Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Another Hollywood Fairy Tale Ends

I was a bit surprised to learn of the end of the six-year marriage of George Lazenby and Pam Shriver and the impending child custody battle. Surprised, in part, because I knew nothing of the beginning of their marriage. And even more surprised that Lazenby is not only still alive, but fathering children well into his 60s.

Lazenby, as I'm sure you recall, played James Bond on the big screen nearly 40 years ago. Played Bond one time. By my count, that's just one time more than I've played 007 on-screen. To say that his career has been in the toilet since his debut in OHMSS is a bit of an understatement. He hasn't even been the answer to a trivia question since the 1980s, when Pam was a highly-ranked tennis star.

So what kind of pickup line do you use to attract someone who wasn't old enough to attend the one notable movie you made without a parent?

Picture George at one end of the bar, Pam at the other. Pam catches his eye; George calls the female bartender over and loudly orders a martini. "Shaken, not stirred!" Pam doesn't even glance over. George loudly repeats himself, "That's shaken, not stirred!" Still no reaction from Pam. George settles his tab with the bartender by handing her $20.01: "Here you are, MISS, all the MONEY's yours, including the PENNY."Pam now cannot help but notice the intriguing, mature Australian putting on a fake British accent, and approaches him.

George: "You know, I was James Bond well over 30 years ago, and haven't worked steadily since."

Pam: "I was a top-ranked tennis pro in the '80s, and I'm Maria Shriver's fourth cousin."

The rest, as they say, is celebrity history.

What does this guy do all day while his wife is out making the bucks covering tennis? Enjoying the benefits of her hard work?

Out of concern for their three young children, the announcement was timed to coincide with the media focused on the Summer Olympics and the Russian-Georgian war. Unlike celebrity couples like Brad and Angelina, George and Pam have somehow managed to fly under the radar and keep the paparazzi at bay, refusing to negotiate to sell photos of their 2002 wedding or three young children to People and US magazines. Nor have they allowed themselves to be known by the unifying moniker "Peorge."
Stay tuned to the media, I'm sure we haven't heard the last of this one.

2 comments:

Mr. Moose said...

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. George Lazenby has long deserved a better fate than as a Trivial Pursuit answer.

This blog has it all. A winter/spring hook up. A "celebrity" divorce. The Kennedys. A minor athlete. and Bond.

Moco Lotion has done it again.

MoCoLotion said...

In all fairness, Lazenby is apparently a successful businessman and may have contributed more to this relationship than just sperm.

But as we learned in the Ethics of Journalism 101--don't let the facts get in the way of writing an entertaining news story. Better a cheap shot than boredom.

I gotta be honest--I've just seen OHMSS for the first time in my adult life. He wasn't all that bad.