James Bond actor Sean Connery dies at 90
Goodnight, Mr. Bond.
Villain Auric Goldfinger uttered that line in the 1964 James Bond classic “Goldfinger,” before leaving Sean Connery’s Bond to die a certain death. The suave 007 managed to escape, of course, playing Bond seven times after debuting as the first movie Bond in 1962’s “Dr. No.”
The Oscar-winning Connery has died at age 90, according to Bond producers Eon Productions, who confirmed his death, first reported by BBC.
Connery’s son Jason said his father died peacefully in his sleep overnight in the Bahamas where he lived, having been “unwell for some time.”
“A sad day for all who knew and loved my dad and a sad loss for all people around the world who enjoyed the wonderful gift he had as an actor,” he told the BBC.
Producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli said they were “devastated by the news.”
“He was and shall always be remembered as the original James Bond whose indelible entrance into cinema history began when he announced those unforgettable words – ‘The name’s Bond, James Bond,’ ” they said in a statement.
He was the epitome of the suave but dangerous spy with a license to kill and the authority to flaunt his famously hairy chest in the process.
Director Steven Spielberg summed up the rugged Scotsman’s instantaneous worldwide impact when presenting Connery with his American Film Institute lifetime achievement award in 2006.
“The moment Sean Connery introduced himself as Bond, he became the man all men wanted to be and all women just wanted,” Spielberg said.