No./19 “Diana knew her own mind”
[IN MEMORIAM] Former 007 George Lazenby writes a tribute to British acting icon (and one-time Mrs Bond) DAME DIANA RIGG, who died last month
IT HIT ME hard when I heard Diana Rigg had passed away. Even though I had not been Bond for over 50 years, it shows how much people love the movie and our chemistry that I was overrun with requests to speak about her.
I first met her at a dinner just before the big press conference where they announced me as Bond, in London in October 1968. So much has been made of my supposed difficult relationship with Diana. It was not true. (The story about Diana eating garlic before a love scene with me got blown out of all proportion. She herself said it was a playful quip, picked up by the press at Pinewood.) She was hired to help me out as I was inexperienced on screen. She was classically trained, had done movies,
TV, theatre. I had been a male model. We got along fine — I knew she was going to help me through the film. We had chemistry.
Diana knew her own mind. I was always glad of her strength on screen. I read somewhere Diana got paid the same as I did for the movie, which I think is pretty cool. She did her own stunts as Emma Peel on her TV show, The Avengers, and she did them on our movie. We have a car chase on an ice rink where she rescues me — she actually drove the car! Pretty brave of her. When her character died at the end, I was told not to cry by the director. I ignored him. But with that great John Barry music, and the truthfulness to the Fleming book, I think we created a great screen moment. I hear Daniel Craig’s films have meaningful relationships with the Bond women. But Diana and I got there first — she mattered to Bond. He falls in love with her.
I saw the movie last year for its 50th anniversary in Switzerland, at Piz Gloria, where we made it. The huge crowd who had travelled from around the world to be there gave the movie an amazing reaction. I am told directors like Christopher Nolan, Edgar Wright and Steven Soderbergh love our movie. I am glad people now really appreciate it. I think that has to be down to the core of the relationship between Bond and Tracy — and that was down to Diana and me. I thank Diana for that.
I cried when she died at the end of my film. To lose Dame Diana now has moved me again. I think of our wonderful theme song sung by Louis Armstrong. Our film will live on past me, past us. We really do have all the time in the world, Diana.