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| Sean Connery was born Thomas Connery, August
25, 1930 in Edinburgh, Scotland. His nicknames were "Tich" when he was young,
then "Big Tam" when he had a growth spurt at age 12. He had one younger
brother, Neil. The Connerys had a difficult life of poverty. so Sean contributed to
the family income as best he could. His first job, at age 9, was pushing a handcart,
delivering milk. He started at 5:00a.m., working before school. After school,
he worked as a butcher's assistant at the local meat market. Sean left school when
he was 13 years old, to work as a milk roundsman (milkman) in the early morning with a
horse and cart, finishing at 3:00 p.m. Then he delivered newspapers in the
evening. |
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| Sean had a passion for
soccer. At 16, he played for Grove Vale Juniors. He wanted to buy a motorbike
with his savings, but his family said it was too dangerous. So instead, Sean went
out and bought a piano... even though no one in his family had any musical background. |
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| Without telling anyone, Sean,
16, joined the navy to escape his life that was going nowhere. He signed on for a 7
year stint, with a yearning to see the world. But he was stifled and frustrated,
since he was stationed in Portsmouth, scrubbing decks. Outside of the navy boxing
and soccer team, there was nothing the service had to offer. At 19, Sean got an
early discharge due to a duodenal ulcer, a Connery family trait. He left the navy
with 2 tattoos on his right forearm, "Scotland Forever" and "Mum and
Dad". |
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| Sean went back to Edinburgh,
where he held a wide variety of jobs, determined to find the one career that would last a
lifetime. Among these jobs were delivering coal, working in a steel strip mill,
polisher of coffins, digging ditches, bricklaying, bouncer at a dance hall and a dresser
at the King's Theatre (which gave him his first whiff of theatrical life). |
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| At 20, Sean was 6'2" but
still rather skinny. A friend got him involved in weight lifting. He bought a
motorbike with his navy disability settlement- against his father's advice- and got around
on his own, rather than public transportation. Sean was ever so popular with the
ladies, and had a very active social life. He got a job as a lifeguard and supplemented
his income by modeling; stripped down to a tiny g-string for the Edinburgh School of Art. |
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| Sean started losing his hair at
21 years old. He used to call his grandfather "Old Baldy" ... the nickname
was regrettably catching up to himself. |
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| Sean entered the Mr. Universe
contest with a friend in London, 1953. Sean won 3rd place, with a Bronze medal in
the Tall Man's Division. While in London, he auditioned for a part in the play
"South Pacific" and got a minor part. He met Maurice Mickelwhite (now
known as Michael Caine), a fellow struggling actor at a party and they became
friends. While on tour with the play Sean realized how much he enjoyed this free
lifestyle. He was involved with various women; serious about some, including Julie
Hamilton, but nothing ever worked out. |
Sean had small parts in various
television shows and movies, but 5 years elapsed before he appeared in his first film for
Fox, which had signed him for a 5 year deal. They loaned him out to other studios.
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Playing opposite him in the 1957
show "Anna Christie", was Diane Cilento, who was to become his future first wife
(in 1962). She was petite, green-eyed, ash blonde, 24 years old and devastingly
attractive. "Diane swept me off my feet... as the girl who has the most inner
sex appeal for me." But at the time, she decided to marry another man and gave
birth to a daughter. |
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