Sir Sean Connery has passed away at age 90. One of the few remaining genuine legends of the film industry, Connery's passing will seem surrealistic to his legions of international fans, as he somehow seemed immortal. Connery overcame a humble upbringing in Edinburgh, Scotland to emerge as a cinematic icon. As young man, he entered the Royal Navy but his stint was short-lived, as he was released from service due to health issues. He later dabbled in weight lifting and was Scotland's candidate in the Mr. Universe contest. Connery drifted into acting quite by chance after someone suggested he audition for a chorus role in a London stage production of "South Pacific". He got the part and the acting bug got the better of him and he became determined to make it his profession. Connery secured bit roles in low-budget British films without making much of an impact, though one of the films, "Hell Drivers" managed to assemble a remarkable cast that included two other future stars who would make their marks by playing secret agents, Patrick McGoohan and David McCallum. Connery seemed poised for stardom when was signed under contract by 20th Century Fox. However, what was to be his first major film, Another Time, Another Place opposite Lana Turner, flopped.
Fox saw no potential in the young actor but two enterprising producers, Albert R. ("Cubby") Broccoli and Harry Saltzman did. The pair had recently formed Eon Productions for the express purpose of bringing Ian Fleming's James Bond novels to the big screen, having secured funding from United Artists' head of production David V. Picker, who was a fan of the books. The producers considered many young actors for the pivotal role of 007, knowing that securing the right man would be essential for ensuring sequels to their first production, Dr. No. There have been countless variations of how Broccoli and Saltzman agreed to hire Sean Connery, who had enough hubris to refuse to film a formal screen test. However, Broccoli once told this writer that it was his wife Dana who suggested Connery, having seen him in the 1959 Disney film Darby O'Gill and the Little People. Connery suitably impressed the producers and Dr.No was brought to the screen in 1962 (it premiered in America the following year.) While the film wasn't a blockbuster, it was considered to be a sizable hit and, most importantly, Connery truly "clicked" with critics and audiences. The following film, From Russia with Love was released in 1963 to great acclaim and much higher boxoffice grosses on a worldwide basis. The films pushed the envelope in terms of sex and violence and Bond rapidly became male role model for the Playboy magazine era. Broccoli and Saltzman wisely decided to make each successive film more expensive and grander in terms of production values. With the 1964 release of Goldfinger, the fan movement had evolved into worldwide Bondmania. Connery had attributed much of his success in the role of 007 to Terence Young, the dapper director of the first two films, who took the 'rough-around-the-edges' young Scot to a level of refinement, teaching him how to dress, eat and drink properly.
Despite the Bond films bringing Connery wealth, acclaim and fame, there was already the seeds of trouble in Paradise. He could perceive that the Bond films would have a much longer history than anyone initially anticipated. Consequently, he became afraid of being typecast. He sought other roles in high profile films. In the 1964 thriller, Woman of Straw, he gave a strong performance as a manipulative womanizer and schemer. Although the film is a gem, it flopped on its release. Connery had high hopes for working with Alfred Hitchcock as the male lead in Marnie the same year. Hitchcock had been riding high with a wave of acclaimed, high profile films but to Connery's disappointment, Marnie was a critical and boxoffice failure. By the time Connery went into production on the fourth Bond film, Thunderball, he was feuding with the producers, who, in turn, were feuding with each other. The unexpected popularity of the Bond franchise had put enormous pressure on everyone. Connery, an intensely private man, found himself the reluctant idol of millions around the globe. His marriage to actress Diane Cilento was suffering as a consequence. Prior to the release of Thunderball in 1965, Connery won acclaim for his lead role in The Hill, an intense prison drama that teamed him with director Sidney Lumet for the first time. The movie was widely praised but sank at the boxoffice. Connery became frustrated that fans only wanted to see him as Bond, a theory proven by the blockbuster grosses for Thunderball. Connery's attempt at a madcap comedy, A Fine Madness, also flopped in 1966, the year he was going into production on the fifth Bond movie You Only Live Twice. Filmed in Japan under enormous logistical pressures, Connery had made it known he was fed up with playing 007. Although contractually obligated to star in the next film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, the producers released Connery from the movie and hired novice actor George Lazenby to play Bond.
