He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, the son of a truck driver and a cleaning woman. Following various jobs, including milkman, lorry driver and coffin polisher, the strikingly handsome young Sean became an artists' model and bodybuilder, entering the 1953 Mr. Universe contest and placing third.
THE 1953 MR. UNIVERSE FINALISTS; SEAN CONNERY IS FOURTH FROM THE LEFT.
Stage, television and screen work soon beckoned; Connery toured with a production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific, and made a handful of inconsequential films with titles like Hell Drivers and Action of the Tiger. In 1958, he made his biggest splash to date when he was cast opposite one of the biggest film stars in the world, Lana Turner, in the sudsy melodrama Another Time, Another Place. Connery's intense sex appeal immediately set him apart from the run-of-the-mill Hollywood pretty boys popular at the time.
PUBLICITY PORTRAIT FOR ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER PLACE (1958)
It would be another four years before Connery won the role which would turn him into an instant icon and superstar; the producers of the proposed James Bond series, based on Ian Fleming's wildly successful novels, had originally envisioned the screen Bond as an urbane, David Niven/Cary Grant type. Connery's swarthy masculinity brought a heightened sexual allure to his characterization; while director Terence Young took Connery under his wing to bring the requisite elegance and refinement neccessary to complete the Bond persona. Dr. No (1962) had a decidedly modest budget, and neither Connery nor leading lady Ursuala Andress were considered "name" stars. After the film's debut, both would be indelibly imprinted in the public's consciousness, and Connery, in particular, became a worldwide phenomenon.
CONNERY AS THE QUINTESSENTIAL JAMES BOND IN DR. NO (1962)
From Russia with Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball (1965) and You Only Live Twice (1967) all followed in quick succession, each one furthering the Bond/Connery mystique and appeal. But Connery was tiring of appearing in a series; he also was chafing at the relatively low salary he was receiving under his original contract. After the first post-Connery Bond film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), sputtered at the box office, Connery was lured back to the role with a $1 million paycheck for Diamonds are Forever (1971), which proved to be his "official" swan song to the franchise.
THUNDERBALL (1965)
Following his defection from Bond, Connery maintained his status as one of the world's most popular stars, with a series of critically and commercially successful projects like Murder on the Orient Express (1974), The Wind and the Lion and The Man Who Would Be King (both 1975). He really came into his own, and finally shed the Bond baggage for good, in the 1980's, thanks to roles in Highlander and The Name of the Rose (both 1986) and his Oscar-winning turn in The Untouchables (1987). It was during this time that Connery's reputation as being a seriously sexy older gent was established; and, indeed, he seems to have stopped the clock sometime in the late 1970's.
CONNERY AT A 1980 EVENT
SIR SEAN CONNERY C. 2006
Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2000, Connery is also the recipient of a 1998 Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award, and the 2006 AFI Lifetime Achievement Award, among many accolades. We humbly wish him a very Happy Birthday, Sir Sean Connery!
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