Connery’s family confirmed Saturday that the actor died in his sleep while at home in Nassau.
Born into a working-class family in Edinburgh, Scotland, Connery enlisted in the Royal Navy, and held various jobs as a youth, working as a milkman, a bricklayer and a lifeguard. He was also a talented athlete and keen bodybuilder, and at one point turned down an offer to play with Manchester United soccer team. He later entered the 1950 Mr. Universe contest and came in third place in one of the categories before becoming a jobbing actor.
Ian Fleming, author of the Bond books, was initially horrified by the prospect of his posh character, a graduate of Eton College being played by someone as lowly as Connery. Fleming quickly changed his mind when he saw what the actor could do, and later invented a distinguished Scottish ancestry for the Bond character. Continue reading