Sean Connery, The Original James Bond, Dead At 90

Sean Connery, the whiskey-voiced son of Scotland who brought James Bond to the screen for the opening time and went on to lead a long and celebrated acting career, died on Saturday (October 31). He was 90.


The BBC reported that the actor passed peacefully in his sleep immediately after being "unwell for some time," according to his son, Jason Connery. "We are all working at understanding this huge event as it only happened so recently," he mentioned. "A sad day for all who knew loved my dad as well as a sad loss for all people around the world who enjoyed the excellent gift he had as an actor."


Place on Earth Thomas Sean Connery on August 25, 1930, his tough childhood in the slums of Edinburgh influenced much of his life, and he would later donate the $1 million he made from Diamonds Are Forever to the Scottish International Education Trust, which accommodates Scots from equally impoverished backgrounds receive educations. His first film role was in the B-movie Action of the Tiger in 1957, followed by Tarzan's Greatest Adventure and Disney's Darby O'Gill and the Little People in 1959.


Connery embodied the character of James Bond — tall and suave, with a concealed temper. In 1962, he brought the novelist Ian Fleming's iconic secret agent to life with Dr. No, becoming a best-selling star while in Fantastic Britain and the United States with From Russia With Love the following year, Goldfinger in 1964, and 1965's Thunderball. He left the role immediately after 1967's You Only Live Twice, later to reprise it in 1971 with Diamonds Are Forever and, once more, in 1983's Never Mention Never Again.


"It took a whole generation along, and it's turned out almost three decades," Connery told MTV News in 1992 of the role that he portrayed across seven features. "And it had a certain sort of momentum as the timing was most crucial. It came out at a time whenever people were group kind of fed up with the sort of kitchen sink, and that categorize kind of drama, and so they were very taken with the espionage and the exotic locations, and nice, modified suits, and pretty girls, and swishing around, and being, you know, rather mobile — all of the elements that were, I think, probably more escapism than anything."


Daniel Craig, the actor who picked up the role of the resourceful man of espionage in 2006, remembered Connery as "one of the greats" in a statement to Entertainment Weekly. "It is with such sadness that I heard of the passing of one of the true greats of cinema," he mentioned. "Sir Sean Connery will be unforgettable as Bond and thus much more. He defined an era plus a fashion. The wit and charm he portrayed on screen would be measured in mega watts; he helped create the modern blockbuster. He plans to continue to influence actors and film-makers alike for years to come. My thoughts are with his family member and loved ones. Wherever he is, I hope there really is a golf course.”


Connery led a successful and diverse acting career behind Bond, also, expanding to further commercial roles in the late 1980s. He earned a best-actor award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts for his efficiency as a crime-solving monk in 1986's The Name of a Rose, followed by a Academy Award for best-supporting actor in 1987's The Untouchables. He was knighted on July 5, 2000, by Queen Elizabeth II for his contributions to the arts. His final part was Allan Quatermain in 2003's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. 


Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon mentioned she was "heartbroken" to learn of his passing. In a tribute shared on Twitter, she wrote, "Our country today mourns one of her best loved sons."