Sir Sean Connery, the man who defined cool for an entire generation as the suave spy 007, has died.
FILE – This Oct. 16, 1985 file photo shows actor Sean Connery on the set of “The Name of the Rose” in Rome, Italy. Scottish actor Sean Connery, considered by many to have been the best James Bond, has died aged 90, according to an announcement from his family.
(AP Photo, File)
AP Photo, File
FILE – In this file photo dated April 11, 1971, renowned British actor Sean Connery, famous for his role as secret agent James Bond 007, relaxes at the River Room of the Savoy Hotel in London, after coming back from “The Grave” to take his famous Bond role in the United Artists film version of the James Bond story “Diamonds Are Forever”. Connery, 40, later left for Las Vegas where filming for the picture is in progress. Scottish actor Sean Connery, considered by many to have been the best James Bond, has died aged 90, according to an announcement from his family.
(AP Photo/Bob Dear, FILE)
AP Photo/Bob Dear, FILE
File – In this Apr. 25, 1963 file photo, Sean Connery and Italian actress Daniela Bianchi are seen in Istanbul, Turkey. The pair were in the country filming the second Bond film, ‘From Russia with Love.’
(AP Photo, File)
AP Photo, File
FILE — In this Jan. 23, 1987 file photo, actor Sean Connery holds a rose in his hand as he talks about his new movie “The Name of the Rose” at a news conference in London. Scottish actor Sean Connery, considered by many to have been the best James Bond, has died aged 90, according to an announcement from his family.
(AP Photo/Gerald Penny, File)
AP Photo/Gerald Penny, File
FILE – In this file photo dated July 29, 1966, actor Sean Connery is shown during filming the James Bond movie “You Only Live Twice,” on location in Tokyo, Japan. Scottish actor Sean Connery, considered by many to have been the best James Bond, has died aged 90, according to an announcement from his family.
(AP Photo, FILE)
AP Photo, FILE
FILE – In this 1964 file photo shows actor Sean Connery, born in Edinburgh, Scotland. Scottish actor Sean Connery, considered by many to have been the best James Bond, has died aged 90, according to an announcement from his family.
(AP Photo, File)
AP Photo, File
FILE — In this undated file photo, Sean Connery, as James Bond, poses in an event for the movie ‘Thunderball’. Scottish actor Sean Connery, considered by many to have been the best James Bond, has died aged 90, according to an announcement from his family.
(AP Photo, FILE)
AP Photo, FILE
In this file photo dated March 25, 1964, British actor Sean Connery kisses actress Honor Blackman during a party at Pinewood Film Studios, in Iver Heath, England.
(AP Photo, FILE)
AP Photo, FILE
FILE — In this file photo dated April 11, 1988, Sean Connery holds up his best supporting actor Oscar for “The Untouchables” at the 60th annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles, Ca., USA. Scottish actor Sean Connery, considered by many to have been the best James Bond, has died aged 90, according to an announcement from his family.
(AP Photo/Lennox McLendon, FILE)
AP Photo/Lennox McLendon, FILE
Sean Connery, at the US Open tennis tournament in 2017.
Sean Connery with the 1964 Aston Martin DB5 used in the movie “Goldfinger.”
The James Bond movie “Goldfinger,” starring Sean Connery, premiered in London in 1964. Here, Connery is flanked by “Bond Girls,” while on the set of “Goldfinger.”
(AP Photos/Files)
WTOP's Jason Fraley remembers Sean Connery (Part 1)
He defined the essence of cool for an entire generation as the suave spy 007.
Sir Sean Connery died overnight in the Bahamas, according to the BBC.
He was 90.
Born in Fountainbridge, Edinburgh, Scotland on Aug. 25, 1930, he cut his teeth in British theater before making the leap to movies.
Connery became a household name as James Bond in “Dr. No” (1962), sporting high-tech gadgets, driving Aston Martins, sipping martinis, wooing women and speaking the iconic line, “Bond, James Bond.”
He returned as 007 in numerous sequels, including “From Russia With Love” (1963), “Goldfinger” (1964), “Thunderball” (1965) and “You Only Live Twice” (1967). After a break, he returned to the character in “Diamonds Are Forever” (1977) and the unofficial “Never Say Never Again” (1983).
Not only was he a box-office sensation, he was an accomplished performer for the biggest directors of all time, including Alfred Hitchcock in “Marnie” (1964), John Huston in “The Man Who Would Be King” (1977) and Sidney Lumet in “Murder on the Orient Express” (1974).
