Sean Connery

Scottish actor and producer

A movie legend who shot to international stardom as the sexy and charismatic British agent James Bond, went on to dominate the silver screen for four decades.

Sir Sean Thomas Connery was a legendary Scottish actor and producer, who from humble beginnings, became a major movie star when he was the first actor to portray the British secret agent, James Bond in film, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983.

The charismatic Scottish actor went on to distinguish himself in a number of major motion pictures including: ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,’ and ‘The Hunt for Red October. ‘ He was critically acclaimed for his performance in the 1986 movie ‘The Name of the Rose’ and for his Oscar-winning performance in ‘The Untouchables.’

His achievements in films included: an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards (including the BAFTA Fellowship), three Golden Globes, including the Cecil B. DeMille Award and a Henrietta Award. In 1987, Connery was made a Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters in France, and in 1999, he received the US Kennedy Center Honors lifetime achievement award. In 2000, Sir Sean wearing full Highland dress, the dark-green MacLeod tartan, was knighted for his services to film drama at the age of 69 by Queen Elizabeth II.

On 31st October, 2020, Sir Sean Thomas Connery, died aged 90, in his sleep at his home in the Bahamas, after being diagnosed with dementia in the later years of his life.

DetailsOther Names
Big Tam,Thomas
Father:
Joseph Connery,
Mother:
Euphemia (Effie) McBain McLean
Marriages:
Married Micheline Roquebrune in 1975 until his death in 2020; Married Diane Cilento in 1962 and divorced in 1973.
Children:
Jason Connery - actor and director


Childhood
Thomas Sean Connery, born on August 25, 1930, in Fountainbridge, Edinburgh, Scotland, began his life in the humblest of surroundings. His parents were Euphemia (Effie) McBain McLean and Joseph Connery, a factory worker and a lorry driver. He had a younger brother, Neil. He was of Irish and Scottish descent.

The family lived at the top of a tenement, with no hot water and no bathroom. The communal lavatory was outside, and for years no gas lighting. His mother drummed into her sons the value of thrift and hard work. At aged nine, Sean helped support his family by delivering milk and assisting a butcher. At aged 13, he left school and worked a variety of menial jobs.

At age 16, Connery joined the British Royal Navy, but received medical discharged three years later due to a duodenal ulcer. He said, 'My legacy from the Navy is two tattoos with, 'Scotland Forever" and "Mum and Dad'. After the navy, Connery worked as - a lorry driver, a lifeguard, a laborer, an artist’s model, and a coffin polisher. Connery started bodybuilding at age 18 and he ranked in the Mr. Universe contest in the 1950s, but knew it wasn’t a life for him.

When he heard about auditions for the stage musical South Pacific, he took a course in dancing and singing. He auditioned and was cast for a role in the chorus and as the production continued, he moved his way up through the ranks. Connery began to see it acting as a viable career. After South Pacific, Connery got his first television role in 'Requiem for a Heavyweight.'

Disney Movie
In the 1950s, Connery played small parts with theatre repertory companies before graduating to films and television. Finally, his big break came. He starred opposite starlet Lana Turner in' Another Time, Another Place'. but behind the scenes, things weren’t always so smooth. He also had a film role in the 1957's 'No Road Back'.

In 1959, he starred in Disney's leprechaun movie, “Darby O’Gill and the Little People,' which helped him land the role of Bond. Connery was interviewed for Dr. No, the first James Bond film and Harry Saltzman, the producer felt that Connery had the masculinity the part required, so Connery was signed without a screen test.

First Bond Movie
1961: After progressing through a string of lowly theatre and TV roles, Sean got a small part in 'The Longest Day,' working with John Wayne and Henry Fonda. In 1962, Connery starred in Dr. No as 007 and he triumphed in Dr No, alongside Ursula Andress. Dr. No was an instant success, propelling little-known Connery into fame virtually overnight.

Succession of Bond Movies
After “Dr. No” success, more Bond movies followed. Between 1962 and 1967 Connery starred in “From Russia with Love” (1963), “Goldfinger” (1964), “Thunderball” (1965) and “You Only Live Twice” (1967). He became tired of the constant publicity and invasion of privacy. But the nation was Bond-crazy and the films were a gold mine

Not wanting to be typecast, Connery took on other acting roles, notably in Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller 'Marnie' (1964). In 1971, Connery agreed to star in 'Diamonds Are Forever' demanding a salary of $1.25 million, plus a percentage, which he donated to a Scottish educational trust. Twelve years later, at age 53, Connery returned as 007 in the 1983, “Never Say Never Again."

