Will George Never Marry Again?

From Times of Oman

Will George never marry again?
John Graham/Tony James Features
Thu Jul 14 2011 09:46:37 GMT+0400 (Arabian Standard Time) Oman Time

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For ten years he has been Hollywood’s most eligible bachelor. And while lesser mortals are reconciled to getting fatter and older, George Clooney despite being 50, seems to have found the secret of looking younger and fitter as the years go by.

But sadly he hasn’t found the secret of finding the girl of his dreams... George has split from girlfriend Elisabetta Canalis after two years together. The heartthrob actor and the Italian TV presenter and model have finally admitted: “We are not together anymore,” after weeks of speculation over their relationship.

Friends say that things started to go wrong after Elisabetta had said that she would “love to get married.” And that was enough to convince George it was time to part company...

He has told pals that he has no intention of becoming a father and “hasn’t the patience and dedication you need to take care of a family.”

Nor does he want to get married again after after being wed to US actress Talia Balsam for four years.”I gave marriage my best shot once - but never again” he said.

“George has always maintained that his job comes before everything - that’s why his relationships have never really worked out,” says an insider.”But with Elisabetta things seem different... at least for a while.”

After hits like Ocean’s 12 and Ocean’s 13, George Clooney is now one of Hollywood’s highest-paid stars. Certainly it’s hard to believe that he spent ten years in TV obscurity and once made a film called Return of the Killer Tomatoes...

After years being unnoticed in small parts, George first hit the headlines when playing Dr Doug Ross in the medical soap ER — a part he played for five years.

“I was very sad to leave ER,” George remembers. “I loved the show and the cast became my best friends. But five years was a long time to be in a series and if I thought that if I stayed, people would get sick of me.”

Which was why George turned down another ER contract - even though it was worth over $4 million.

“Until ER I had a slow plodding career,” George says. “I made some mistakes and missed some big chances.” One of the biggest was turning down the role in Ridley Scott’s movie Thelma and Louise which shot Brad Pitt to movie stardom. He knows all about the heartbreak that can be just around the corner in showbiz. His father, a successful TV host in George’s home town of Cincinatti, was fired suddenly from his job. Within weeks the family had moved from a colonial-style mansion into a trailer park.

There was also the tragic story of his aunt, singer Rosemary Clooney, who had serious psychiatric problems for 20 years after her worldwide fame and fortune disappeared with the coming of rock and roll.

“Dad told me not to believe people who say you are good - nor to believe them when they say you’re bad,” George says. “Stick to your own judgement.”

Certainly there were times when no one but George seemed to believe he had what it took to make it in show-business. For years he lived hand-to-mouth while waiting for his big chance, and making a living selling men’s suits, and women’s shoes and working as a builder.

George says he got into ER by accident. “It was just another part for a pilot series and I assumed that I would hear nothing more about it.

“But this time, something actually happened - the test episode went down sensationally with viewers - a survey showed that Dr Ross was the show’s most popular character.”

After five highly lucrative years, George announced he was leaving the show just after making the 100th episode. I had to convince myself that I could survive without ER,” he says. “I just didn’t want to become one of those whatever-happened-to-him guys.”

George says he knows all about how show-business pressure can destroy relationships and doesn’t want it to happen again.

A long relationship with actress Kelly Preston ended because George was always working. Kelly’s now married to John Travolta.

The same thing happened with British model Lisa Snowdon and cocktail waitress Sarah Larson. And George’s marriage to Talia Balsam, star of the TV series Taxi, ended in divorce in 1993.

George says he has no intention of rushing into another marriage.”I made a lot of mistakes in the past by acting on impulse and then regretting it later.” So now George is a single man again.And how many female fans around the world are having fantasies about one day hearing that familiar voice offering them a date..?