UPDATE 31 OCT 2020 - 8.30PM: Pierce Brosnan remembers Sean Connery on Instagram
Sean Connery, the first onscreen actor to play James Bond, passed away earlier today at the age of 90, peacefully during his sleep at his Nassau residence, according to what his son Jason told BBC News.
Connery worked as a coffin polisher, milkman, lightweight boxer and bodybuilder before becoming an actor. When Dana, the wife of producer Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli, felt seduced by him after watching Disney's 1959 film DARBY O' GILL AND THE LITTLE PEOPLE, she suggested her husband the rising Scottish actor could be the first onscreen James Bond. While United Artists wanted an American star and Bond's creator Ian Fleming was unconvinced, Broccoli and his partner Harry Saltzman hired Connery to star in DR. NO, the film that launched the series in 1962. And the rest is history.
Sean Connery starred in seven films as James Bond, six produced by EON Productions and an unofficial movie, NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN, produced by Kevin McClory in 1983 as a remake for THUNDERBALL. The first film Pierce Brosnan watched when he came to Ireland was GOLDFINGER in 1964, and he was fascinated by Connery's performance as 007, not knowing he would play that character three decades later. When hired as the director for GOLDENEYE, Martin Campbell also claimed that he decided to base the 1990s take on Bond in Sean Connery's films. This way, Brosnan was not only given the original Aston Martin DB5 but he also took many of Connery's antics, from meeting his first enemy on a casino (who also happened to be a woman he seduces) to a fiery fight atop an antenna with the main villain which brings back memories to the close quarter combat scenes from FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE and DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER.
Connery's personal publicist announced that "there will be a private ceremony followed by a memorial yet to be planned once the virus has ended" to bid farewell to the Scottish actor, who is survived by his wife Micheline and sons Jason and Stephane.
Through his Instagram account, GOLDENEYE star Pierce Brosnan said: "Sir Sean Connery, you were my greatest James Bond as a boy, and as a man who became James Bond himself. You cast a long shadow of cinematic splendor that will live on forever. You led the way for us all who followed in your iconic foot steps. Each man in his turn looked to you with reverence and admiration as we forged ahead with our own interpretations of the role. You were mighty in every way, as an actor and as a man, and will remain so till the end of time. Your were loved by the world, and will be missed. God bless, rest now, be at peace."
From The GoldenEye Dossier, we say goodbye to a great man that did a lot to make the name of James Bond popular all over the globe.
You only live twice, Sean.
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