The producers of the James Bond franchise once bet it all on an unproven, unknown talent as 007.
Did it pay off?
Sean Conneryquit the role of James Bondin 1967 during the production ofYou Only Live Twice.
It also opened up what becameone of the most coveted characters in show business.
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Wait…
It was almost as if it was fate.
(Oh, to apply for jobs in a pre-internet world!)
But when he met with Hunt, he confessed that he had no acting experience.
Hunt was still impressed that he managed to fool the tough, no-nonsense Saltzman.
Stick to your story and Ill make you the next James Bond, he told the Australian upstart.
Alas, Tracy is shortly thereafter gunned down in a devastating final scene by a vengeful Blofeld.
The new 007 is more boyish and consequently less of a man.
The box office also reflected what many surmised to be the franchises sagging fortunes.
WhileYou Only Live Twicehadnt performed as well as eitherThunderballorGoldfingerthe peak of Connery and arguably Bonds popularityOHMSSfared worse.
So he told Broccoli and Saltzman that he would not return for a sequel.
The producers were shocked.
To recast again would have been an absolute publicity crisis.
They followed that with a series of increasingly lighthearted entries headlined by trusted international star Roger Moore.
What would have happened if Lazenby hadnt listened to ORahilly and stuck around?
Well, for one thing, the seriesalways shaky continuitymight have at least made a little more sense.
Its as if the producers wanted to eraseOHMSSentirely from the canon.
Even heavyweight directors like Christopher Nolan and Steven Soderbergh call it their favorite Bond movie.
It just took years for audiences to recognize it.
No matter what risks the franchise may take, one thing is certain… James Bond will always return.