Eager to reshape his image, Connery teamed with producer Euan Lloyd for the European Western Shalako, which boasted an international high profile cast. While not a flop, the movie also didn't indicate that there was a major acceptance of Connery in a non-Bond role. The Russian/Italian co-production of The Red Tent in which Connery played doomed Norwegian Arctic explorer Roald Amundsen, was a boxoffice disaster. He had high hopes for director Martin Ritt's The Molly Maguires, but that failed commercially, too. Perhaps for this reason, Connery agreed to return to the role of James Bond one more time in Diamonds are Forever. After George Lazenby had quit the series after only one film, producers and United Artists had signed American actor John Gavin for the role of Bond. However, David Picker wanted to ensure the stability of the lucrative series and offered Connery the highest salary ever paid to an actor: $1.25 million plus a percentage of the gross. Connery agreed with the promise of using the windfall to establish a charity in his native Scotland. Ironically, Connery's latest non-Bond film, The Anderson Tapes, proved to be a critical and commercial success even as he was filming his return to the role of 007. Predictably, Diamonds Are Forever was a smash hit, despite the fact that a weak script had left some diehard fans somewhat disappointed. After all, Connery was back and the world press rejoiced. Nevertheless, Connery resisted offers to appear as Bond again in Live and Let Die and Roger Moore inherited the role, finding equal success over a twelve year period.
Some of Connery's post-Bond films fared well, despite the high profile failure of director John Boorman's sci-fi film Zardoz and The Offence, a grim police drama in which Connery gave an Oscar-caliber performance. However, the movie, which reunited him with Sidney Lumet, was barely released theatrically and played briefly in only a handful of venues. Connery finally began to earn praise from critics for his performances in films such as The Man Who Would Be King, The Wind and the Lion, Murder on the Orient Express, The Great Train Robbery and Robin and Marian. By this point in his personal life, he and Diane Cilento had divorced. Connery would then marry the artist Michelene Roquebrune in 1975. They remained married until his death. Professionally, many of his films still failed at the boxoffice, though by this point he was enjoying status as an icon of international cinema. In 1983, he returned to the role of James Bond in Never Say Never Again, a loose remake of Thunderball that was produced outside of the Eon franchise films. The movie was a financial success and earned good reviews, though Bond purists widely consider it to have fallen short of its potential.
In 1988, Connery was awarded the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his impressive performance as an aging Irish cop on the trail of Al Capone in The Untouchables. Even as he aged, he was regarded as a sex symbol. Upon being told that he had been voted "The Sexiest Man Alive", Connery characteristically quipped that there weren't many sexy dead men. In 1989, he co-starred with Harrison Ford in the blockbuster Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, directed by Steven Spielberg. Connery would later say it was one of his most enjoyable experiences as an actor. The following year, he scored another hit with The Hunt for Red October, a Cold War thriller that benefited from the recent collapse of the Soviet Union. However, it wouldn't be until 1996 when he starred in another blockbuster release with the prison adventure film The Rock. His 1999 crime caper Entrapment was also a major hit but Connery was publicly griping that the filmmaking process and the quality of scripts presented to him were becoming matters of concern. After the ill-fated super hero movie The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen in 2003, he announced he was retiring from acting. Despite overtures from the industry, Connery refused all offers, including another Indiana Jones film.
In his post-retirement years, Connery kept a low public profile, rarely appearing at events or granting interviews. This led to rumors that he was ill or even at death's door. However, in 2010, his brother Neil told this writer that people simply didn't understand that Connery was enjoying a laid-back retirement lifestyle, having traveled and worked so extensively for decades. Politically, Connery remained steadfastly nationalistic in terms of Scottish independence and would occasionally March in the Tartan Day parade in New York City, attired in a kilt.
Sir Sean Connery's legacy was not only as an icon of international cinema, but also as a man of dignity and honor who made it to the top without compromising his principles. He had lived to see many of his films become regarded as classics and he enjoyed the respect of his peers as well as audiences around the world. Not bad for a Scottish lad who started out driving lorries and polishing coffins.