Posted in: MGM, Movies | Tagged: birthday, george lazenby, james bond, License to Kill, mgm, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, The Living Daylights, timothy dalton

Bond: George Lazenby's Birthday Wishes to Fellow 007 Timothy Dalton

George Lazenby, the second actor to play 007 in the MGM's James Bond franchise, wished successor Timothy Dalton, the fourth in the role, a happy 75th birthday. The On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) star shared a photo of the two Bonds together on March 21st over Twitter, writing, "From one fella to another… Happy birthday to Timothy Dalton. Tim, I hope it'll be a good one for you and the rest of family. Looking forward to our next rendezvous. Love George x."

Bond Chronology

Lazenby was supposed to succeed original star Sean Connery, who grew dissatisfied with the franchise following the 1967 film You Only Live Twice. When Lazenby voluntarily left the role after OHMSS, Connery returned one last time under the MGM/Eon Productions banner for Diamonds Are Forever (1971) before Roger Moore officially accepted the torch for Live and Let Die in 1973. Connery did return to the role for Never Say Never Again in 1983, a remake of Thunderball (1965) and not under MGM/Eon. Dalton succeeded Moore after his final outing in 1985's A View to a Kill with The Living Daylights in 1987. Dalton only made one other Bond film with License to Kill (1989) before retiring from the role. MGM did have plans to expand Dalton's Bond, but it never materialized as the franchise was tied to legal issues. It wasn't until six years later, with 1995's Goldeneye did audiences see another Bond film with the now-Black Adam star Pierce Brosnan in the role. Lazenby and Dalton, despite their all-too-brief times as the character, are now the last of the old guard with Connery and Moore's passing. MGM is also in the middle of the search for the successor to current franchise actor Daniel Craig, who succeeded Brosnan himself, and retiring following No Time to Die's release.

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