign autographs.
Lazenby, the second actor to portray James Bond in the film franchise, announced his decision Thursday on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“This hasn’t been an easy decision but it’s time to announce my retirement from work,” Lazenby, 84, shared. “Therefore, I won’t be doing any more acting or making public appearances, doing any more interviews or signing any more autographs as of today.”
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“It’s been a fun ride but getting older is no fun,” he explained. “I would like to thank my manager and friend, Anders Frejdh, for helping me since 2013 – the best representative I ever had. I can now concentrate on spending more time with my family. My sincere gratitude to everyone out there for your love and support over the years. It has meant a lot to me.”
George Lazenby, known for his role in 1969’s “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service,” has announced his retirement. (Getty Images)
Lazenby took over the Bond role from Sean Connery for one Bond movie, “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service,” in 1969. After making his Bond debut, Lazenby was offered a seven-film contract but decided to turn it down following the advice of his agent. He went on to star in a few Bond parody films, including “The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E.”
“It’s been a fun ride but getting older is no fun.”
He moved to Australia after finishing his work in Hong Kong, where he worked on a number of TV movies and shows before returning to Hollywood in the late 1970s. In 1979, Lazenby starred in “Saint Jack,” and later got roles on TV’s “Hawaii Five-0” and “Evening in Byzantium.” In 1993, he starred in a number of “Emmanuelle” movies on cable.
In 2021, he appeared in “In the Blink of an Eye” and has two movies, “Z Dead End” and “Mundije 2,” currently in production.
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Lazenby took over the James Bond character from Sean Connery. (Getty Images)
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Fox News Digital reached out to a representative for Lazenby.
Lazenby married his first wife, Chrissie Townson, in 1973 and had two children with her; a son, Zachary, and a daughter, Melanie. Their son Zachary was diagnosed with a brain tumor when he was 11 and passed away when he was 19.
He married his second wife, Pam Shriver, in 2002, with Pam filing for divorce in 2008. The couple had three children together; Kaitlin, George and Samuel.
Lazenby began his acting career in the ’60s. (Getty Images)
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Fox News Digital’s Lori A. Bashian contributed to this report.