LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Sean Connery: Scotland Forever
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Sean Connery is a near-perfect example of how hard work, innate talent and intelligence, and perseverance can pay off and create opportunities for spectacular success. But more than that - Connery is an example of expatriot Scots the world over who carry an undyling love of country and freedom within their hearts and a strong desire to see Scotland and her people succeed and flourish in the world today.
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Sean Connery was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and grew up in a two room flat. As a child, to earn extra money for his family he worked delivering milk in the mornings and papers in the evenings. He continued working odd jobs, from lifeguarding to coffin polishing. After three years in the navy, he played football (soccer) semi-professionally. But it was his hobby of weightlifting that pushed him into the spotlight. Connery represented Scotland in the Mr. Universe pageant and shortly thereafter began to model.
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After a three-year stint in the navy and a series of odd jobs, Connery became a model for student artists and men's fashion catalogs. He represented Scotland in the 1953 Mr. Universe contest (he finished third in the tall-man's division), which in turn led to work as an extra in stage productions. In 1954 he landed a small part in a touring production of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific and eventually took the leading role. More stage and television work followed, including a much-praised performance as washed-up boxer Mountain Rivera in the BBC television production of Rod Serling's Requiem for a Heavyweight. Connery made his film debut in Lilacs in the Spring (1955; ... released as Let's Make Up) and received top billing for the first time in On the Fiddle (1961; also released as Operation Snafu). His other notable films of the period include the Disney fantasy Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959) and the World War II epic The Longest Day (1962).
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Connery was married to the Australian-born actress Diane Cilento from 1962 until 1973 (he was her second husband). They have one son, Jason Connery (born January 11, 1963), who was educated at Millfield School in Somerset, England, and the rigourous Gordonstoun boarding school in Scotland, before going on to become an actor. According to Jason, his parents' divorce was an extremely bitter and painful affair (Diane Cilento has reportedly just written an autobiography that paints an unflattering portrait of her ex-husband). In 1975, Sean Connery married French artist Micheline Roquebrune, who is the grandmother of French television journalist Stéphanie Renouvin. He has one grandchild from his son Jason's marriage to actress Mia Sara, a grandson named Dashiell Quinn Connery (born in June, 1997).
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Connery used half of his fee from Diamonds Are Forever (1971) to establish a charity to support deprived children in Edinburgh as well as Scottish Film production. It was suggested in 1997 that the Labour government had prevented him being knighted for his charitable work because of his support for the SNP. At the time a Labour Party spokesman stated Connery's knighthood had been blocked because of remarks the actor had made in past interviews condoning the physical abuse of women. His nationalist beliefs have often been derided by political opponents, especially given his status as a tax exile living in the Bahamas.
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After a three-year stint in the British navy, Connery toiled in a series of odd jobs-milkman, bricklayer, lifeguard-before his weight-lifting hobby enabled him to represent Scotland in the 1950 Mr. Universe contest. He eventually approached acting as a lark, an understandable decision for one of workingclass origins, and debuted on-screen in Lilacs in the Spring (1954)
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Scotland Forever