Actor Sean Connery, iconic as James Bond, dies at 90
Storm Gifford
Sean Connery, the Scottish-born movie star forever known as the suave embodiment of British secret agent James Bond, has died at the age of 90.
His family confirmed his death Saturday morning, telling BBC News the Scottish-born icon died peacefully in his sleep in the Bahamas overnight. His son said Connery “had many of his family and friends” with him at the time.
“We are all working at understanding this huge event as it only happened recently, even though my dad has been unwell for some time,” Jason Connery said.
“A sad day for all who knew and loved my dad and a sad loss for all people around the world who enjoyed the wonderful gift he had as an actor.”
Sean Connery, the Scottish-born movie star forever known as the suave embodiment of British secret agent James Bond, has died at the age of 90.
Sean Connery, the Scottish-born movie star forever known as the suave embodiment of British secret agent James Bond, has died at the age of 90. (Gerald Penny/)
Born in Edinburgh in 1930, Connery spent three years in the Royal Navy before taking jobs as a lifeguard, coffin polisher and bricklayer, according to his official website, seanconnery.com.
During his youth, he developed a love of bodybuilding and finished third in the 1950 Mr. Universe title.
Some of Connery’s earliest film roles — “Hell Drivers,” “Action of the Tiger” and “No Road Back,” all from 1957 — were mostly forgettable fare. He snagged his big break the following year in the British melodrama “Another Time, Another Place," in which he played an adulterous reporter trysting with Lana Turner before dying in a plane crash. The film generated significant publicity.
Soon after, he appeared as Hotspur in the British historical TV series “An Age of Kings” before the call was on to find just the right actor to portray MI6 superspy James Bond in “Dr. No.”
Bond creator Ian Fleming sought Richard Todd, an Oscar nominee for “The Hasty Heart,” for the role but scheduling conflicts torpedoed a potential deal.
Also in contention was Patrick McGoohan, who had starred in the 1960 TV spy series “Danger Man.” When the series was canceled in 1962, he was considered but declined on moral grounds, feeling the character was too depraved.
American actress Lana Turner sits on an English cliffside overlooking the sea with British co-star Sean Connery during filming of the 1958 movie "Another Time, Another Place" in England. This was Connery's first leading role in a film.
In this 1963 file photo, Scottish actor Sean Connery, left, actress Phyllis Newman and conductor Leonard Bernstein are shown at the US premiere of the James Bond movie "Dr. No" in New York. "Dr. No" was the first official Bond film adaptation of an Ian Fleming novel. The movie didn't have anything like the budget of future Bond films. Connery would play Bond in five further authorized films, before returning from a 12-year hiatus to star in the unofficial "Never Say Never Again" in 1983.
Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida chats with her co-star Sean Connery on the set of "Woman of Straw" in 1963.
Scottish actor Sean Connery brushes down his new mustache at a reception in London, United Kingdom given to launch his new film on Sept. 1, 1964, and to introduce the facial adornment. The mustachioed actor will star as a court-martial's Regiment Sergeant Major in "The Hill", which is to be shot at the Boreham Wood film studios in Hertfordshire and on location in Spain.
Actor Sean Connery, star of the James Bond films, and his wife, actress Diane Cilento, left, engaged in a conversation with Princess Margaret at a reception in the foyer of Odeon Cinema at Leicester Square, in London on February 16, 1965, before a Royal film performance.
Actor Sean Connery is shown during filming the James Bond movie "You Only Live Twice," on location in Tokyo, Japan on July 29, 1966.
Queen Elizabeth II of England meets American actor Dick Van Dyke and British actress Diane Cilento at London's Leicester Square Odeon Theater on June 12, 1967, after world charity premiere of the James Bond spy thriller, "You Only Live Twice." Star of the film, Sean Connery, right, sports mustache.
Scottish actor Sean Connery gets a helping hand from American actress Jill St. John in a scene from the new James Bond film “Diamonds Are Forever” in November 1971. It is the first time the two stars have worked together.
Sean Connery and his wife, Micheline, are shown in front of the Monte Carlo casino in Monaco, in the South of France on April 27, 1977.
Sean Connery is shown in Los Angeles, Ca., in Oct. 1983.
Actor Sean Connery holds the Hasty Pudding Pot atop his Wonder Woman wig during ceremonies at the Hasty Pudding Theatricals clubhouse in Cambridge, Mass. on Feb. 22, 1984. Connery was named the Harvard's Hasty Pudding Man of the Year for 1984.
Sean Connery, his wife, Micheline, left, and his daughter, Hiam, arrive for the premiere of "Sweet Liberty" in Los Angeles, Ca. on April 23, 1986.
Sean Connery winks while dancing with actress Jeanne Moreau at the start of the Cesar Awards in Paris on March 8, 1987.
Sean Connery holds up his best supporting actor Oscar for "The Untouchables" at the 60th annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles, Ca., on April 11, 1988.
