An Icon Lost: Sean Connery Passes Away At 90

Sean Connery, the iconic actor whose career took off after becoming Hollywood’s first James Bond, has died today at 90.

According to the BBC report released Saturday, Connery died in his sleep surrounded by family in the Bahamas. His son, Jason Connery, said he had been ill for some time. “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.”

Connery took on the role of James Bond in Dr No in 1962 and eventually made six more appearances as the character. Despite multiple reboots of the long-running franchise, he’s regarded by many as having been the best actor to play 007.

The last time we saw Sean Connery on the big screen was as Alan Quartermain in The League of Extraordinary Gentleman (2003), Stephen Norrington’s superhero-styled mashup of literary legends. This film may not have garnered much critical appeal, Connery did find plenty of success and popularity in films outside of the Bond franchise. He won an Best Supporting Actor for his role in 1987's, The Untouchables before joining Harrison Ford on screen as Dr. Jones father in Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade in 1989.

Despite a battle with throat cancer in the early 90s, Connery continued to be a major box office draw with films like The Hunt for Red October (1990) and The Rock (1996).

Sean Connery lived a legendary life on the big screen. His work as an actor will live on in the minds and hearts of fans and film enthusiasts, and he will be dearly missed.