R.I.P. Sean Connery 1930-2020

The world was saddened to learn of the death of Sean Connery today at age 90. One of the coolest, most charismatic leading men of all time, Connery will always be fondly recalled for his seven-film stint(1962-1983) as the original 007. James Bond is a pop culture institution, and every actor that inhertits the role walks in his shadow. I could go one better and argue any actor that ever benefitted from a long-running film franchise owes him a "thanks". In the mid-'80s, Sean did what an aging icon is supposed to do- he graduated to the role of elder stateman and had one of the great late-career box office runs, in "The Untouchables"(for which he won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar), "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", "The Hunt for Red October", and "The Rock". 'The Sexiest Man Alive'(circa 1989) taught us that there's no reason to fear Father Time, with his unmatched vitality and vigor. He built a bridge from Alfred Hitchcock and Sidney Lumet to Steven Spielberg and Michael Bay. A disillusioned Connery permanently retired from acting in 2003, after tiring "of the idiots that run the place". I wonder how he would feel about them today. We're not likely to see another Sean Connery.

Complete filmography- "Lilacs in the Spring"(1954), "No Road Back"(1957), "Hell Riders"(1957), "Action of the Tiger"(1957), "Time Lock"(1957), "Another Time, Another Place"(1958), "Darby O'Gill and the Little People"(1959), "Tarzan's Greatest Adventure"(1959), "On the Fiddle"(1961), "The Frightened City"(1961), "The Longest Day"(1962), "Dr. No"(1962), "From Russia with Love"(1963), "Goldfinger"(1964), "Marnie"(1964), "Woman of Straw"(1964), "The Hill"(1965), "Thunderball"(1965), "Un monde nouveau"(1966), "A Fine Madness"(1966), "You Only Live Twice"(1967), "The Bowler and the Bunnet"(1967), "Shalako"(1968), "The Red Tent"(1969), "The Molly Maguires"(1970), "The Anderson Tapes"(1971), "Diamonds Are Forever"(1971), "The Offence"(1973), "Zardoz"(1974), "Murder on the Orient Express"(1974), "Ransom"(1974), "The Wind and the Lion"(1975), "The Man Who Would Be King"(1975), "Robin and Marian"(1976), "The Next Man"(1976), "A Bridge Too Far"(1977), "The First Great Train Robbery"(1978), "Meteor"(1979), "Cuba"(1979), "Outland"(1981), "Time Bandits"(1981), "G'ole!"(1982), "Five Days One Summer"(1982), "Wrong Is Right"(1982), "Never Say Never Again"(1983), "Sword of the Valiant"(1984), "Highlander"(1986), "The Name of the Rose"(1986), "The Untouchables"(1987), "The Presidio"(1988), "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade"(1989), "Family Business", "The Hunt for Red October"(1990), "The Russia House"(1990), "Highlander II: The Quickening"(1991), "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves"(1991), "Medicine Man"(1992), "Rising Sun"(1993), "A Good Man in Africa"(1994), "Just Cause"(1995), "First Knight"(1995), "Dragonheart"(1996)-voice role, "The Rock"(1996), "The Avengers"(1998), "Playing by Heart"(1998), "Entrapment"(1999), "Finding Forrester"(2000), "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen"(2003), "Sir Billi"(2012)-voice role.