Sean Connery, Who Embodied James
Bond and More, Dies at 90
New York Times,
by
Aljean Harmetz
Original Article
Posted By: earlybird,
10/31/2020 12:08:14 PM
Sean Connery, the irascible Scot from the slums of Edinburgh who found international fame as Hollywood’s original James Bond, dismayed his fans by walking away from the Bond franchise and went on to have a long and fruitful career as a respected actor and an always bankable star, died on Saturday in Nassau, the Bahamas. He was 90.
(Snip)
“Bond, James Bond” was the character’s familiar self-introduction, and to legions of fans who have watched a parade of actors play the role — otherwise known as Agent 007 on Her Majesty’s Secret Service — none uttered the words or played the part as magnetically or as indelibly as Mr. Connery.
Reply 1 - Posted by:
Aubreyesque 10/31/2020 12:24:06 PM (No. 590788)
I know everyone else loved him as James Bond but he’s my favorite Russian submarine captain, my favorite dragon, and the father of a certain dashing archaeologist.
Rest in beautiful peace, Mr Connery. You are already missed.
26 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
harleynyc 10/31/2020 12:30:05 PM (No. 590795)
So many great performances worth mentioning. Medicine man is one of my favs.
11 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
SkeezerMcGee 10/31/2020 12:40:42 PM (No. 590807)
He was voted People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" in 1989.
He formerly worked as a coffin polisher, milk delivery man, and a bricklayer.
In 1999, he was voted 'Sexiest Man of the Century' by People Magazine.
He was paid a huge sum to return as James Bond for Diamonds Are Forever (1971), setting a record. It was donated to his Scottish charity.
His favorite Bond film is From Russia with Love (1963).
He was voted the 24th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
He was once stopped for speeding by an officer named Sergeant James Bond.
He and his wife have lived in the Bahamas since May 2008.
He was involved with Jill St. John and Lana Wood at the same time while filming Diamonds Are Forever (1971).
He once seriously considered becoming a professional football player. He said, "I realized that a top-class footballer could be over the hill by the age of 30, and I was already 23. I decided to become an actor and it turned out to be one of my more intelligent moves.”
15 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
Maggie2u 10/31/2020 1:03:38 PM (No. 590831)
Reading some of the stories about him so far my favorite is one where he was in Edinburgh a few years ago to attend a film festival. Riding in the cab he was naming all the streets they went by. Impressed, the cab driver asked him how he knew all the streets and Connery replied that as a young man he was a milk man. The cabbie then asked 'and what do you do now?'
20 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
bad-hair 10/31/2020 1:22:12 PM (No. 590849)
Such an accomplished life. I suspect after the bond money came in he could pick and choose his roles. Unlike De Capprio et al he chose carefully and to his own liking. Rising Sun anyone ?
6 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
BarryNo 10/31/2020 1:40:33 PM (No. 590871)
A remarkable man. I not only enjoyed his many characters, I admired his personality and courage. He always exuded his sense of justice. He would not put up with injustice for anyone.
A young woman, a guest in a late night audience remarked it was the first time she'd gotten to meet him since starting to date his son. She gave a name that certainly was not a Connery child.
You could feel his hackles stand up. He gently broke it to her that whoever she was dating, it wasn't his son. He also said, if the young man was in town, that he'd like to meet him, personally, to discuss the matter.
I bet that creep is still hiding under a rock, somewhere. (This happened the year after the release of "the Wind and the Lion".
8 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
Italiano 10/31/2020 1:43:13 PM (No. 590874)
We used to have Sean Connery.
Now we have Leonardo DiCaprio.
9 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
Kate318 10/31/2020 2:12:54 PM (No. 590903)
Agree with OP. He was the best James Bond. Another alpha male gone. RIP, 007.
13 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
RedWhite&Blue2 10/31/2020 2:13:06 PM (No. 590904)
“Shaken not stirred”
Miss Moneypeny
Pussy Galore
Odd job
Dr No
Gold finger
SPECTRE
Aston-Martin
I read all the paperbacks
I saw all the movies
“Bond, James Bond”
Rest In Peace and know we love you Sean!
16 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
Christopher L 10/31/2020 2:22:40 PM (No. 590915)
Two of my favorite Sean Connery movies ( other than the James Bond series ) were “The Man Who Would Be King” and “The Hill.” I don’t think I’ve talked to any one else that has ever watched the Hill, which is too bad, it was terrific.
6 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
Catherine 10/31/2020 3:40:46 PM (No. 590962)
He was one of a kind. He will be missed. My favorite movie was Medicine Man.
1 person likes this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
BirdsNest 10/31/2020 3:45:07 PM (No. 590966)
Good to look at, but his voice....I could listen to him read the phone book. We shall miss him. RIP sir.