Actor Kevin Kline, second from right, is flanked by actors and presenters, from left, Michael Caine, Roger Moore and Sean Connery after Kline was honored as best supporting actor for his role in "A Fish Called Wanda," at the 61st annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles on March 29, 1989.
Michelle Pfeiffer, left, and Sean Connery discuss an upcoming scene with director Fred Schepisi during a break in filming in Moscow of "The Russian House," based on the spy novel by John Le Carre on Oct. 13, 1989.
Left to right: director Robert Altman, actress Liv Ullmann, and Sean Connery during 20th Annual Rudolph Valentino Cinema Lifetime Achievement Awards at Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles in July 1992.
Sean Connery was honored at the Golden Globe Awards on Jan. 21, 1996, in Beverly Hills, Calif., when he received the Cecil B. DeMille Award.
Sean Connery, right, applauds as comedian and pianist Victor Borge is introduced during the Kennedy Center Honors reception hosted by President Clinton and the first lady Rodham Clinton, in the East Room on Dec. 5, 1999 at the White House in Washington, DC.
Sean Connery holds his Lifetime Achievement Award as he speaks to the audience in Berlin on Saturday evening Dec. 3, 2005 at the annual European Film Awards. The European Film Academy has handed out the awards since 1988.
Sean Connery participates in the wave during match against Switzerland's Roger Federer and Germany's Nicolas Kiefer Roger on Centre Court at Wimbledon, Saturday, June 25, 2005. Federer won, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-1, 7-5.
Hollywood heavyweights Cary Grant, James Mason and Richard Burton all declined the role, as well.
In between the U.K. release of “Dr. No” in October 1962 and the U.S. premiere seven months later, Connery married actress Diane Cilento, a future Academy Award nominee for “Tom Jones.”
She alleged in her autobiography that Connery had been abusive during their 11-year marriage, and Connery was criticized for subsequent comments justifying domestic violence, in a 1965 Playboy interview and again with Barbara Walters in 1987.
“Dr. No” was a runaway success, raking in nearly $60 million worldwide on a $1.1 million budget.
After “Dr. No,” Connery would assume the Bond role six more times. “From Russia with Love,” “Goldfinger,” “Thunderball,” “You Only Live Twice,” “Diamonds Are Forever” and 1983′s “Never Say Never Again,” an updated remake of “Thunderball.”
“Never Say Never Again” was released four months after Roger Moore’s starring role in “Octopussy,” making 1983 the lone year in which two Bond thrillers hit theaters.
Connery’s last Bond foray was a critical and commercial success, raking in $160 million in worldwide box-office revenue, according to The Numbers.
The actor had a complex relationship with the superspy he played. While he admitted that playing Bond ignited his career, he feared being typecast.
Sean Connery filming "The Name of the Rose"in Rome.
Sean Connery filming "The Name of the Rose"in Rome.
“I would never deny that Bond made me, and I’ll be everlastingly grateful to him. But that doesn’t make me a Bond slave,” Connery said in a in 1964 interview. “I can cut the shackles free any time I want to. And they aren’t made of steel chains any longer, either, but smoothest silk.”
Throughout the 1970s and ’80s, Connery starred in numerous critically acclaimed films, including “The Man Who Be King,” “Murder on the Orient Express,” “Time Bandits” and “Highlander.”
For his 1987 performance as Prohibition-era cop Jim Malone in “The Untouchables,” he copped the Academy Award for best supporting actor.
“In winning this award, it creates a certain dilemma because I had decided if I had the good fortune to win that I would give it to my wife, who deserves it,” Connery remarked during his Oscars acceptance speech. “But this evening, I discovered backstage that they’re worth $15,000 . . . and now I’m not so sure.”
In 1989, he played Henry Jones Sr., Harrison Ford’s father in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.” For his performance, he received Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations.
The following year, he played defecting Russian submarine captain Marko Ramius in “The Hunt for Red October.”
Actor Sean Connery, in Socttish Highland dress, is formally knighted by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II during a ceremony in his home city of Edinburgh, Scotland, in this video image, Wednesday, July 5, 2000. The Scottish screen legend, who was honoured at the Palace of Holyrood house in Edinburgh, knelt while the Queen touched his shoulders lightly with a sword and made him a knight during the ceremony in the Palace's Picture Gallery.
Actor Sean Connery, in Socttish Highland dress, is formally knighted by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II during a ceremony in his home city of Edinburgh, Scotland, in this video image, Wednesday, July 5, 2000. The Scottish screen legend, who was honoured at the Palace of Holyrood house in Edinburgh, knelt while the Queen touched his shoulders lightly with a sword and made him a knight during the ceremony in the Palace's Picture Gallery.
Connery also starred in the 1996 blockbuster “The Rock,” playing a Special Air Service captain tasked with saving dozens of Alcatraz Island tourists after they’re taken hostage.
His final major role was in the 2003 adventure “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.”
Connery, who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 2000, is survived by his second wife, painter Micheline Roquebrune, and his actor son.
