How Sean Connery's generation 'transformed' Marbella

LONG-TERM residents in Marbella have been reflecting on how their town became transformed when Sean Connery bought his home there 50 years ago to escape the paparazzi, turning the Costa del Sol municipality into an icon of silver-screen glory.

Marbella in the 1970s became synonymous with glamorous cocktail parties and A-listers, home to the likes of Omar Sharif, Audrey Hepburn, Sofia Loren and Deborah Kerr – but although their presence there was rumoured, it was rarely confirmed in the flesh by the general public as they had all moved there for the same reason: Not to be disturbed when they were off duty.

Probably the most famous 007 ever, Connery – who passed away aged 90 on Saturday – chose Marbella because it would mean he was out of the limelight and the paparazzi would not find him, given that it was a quiet farming town and even the richest and most famous on the planet could mingle without fear of being recognised and, even if they were, indeed, recognised, would not be treated any differently to the other locals.

The Indiana Jones star spent at least 15 years of his life living in relative tranquillity in Villa Malibú, halfway between Puerto Banús and San Pedro Alcántara, with his only visitors being close friends popping round for a drink or attending parties – visitors who were generally as famous as he was, or is, but who were also able to live a pressure-free life.

Doctor Zhivago star Omar Sharif spent weeks at a time living with Connery at Villa Malibu (second picture, from La Opinión de Málaga), spending entire summers together, although according to sources close by, they tended only to coincide in the evenings, with Sharif reportedly placing multi-million bets in Marbella Casino and his James Bond friend whiling away his hours on the golf course.

Another close friend and regular long-term visitor at Connery's villa was Michael Caine, according to the British press, and one of his neighbours was rocker Rod Stewart, who is said to have moved to Sotogrande when Marbella began to become such a celebrity hang-out that the paparazzi knew exactly where to look.

It is universally acknowledged that Sean Connery's presence in Marbella contributed to its becoming a magnet for film producers and actors during an entire generation.

To Jason Connery, also an actor, the seven-times James Bond and Best Supporting Actor Oscar-winner was just 'dad'.

“It's a sad day for everyone who knew and loved my father,” he said in a media statement on Saturday.

He reported that his dad had been 'unwell for some time', and that his family was around his bedside when he passed away at his home in Nassau, in the Bahamas.

Jason is Sean Connery's only son, through the actor's second and current marriage to Micheline Roquebrune – the couple is shown in the first picture, taken at Schipol airport, Amsterdam, in 1983 (from Wikimedia Commons).

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1930, Sean Connery never, in fact, won an Oscar for his 007 rôles or as Indiana Jones' father – the award came for his part as Jim Malone, a hard veteran cop in The Untouchables, in 1987.

He played Harrison Ford's dad in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in 1989 and captain of a Soviet submarine in The Hunt for Red October (1990), the explorer who accompanied Michael Caine in The Man Who Would Be King (1975), Robin Hood in Robin and Marian (1976), and starred in the eastern epic The Wind and the Lion (1975).

Son of a cleaning lady and a lorry driver, Connery retired from screen in 2006 and from public life in 2011, and moved to the Bahamas to put his feet up.

He has had nine years of peaceful Caribbean life since then, celebrating his 90^th birthday in August.

The third photograph, from Wikimedia Commons, shows him celebrating his 89^th birthday last August.

Connery was a staunch supporter of Scottish independence and, when Queen Elizabeth II knighted him in 2000, he attended the ceremony wearing a kilt.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Twitter that she was 'devastated' and 'inconsolable' at the news of the death of one of the 'most-loved sons' of the nation.

She said that although he was a global legend, Sir Connery was a 'proud and patriotic Scot' above all.

Mrs Sturgeon remembers Connery attending the opening of Scottish Parliament in 1999, 'showing his love' for his birth territory, and adds that those who also support Scotland's being an independent nation have a 'debt of gratitude' to the actor for his highly-publicised backing of the cause.