10 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
Rumblehog 10/31/2020 4:12:10 PM (No. 590977)
He will always be the ultimate Bond.
He had a brother, Neil, who rode his older brother's coattails into the movie biz under the same spy guise in a movie released in the U.S. as, "Operation Double 007." It was an abysmal bust, but got well parodied by the Mystery Science Theater 3000 crew.
1 person likes this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
caljeepgirl 10/31/2020 4:31:36 PM (No. 590999)
Me, too #2/#11! Medicine Man was an unexpected and underappreciated delight!
Sir Connery was cast totally against type, but carried the film completely.
Very few films move me to tears, but this was definitely one of them...
[OT, the soundtrack is fabulous!]
3 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
thewarden 10/31/2020 4:48:54 PM (No. 591013)
So handsome, so suave. Got even better looking with age. Yes, yes, yes, all day long. Sigh. Enjoyed him in everything even though I never got into the whole Bond thing. And he had the best lines in The Untouchables. RIP, Sean. They don’t make them like you anymore.
4 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
Bluefindad 10/31/2020 5:03:04 PM (No. 591022)
Not such a bad singer either! Anyone remember "Darby O'Gill and the Little People"?
4 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
NYbob 10/31/2020 7:05:42 PM (No. 591115)
#10, count me in on The Hill. Great movie about courage and insane devotion to a status quo that turned rotten. Ozzie Davis cracking up and smoking the commanders cigars with his feet on the desk is one of the best examples of a doomed man set free by not caring what happens in the near future, because the present is no longer tolerable. Connery's character was stronger than all the 'tough' guards and commander, by showing an unbreakable resolve and that drives them crazy.
Great actor and I loved the moment in The Wind and The Lion when he is on a horse and laughs, then this quote: Sherif, is there not one thing in your life that is worth losing everything for?
0 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
udanja99 10/31/2020 7:28:12 PM (No. 591138)
Agree with #15 - he got MUCH better looking with age and was great looking to start with. He will always be THE James Bond.
RIP, Sean.
3 people like this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
Italiano 10/31/2020 7:51:50 PM (No. 591155)
He also had a semi-comedic role in The Longest Day.
0 people like this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
Foggybottom 10/31/2020 8:04:50 PM (No. 591163)
His acting was superb. I loved him as Daniel Dravot in "The Man Who Would Be King".
0 people like this.
Reply 21 - Posted by:
Hazymac 10/31/2020 8:17:37 PM (No. 591174)
There are other actors who have played James Bond 007--most of them quite well--but they're playing a role defined by Sean Connery. They play or played James Bond; Connery was James Bond. And always will be.
Interestingly enough, when Dr. No was being cast, the producer's first choice was Cary Grant, who didn't want the part. Author Ian Fleming's choice was busy filming The Saint, and was unavailable. His name was Roger Moore, the same one.
Connery came along soon after. He wasn't well known at the time, and his pay kept getting cut down. When it got to about $20,000, Connery reportedly said in his Scottish brogue, "I'm not gonna do it for fookin' nothing." He did well in that movie and a lot of others. His Oscar in 1988 for The Untouchables was well deserved. RIP, Sir Sean.
In the aftermath of Dr. No, Ian Fleming agreed that Connery really was the right choice. Absolutely. What a man.
2 people like this.
Reply 22 - Posted by:
PostAway 10/31/2020 9:41:30 PM (No. 591213)
He and Michael Caine were magnificent in “The Man Who Would Be King” which was a really touching poignant adaptation of a Kipling story. After I saw it in the ‘70’s the name “Afghanistan” became my word for someplace distant and very obscure and it stayed that way until 9/11. After that it didn’t seem so far away and especially when I lived to see one of my own children serving and nearly being killed there. Very sorry Connery, a great man and great actor, is gone.
1 person likes this.
Reply 23 - Posted by:
akudaq 10/31/2020 9:44:42 PM (No. 591214)
#12, I agree about his voice being wonderful. I have him reading "Peter and the Wolf" and it's a beautiful thing to hear his slight brogue in the narration. https://youtu.be/vG4wWO5HV3c?list=OLAK5uy_np2dPAfKZCxmAz7C8UgAAXNSl91VESWqI&t=14 I also have David Bowie narrating this piece; very well done.
0 people like this.
Rest in peace. Soon every actor we recognize will be gone.
1 person likes this.
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If there is such a thing as a wonderful obituary, this is it. My favorite actor, an astonishing, absolutely gorgeous and fascinating man, this tribute does him justice. I hope the NYT won’t shut the paywall. There was none when I read and posted it. As for 007, Connery WAS Bond. The only one. The others were imposters.