Bond. James Bond.

I was on FB the other day and made a comment about binging on Magnum P I.  I received a comment from someone I didn’t know, saying, “What?” There’s nothing like a reminder about how old you’re getting. 

We lost one of our “greats” a few days ago. Sean Connery has passed at the age of ninety. While saddened, it made me remember how many hours of pure enjoyment this one man gave me. While having never actually met him (my sister in law saw him walking down the sidewalk in Palm Springs once) having graced the big screen for decades, I almost felt like I knew him. 

You never really knew what genre of movie he would show up in next.  He was the first movie “007”.  In my opinion, Sir Thomas Sean Connery was the perfect James Bond.  Born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1930, to very humble beginnings, at the age of thirty-two he was cast as the first actor to play James Bond and went on to portray the fictional British secret agent from 1962 to 1983 in seven films.

But Sean’s early life was anything but glamorous. A depression-era baby, it’s said that he slept in a dresser drawer.  He started working at age nine to help support the family, delivering milk and assisting the butcher. He left school at thirteen. He joined the British Royal Navy in 1946 and served for three years. 

In 1953 Sean won third place in the Mr. Universe competition.  He then heard about and audition for the musical South Pacific. He decided to try out, so he took a class in dancing and singing and was cast for a role in the chorus. He must have looked really good because the opinion on the street was that he couldn’t sing very well! 

At this point Connery was looking for a new career and was trying to decide between acting and being a professional soccer player.  On some sage advice, he chose acting.  His first television role was in Requiem for a Heavyweight.  This brought him some attention and some B movie roles until he met Terence Young, the future director of the James Bond films. Dr. No was his first but not his last. 

Of all the Bonds thru the years, Sean Connery was my favorite.  We all see things through different lenses, but for me, he was the perfect blend of masculinity and sophistication.  I won’t name names, because it, after all, is just an opinion but I feel like some were, well, too masculine, while others were way too sophisticated. Connery was perfection.

Mr. Connery was also very versatile.  Anytime you can go from Darby O’Gill and the Little People to James Bond, you’ve got talent.  After the Bond movies Connery focused on movie roles he found interesting. He would also do films if he felt his help was needed.  He was also an Executive Producer of many movies.

After Never Say Never Again Connery starting acting in more movies; so many more I can’t begin to name them all.  I do have a favorite though—I loved him in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Joining Harrison Ford as his father, Henry Jones Sr., they were the perfect duo for an epic adventure.

He won an Oscar and three Golden Globes as well as so many more, once again, too many to name. On July 5, 2000, Queen Elizabeth II knighted him Sir Thomas Sean Connery. 

What a life, from sleeping in the bottom drawer, to butcher’s assistant, to school dropout, to Knight in shining armor. And of course, also, Bond. James Bond.