Academy Award
After the Bond films Connery starred mostly in period dramas and science-fiction films, including: “The Molly Maguires (1970), Zardoz (1974, 'Murder on the Orient Express' (1974), 'The Man Who Would be King'(1975), “The Wind and the Lion” (1975), 'Robin and Marian' (1976), and 'The Great Train Robbery' (1978).

In 1981, Connery starred in ‘Time Bandits’ and two years later returned to the role of 007 in ‘Never Say Never Again’ (1983). In 1986, he played a Franciscan friar, in the 'The Name of the Rose ' winning a British Film Academy award. He also starred in the 1986, 'The Highlander'. In 1988, Connery accepting his Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in ‘The Untouchables.’

Noteworthy Roles
Connery played a series of noteworthy roles besides Bond. In 1989, he played the title figure’s father in 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,' and was nominated for a Golden Globe for the role. In 1990, he played the defecting Soviet Captain Ramius in 'The Hunt for Red October.'

Connery’s memorable films of the 1990s included: 'Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves' (1991), 'First Knight' (1995), 'The Rock' (1996), 'Dragonheart' (1996), and 'Entrapment' (1999). Connery officially retired from acting following his role as Allan Quatermain in 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen', though he went on to perform various voice roles.

Awards and Honours
In 1990, Princess Anne presented Connery with a special Bafta Lifetime Achievement Tribute Award for his outstanding contribution to international cinema. In 1991, Connery received the Freedom of Edinburgh and in 1998, Connery received the Fellowship Award - the British Academy of Film and Television Arts highest honour.

In 1999, U.S. President Bill Clinton honoured Connery at the Kennedy Center Honors for outstanding performers from the world of the arts. In 2000, at aged 69, Connery wore full Scottish attire, including the green-and-black plaid kilt of his mother's MacLeod clan, when he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II at Hollywood Palace in Edinburgh. In 2001, Connery won the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Palm Springs International Film Festival.

The Final Curtain
When Sir Sean Connery received the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006, he confirmed his retirement from acting. In 2009, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Edinburgh Napier University. He said, 'when I left school, I did not have a formal education. It's been a long journey.'

Sir Sean Connery was a true Scotman, and will always be remembered as British agent 007. On 31st October, 2020, he sadly passed away at the age of 90, in the Bahamas.

Family and Marriage
In 1962, Connery married Diane Cilento an Australian actress and author. The couple divorced in 1974 and their only son, Jason, is an English actor, voice actor and director. In 1975, Connery married Micheline Roquebrune, a French-Moroccan painter until his death in 2020.

Facts
As a baby, Sean Connery's crib was the bottom drawer of a dresser in a cold-water flat next door to a brewery.

At the age of 9, Connery found an early-morning job delivering milk in a horse cart for four hours before he went to school.

Despite being known as Sean, the actor’s first name is Thomas, and he was referred to as Tommy in his youth.

A passionate golfer — Connery was the only player at the Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles who carried his own bag

Connery gave the million dollars he earned on “Diamonds Are Forever” to the Scottish International Education Trust, an organization he founded to help poor Scots get an education.

Sir Sean worked as a coffin polisher before going into acting.

He donated his $250,000 salary from his role as King Richard in 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves to charity.

His passion for bodybuilding brought him into the world of acting, which made him one of the biggest actors in the world.

He wore a wig in all of James Bond's films because at the age of 17 he had hair fall and from 1958 he started wearing a hairpiece in films.

Sean Connery was also a trained dancer. He trained for 11 years at the Swedish Yat Malmgren.

Quotes
"There’s one major difference between James Bond and me. He is able to sort out problems!"

"I like women. I don't understand them, but I like them."

"There is nothing like a challenge to bring out the best in man."

"There are laws that enslave men, and laws that set them free."

"I take the good with the bad. I can’t love people in slices."

"Love may not make the world go round, but I must admit that it makes the ride worthwhile."

"Some age, others mature."

"You risked your life for another. There is no greater love."

"I just think the most difficult thing to displace is privilege."

"May God grant us the wisdom to discover right, the will to choose it, and the strength to make it endure."

Funeral

Legendary British actor Sir Sean Connery, died in his sleep aged 90, on 31 October, 2020 in Nassau, The Bahamas. Connery’s wife Micheline Roquebrune made a heartbreaking revelation about the star’s final years. She shared that: “He had dementia and it took its toll on him. He got his final wish to slip away without any fuss. It was no life for him. He was not able to express himself latterly.” RIP.

Sir Sean Connery will be honoured in a private funeral ceremony with a memorial event to be held later, once the virus has ended.


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