Sean Connery, first James Bond and global star, dies aged 90
London: Legendary Scottish star Sean Connery, who became a global sensation as the first James Bond and featured in a string of cult hits in his five-decade-long career, has died. He was 90.
According to BBC, the actor passed away overnight in his sleep while in the Bahamas. He had been unwell for quite some time.
In the career spanning half a century, the actor featured in many critically-acclaimed and commercial blockbusters such as "The Hunt for Red October", "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", "Murder on the Orient Express" and "The Rock".
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon mourned the veteran star's death, saying that the country has lost "one of her best loved sons".
"Sean will be remembered best as James Bond - the classic 007 - but his roles were many & varied. He was a global legend but, first and foremost, a patriotic and proud Scot - his towering presence at the opening of @ScotParl in 1999 showed his love for the country of his birth," she tweeted.
Connery was born on August 25, 1930, to a Catholic factory worker and a Protestant domestic cleaner.
He left school at the age 13 with no qualifications and delivered milk, polished coffins and laid bricks, before joining the Royal Navy. But he was invalided out of the service with stomach ulcers only three years later
He initially made a living by doing odd-jobs like driving trucks, working as a lifeguard and posing as a model at the Edinburgh College of Art. The actor spent his spare time bodybuilding.
It was in 1956 that Connery landed his first acting job for BBC production of "Requiem for a Heavyweight". Soon after, he made his film debut with "No Road Back". The following year, he appeared in films like "Hell Drivers", "Action of the Tiger" and "Time Lock".
A major breakthrough in his career came when Connery, a relatively unknown actor, was cast as James Bond after an interview with producers Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman.
It is said that author Ian Fleming was not fully convinced that Connery can pull off the part. However, the actor's charismatic portrayal of the spy won over the critics and for many franchise fans, he is still the best James Bond.
He first played the role of James Bond in 1962's "Dr No", which he followed up with "From Russia with Love" (1963), "Goldfinger" (1964), "Thunderball" (1965), "You Only Live Twice"(1967), "Diamonds Are Forever" (1971) and "Never Say Never Again"(1983).
Connery's portrayal has been a tough act to follow for successors like Roger Moore, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig.
Bond made a global star out of a relatively new Connery but it also pigeonholed him for a long time.
The actor started challenging his image by shifting gears and taking up more dramatic movies such as John Huston's "The Man Who Would Be King", Richard Attenborough's "A Bridge Too Far", "The Name of the Rose", which was a big international hit.
Connery won an Oscar for supporting actor for his turn as a tough Irish cop in Brian De Palma's 1987 "The Untouchables".
In the 90s, Connery starred in a string of hits such as "The Hunt for Red October" (1990), "The Russia House" (1990), "The Rock" (1996), and "Entrapment" (1999).
After the turn of the new century in 2000, Connery's major acting appearance came in the superhero ensemble "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen".
The actor had officially announced his retirement in 2006, when he received the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award.
Connery was married to actor Diane Cilento from 1962-73. The couple divorced in 1973 and Cilento died in 2011.
He is survived by his second wife, painter Micheline Roquebrune, whom he married in 1975 and his son Jason Connery.
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Kerala FM calls for unity among communities, refers to US tariffs in Budget speech
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): The 2026-27 budget speech by Kerala Finance Minister K N Balagopal saw a call for "unity" among the various communities and highlighted global issues like the tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump and the incarceration of the Venezuelan President by him.
Balagopal said that "unity of Keralites" was the greatest treasure and the guarantee for the future growth and prosperity of the state.
It will help to attract foreign tourists, entrepreneurs and capital to our state, he said.
Balagopal said that the government has earmarked Rs 10 crore for a project to analytically record the history of the religious and cultural fraternity of Kerala so that people of "other lands" may also learn about it.
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It will also help to combat against the "highly venomous communal snakes" trying to destroy the unity of Kerala, he said.
"They have tried many times to poison the serenity of life in Kerala. We have so far been able to combat these poisonous elements by creating a defence of love and unity.
"But we have to realise that these venomous snakes spewing religious nationalism are not the ones who quickly admit defeat and retreat. We must see that they are active with new strategies to communally divide, polarise and subjugate the Keralites. The new strategy preached by ‘election experts’ is to stigmatise those who create the defence of public unity against communalism," Balagopal said.
He said that it was by recognising and respecting various religions and cultures that Kerala reached where it is now.
"Even in the legend of Lord Ayyappa and Vavar, there are yarns of religious harmony laced intricately together. This unity and fraternity may be astonishing to the people of many other lands.
"We have to take forward this historic fraternity of Kerala with more strength and spirit. History of the religious and cultural fraternity of Kerala has to be recorded analytically. The government intends to introduce a project for this, an amount of Rs 10 crore is earmarked for it."
Balagopal also referred to the tariff's imposed by Trump and said that his policies have created severe uncertainties in world trade and commerce.
"There is no doubt that this has adversely affected India and Kerala as well. It has also severely affected the export of our marine products," he said.
The minister further said that the central government yielding to Trump’s threats have adversely affected the state’s tax revenue.
"The details of the new free-trade agreement signed by India and the European economic community have not been revealed completely. However, there is a strong concern that this will have a negative impact on our dairy farmers and industries. In order to deal with the situation, we need to be prepared in advance," he said.
Balagopal, referring to the incarceration of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by the US, said the world was "rolling back from the democratic order" and it was quite "apprehensive".
"The incident that the head of a state is being arrested from the President's house by America and incarcerated by violating all international laws was very rare even in the dark eras of colonial rule.
"Such incidents are a warning to us as well. We, the Keralites should unite and move forward for the best interest of the state. We can overcome any crisis if we stand united for the interest of the state. Our history teaches us so. Let us uphold the interest of our state and move forward to the future, together," he said in his budget speech.
