This dashing, effortlessly masculine Scottish leading man successfully escaped the profitable straitjacket of James Bond to become one of the most beloved and respected stars of contemporary Hollywood. Sean Connery had been a bodybuilder, model and chorus boy before moving on to repertory, TV and film work in the 1950s. Having dropped out of school at age 13, he spent much of his free time in libraries as he traveled about performing in plays. Connery beat out many far bigger (and more expensive) names to play Ian Fleming's superspy James Bond in "Dr. No" (1962), which made him a major 60s
A month before his 75th birthday in 2005, spurred by his intolerance for "the idiots in Hollywood" and the turmoil he endured making The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Sean Connery announced that he was hanging up his license…
