Sean Connery’s cause of death was revealed on his death certificate. The legendary actor, who played the first James Bond seen on the big screen, died at his home in the Bahamas on Oct. 31 at 1:30 a.m. Connery was 90.
According to the death certificate, obtained by TMZ Sunday, Connery died in his sleep from pneumonia, heart failure, and old age. The document also listed atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rate, among the causes of death. His profession was listed as “retired actor,” as Connery left the business after appearing in the 2003 movie The League of Extraordinary Gentleman. Connery’s widow, Micheline Roquebrune, also told The Daily Mail the actor suffered from dementia and “went peacefully.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
Connery struggled in his last months, Roquebrune, 91, said. “It was no life for him. He was not able to express himself latterly. At least he died in his sleep and it was just so peaceful. I was with him all the time and he just slipped away. It was what he wanted,” she told the Daily Mail the day after her husband’s death. “He had dementia and it took its toll on him. He got his final wish to slip away without any fuss.”
Connery’s career stretched back to the 1950s and included over 90 credits. In 1962, he played James Bond for the first time in Dr. No. He also starred in From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, Diamonds Are Forever, and Never Say Never Again. Connery starred in dozens of other classics, including The Hunt for Red October, The Rock, Indiana Jones, and the Last Crusade, The Man Who Would Be King, Marnie, and the 1974 version of Murder on the Orient Express. Connery won the 1987 Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the crime epic The Untouchables.
“He was gorgeous and we had a wonderful life together. He was a model of a man,” Roquebrune, a French-Moroccan painter, told the Daily Mail. “It is going to be very hard without him, I know that. But it could not last forever and he went peacefully.” Connery and Roquebrune were married for 45 years before his death. Connery is also survived by his son, actor Jason Connery, whose mother is Connery’s first wife, the late Diane Cilento.
One of the last known photos of Connery showed the actor smiling on his 89th birthday with Jason and Jason’s longtime partner, Fiona Ufton. She published the photo herself on Twitter. Jason also shared a statement after his father’s death, calling it 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.”
