LONDON: Sean Connery, the charismatic Scottish actor who rose to international superstardom as the suave secret agent James Bond and then abandoned the role to carve out an Oscar-winning career in other rugged roles, has died. He was 90.
Connery’s wife and two sons said he died peacefully in his sleep surrounded by family in the Bahamas, where he lived. Son Jason Connery said his father had been unwell for some time.
Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli said they were devastated by the news. They said Connery’s gritty and witty portrayal of the sexy and charismatic secret agent was largely responsible for the success of the film series.
He was and shall always be remembered as the original James Bond whose indelible entrance into cinema history began when he announced those unforgettable words The names Bond... James Bond, they said in a statement.
Daniel Craig, the current Bond, said Connery defined an era and a style and that the wit and charm he portrayed on screen could be measured in mega watts.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the country was mourning one of her best loved sons.
Thomas Sean Connery was born Aug 25, 1930, in Edinburgh, Scotland, the first of two sons of a long-distance truck driver and a domestic worker. He left school at age 13 during World War II to help support his family.
“I was a milkman, labourer, steel bender, cement mixer virtually anything,” he once said.
Weary of day labour, he joined the British navy and was medically discharged after three years. The ailment: stomach ulcers.
Back in Edinburgh, he lifted weights to build his body and compete in the Mr Universe contest. He came in third, and briefly considered becoming a professional soccer player, but chose acting because he reasoned his career would last longer.
He got his first big break singing and dancing to There is Nothing Like a Dame in South Pacific on the London stage and in a road production before going on to act in repertory, television and B movies. He went to Hollywood for two early films, Disney’s Darby O’Gill and the Little People and Tarzan’s Greatest Adventure.
When he decided to become an actor, he was told that Thomas Sean Connery wouldn’t fit on a theatre marquee so he dropped his first name.
Then came the audition that changed his life. American producers Albert Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman had bought the film rights to a string of post-World War II spy adventure novels by Fleming. Connery was not their first choice for Dr. No.
The producers had looked to Cary Grant, but decided they wanted an actor who would commit to a series. The producers also realized they couldn’t afford a big-name star because United Artists had limited their film budget to $1 million a picture, so they started interviewing more obscure British performers.
Among them was the 6-foot-2 Connery. Without a screen test, Broccoli and Saltzman chose the actor, citing his dark, cruel good looks, a perfect match for the way Fleming described Bond. When Connery started earning big money, he established his base at a villa in Marbella on the Spanish coast.
He described it as my sanitarium, where I recover from the madness of the film world. It also helped him avoid the overwhelming income tax he would have paid had he remained a resident of Britain.
Connery, was a commanding screen presence for some 40 years. He was in his early 30s and little known when he starred in the first Bond thriller, 1962s Dr. No, based on the Ian Fleming novel.
Condemned as immoral by the Vatican and the Kremlin, but screened at the White House for Bond fan John F. Kennedy, Dr. No was a box office hit and launched a franchise that long outlasted its Cold War origins.
United Artists couldn’t wait to make more films about the British secret agent, with ever more elaborate stunts and gadgets, along with more exotic locales and more prominent co-stars, among them Lotte Lenya and Jill St. John.
For decades, with actors from Connery to Craig in the leading role, filmgoers have loved the outrageous stunts, vicious villains and likable, roguish hero who enjoyed a life of carousing, fast cars, gadgety weapons, elegant clothes and vodka martinis (always shaken, not stirred).
Connery continued as Bond in From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice and Diamonds Are Forever, often performing his own stunts.
Diamonds Are Forever came out in 1971 and by then Connery had grown weary of playing 007 and feared he wasn’t being taken seriously despite his dramatic performances in Alfred Hitchcocks Marnie and Sidney Lumets The Hill.When he walked away at age 41, Hollywood insiders predicted Connery would soon be washed up. Who would hire a balding, middle-aged actor with a funny accent? Connery fooled them all, playing a wide range of characters and proving equally adept at comedy, adventure or drama.
Published in Dawn, November 1st, 2020