My tears for Sir Sean, my wonderful, perfect man
By Micheline Connery, the woman who tamed and loved the world’s greatest Scotsman
THE grieving wife of screen legend Sir Sean Connery last night paid an emotional tribute to her ‘gorgeous model of a man’ following his death at the age of 90.
Revealing how his final months were blighted by dementia, devastated Micheline Roquebrune Connery, who was married to the Oscar-winning star for 45 years, said: ‘It was no life for him. He was not able to express himself latterly.
‘At least he died in his sleep and it was just so peaceful. I was with him all the time and he just slipped away. It was what he wanted. He had dementia and it took its toll on him. He got his final wish to slip away without any fuss.’
The 91-year-old Moroccan-French painter, who
He had dementia and it took its toll on him
met Sir Sean in 1970 at a golf tournament and became his second wife, added: ‘He was gorgeous and we had a wonderful life together.
He was a model of a man. It is going to be very hard without him, I know that. But it could not last for ever and he went peacefully.’
It is understood that Sir Sean, whose career spanned five decades and is best known for his portrayal of James Bond, will be cremated in the Bahamas, where he had a home.
A memorial service will be held at a later date, with the venue yet to be decided. It is not known, at this stage, if his ashes will be brought back to Scotland to be scattered.
Mrs Connery said: ‘We have not decided what to do. That is something we will talk about soon but he will be cremated in the Bahamas, which is what he wanted.’
Yesterday, at his home near Lilliesleaf, Roxburghshire, the actor’s son Jason Connery, 57, struggled to hold back tears as he spoke movingly of his father.
He said: ‘It’s a very difficult time but already there has been a beautiful outpouring of tributes for him and that is appreciated.
‘We are all working at understanding this huge event, even though my dad has been unwell for some time. It’s 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.’
From her home in Edinburgh, Sir
Sean’s sister-in-law, Elinor Connery, 82, who is married to the actor’s younger brother, Neil, told of their sadness at the star’s death.
She said: ‘Unfortunately, Neil is very unwell at the moment.
‘He is obviously very upset at the news of the death of his only brother. It is a very sad time for the whole family. We would like to
thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers at this difficult time.’
Sir Sean, a 6ft 2in former milkman, was born Thomas Sean Connery in Edinburgh’s Fountainbridge on August 25, 1930.
He was largely regarded as the best actor who ever played secret agent 007 in the long-running franchise, often being named as such in polls. Sir Sean was the first to bring the role of James Bond to the big screen in Dr No in 1962 but author Ian Fleming was initially resistant to the idea of him playing his lead character. He thought the Scot was an ‘overgrown stuntman’ who was not refined enough for the role.
But he was later so impressed with his performance that he created a Scottish ancestry for the character in his subsequent books.
After Dr No, Sir Sean played Bond in From Russia With Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball (1965), and You Only Live Twice (1967), before eventually quitting after becoming tired by the repetitive plots. He was enticed back to the character after his successor
George Lazenby failed to impress fans and critics and went on to star in Diamonds Are Forever (1971) and the unofficial Never Say Never Again (1983).
His powerful deep voice with its strong and silky Scottish accent and his knack for playing tough, cunning heroes helped make him a star attraction.
He won his only Oscar, for Best Supporting Actor, in 1988 for his role as a tough Irish-American cop in The Untouchables. Collecting his gong from Cher and Nicolas Cage, Sir Sean addressed the crowd of ‘ladies and gentlemen, friends, a few enemies’.
Noting it was the 60th anniversary of the ceremony, he added: ‘I just realised myself the other day, my first and one and only attendance was 30 years ago. Patience truly is a virtue.
‘In winning this award, it creates a certain dilemma because I had decided that if I had the good fortune to win, that I would give it to my wife, who deserves it.
‘But, this evening, I discovered backstage that they are worth $15,000 and now I am not so sure.
‘Micheline, I am only kidding. It’s yours.’
He also won his first Bafta the same year for his role as a Franciscan friar in European mystery drama The Name of The Rose.
Sir Sean, whose wealth was estimated at £270 million, went on to star in a string of blockbusters, including The Hunt for Red October (1990) and Dragonheart (1996).
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) led to another Bafta nomination for the star, for Best Supporting Actor for playing Harrison Ford’s father.
He also played the villain as an art thief in 1999 the thriller Entrapment with Catherine Zeta-Jones, which he also produced.
Named the ‘sexiest man alive’ by People magazine in 1989, he was also voted ‘sexiest man of the century’ in 1999, at the age of 69.
One of his proudest moments was being knighted by the Queen at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in 2000.
Another was receiving the American Film Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award, after he confirmed his retirement from acting in 2006.
Sir Sean was a long-time supporter of independence, saying in interviews in the run-up to the 2014 referendum that he might return from his Bahamas home to live in Scotland if the nation voted to leave the rest of the UK.
Yesterday, in a moving tribute to the actor, former First Minister Alex Salmond said that it had been an honour to have called Sir Sean a friend. He said: ‘The world’s greatest Scot, the last of the real Hollywood stars, the definitive Bond.
Sean Connery was all these things but much more. He was also a staunch patriot, a deep thinker and outstanding human being.
‘I have had the rare privilege of being his friend for more than 30 years and enjoyed every single moment of his company and talk.
‘Sean was determined, thrawn as Scots would say, but only about things he really believed in.’
Mr Salmond added: ‘His support for independence was unshakeable and started long before it was fashionable. It made him a political target for many who would otherwise have fawned over him but he shrugged it off knowing that he was a much bigger person than any of his detractors.
‘Scotland Forever wasn’t just tattooed on his forearm but was imprinted on his soul.’
Sir Sean’s health has been a topic of intense speculation since his last movie, 2003’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, when he was 73.
He underwent surgery to remove a tumour on his kidney in 2006 and, as he increasingly shunned public life, infrequent photographs over the years showed the star looking increasingly frail.
Before his dementia was diagnosed, he spent much of his retirement quietly concentrating
A beautiful outpouring of tributes for him, which is much appreciated
on his other passion, playing golf. In 2012, however, he made headlines once more when he and close friend Sir Alex Ferguson gatecrashed Sir Andy Murray’s US Open press conference.
The pair, who had been watching Sir Andy win his semi-final match, invaded the stage to congratulate their fellow Scot, while Sir Sean proclaimed: ‘Today they [Scots] conquered the world!’.
Speaking at the time of Sir Sean’s retirement from Hollywood, his close friend, fellow actor Sir Michael Caine, said: ‘The movie business retired him because he didn’t want to play small parts about old men and they weren’t offering him any young parts in romantic leads.’
Another of his good friends, racing legend Sir Jackie Stewart, said: ‘He had that great skill of knowing when to stop and he’s never gone back. He just doesn’t want to do it any more.’
Sadly, a series of medical tests in recent years at the renowned Mayo Clinic in the US confirmed the actor’s worst fears, that he was suffering from dementia.
He passed away in Nassau in the early hours of yesterday, surrounded by his loved ones.
Last night, the actor’s granddaughter, Saskia Connery, paid an emotional tribute to the man she called her ‘best friend, mentor and dear grandfather.’
She added: ‘Heaven has gained the most legendary angel today.’