After a cult classic in the fantasy-action flick “Highlander” (1986), he won his long overdue Oscar in Brian De Palma’s gangster flick “The Untouchables” (1987), helping Kevin Costner take down Robert De Niro’s Al Capone.
When Steven Spielberg and George Lucas needed someone to play Harrison Ford’s father, they turned to Connery for the mega hit “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” (1989), joining Indy on an adventurous quest for the Holy Grail.
The turn of the millennium brought more beloved action flicks like “The Hunt for Red October” (1990), “The Rock” (1996) and “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” (2003).
”Saturday Night Live” memorably spoofed him on “Celebrity Jeopardy” as Darrell Hammond’s Connery ragged on Will Ferrell’s Alex Trebek.
Connery received the prestigious Kennedy Center Honor in 1999.
He was officially knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2000.
No matter how many imitations follow — Roger Moore, Pierce Brosnan, Daniel Craig — there will always be only one real Bond.
Hailed by The Washington Post for “his savantlike ability to name every Best Picture winner in history," Jason Fraley began at WTOP as Morning Drive Writer in 2008, film critic in 2011 and Entertainment Editor in 2014, providing daily arts coverage on-air and online.
FILE – This Oct. 16, 1985 file photo shows actor Sean Connery on the set of “The Name of the Rose” in Rome, Italy. Scottish actor Sean Connery, considered by many to have been the best James Bond, has died aged 90, according to an announcement from his family.
(AP Photo, File)
AP Photo, File
FILE – In this file photo dated April 11, 1971, renowned British actor Sean Connery, famous for his role as secret agent James Bond 007, relaxes at the River Room of the Savoy Hotel in London, after coming back from “The Grave” to take his famous Bond role in the United Artists film version of the James Bond story “Diamonds Are Forever”. Connery, 40, later left for Las Vegas where filming for the picture is in progress. Scottish actor Sean Connery, considered by many to have been the best James Bond, has died aged 90, according to an announcement from his family.
(AP Photo/Bob Dear, FILE)
AP Photo/Bob Dear, FILE
File – In this Apr. 25, 1963 file photo, Sean Connery and Italian actress Daniela Bianchi are seen in Istanbul, Turkey. The pair were in the country filming the second Bond film, ‘From Russia with Love.’
(AP Photo, File)
AP Photo, File
FILE — In this Jan. 23, 1987 file photo, actor Sean Connery holds a rose in his hand as he talks about his new movie “The Name of the Rose” at a news conference in London. Scottish actor Sean Connery, considered by many to have been the best James Bond, has died aged 90, according to an announcement from his family.
(AP Photo/Gerald Penny, File)
AP Photo/Gerald Penny, File
FILE – In this file photo dated July 29, 1966, actor Sean Connery is shown during filming the James Bond movie “You Only Live Twice,” on location in Tokyo, Japan. Scottish actor Sean Connery, considered by many to have been the best James Bond, has died aged 90, according to an announcement from his family.
(AP Photo, FILE)
AP Photo, FILE
FILE – In this 1964 file photo shows actor Sean Connery, born in Edinburgh, Scotland. Scottish actor Sean Connery, considered by many to have been the best James Bond, has died aged 90, according to an announcement from his family.
(AP Photo, File)
AP Photo, File
FILE — In this undated file photo, Sean Connery, as James Bond, poses in an event for the movie ‘Thunderball’. Scottish actor Sean Connery, considered by many to have been the best James Bond, has died aged 90, according to an announcement from his family.
(AP Photo, FILE)
AP Photo, FILE
In this file photo dated March 25, 1964, British actor Sean Connery kisses actress Honor Blackman during a party at Pinewood Film Studios, in Iver Heath, England.
(AP Photo, FILE)
AP Photo, FILE
FILE — In this file photo dated April 11, 1988, Sean Connery holds up his best supporting actor Oscar for “The Untouchables” at the 60th annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles, Ca., USA. Scottish actor Sean Connery, considered by many to have been the best James Bond, has died aged 90, according to an announcement from his family.
(AP Photo/Lennox McLendon, FILE)
AP Photo/Lennox McLendon, FILE
Sean Connery, at the US Open tennis tournament in 2017.
Sean Connery with the 1964 Aston Martin DB5 used in the movie “Goldfinger.”
The James Bond movie “Goldfinger,” starring Sean Connery, premiered in London in 1964. Here, Connery is flanked by “Bond Girls,” while on the set of “Goldfinger.”
(AP Photos/Files)
