Sean Connery remembered by Shelley Winters and ‘Dr. No, co-star

Before, during and after he became a superstar Doctor Nofirst feature-length James Bond film, Sean Connery was adored behind the scenes by several Hollywood icons, including Oscar-winning actress Shelly Winters.

Here’s how they met: Early in his career, Connery was struggling financially and had no choice but to take a less glamorous part-time job.

One such menial position was babysitting the children of journalist Peter Noble and his actress wife, Marianne, for which she was paid 10 shillings a night. During one such ordinary evening at Noble’s house, Connery met Winters, who by then had given outstanding performances in films such as “1951” A place under the sun with Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor.

After returning to Earth, Winters continued to hang out with Connery in his apartment for years along with his brother Neal, all three of them drinking beer. Years later, Winters described Sean as “one of the tallest, most charming and manly Scotsmen” she had ever known.

Years later when Connery was filming Lightning ballhis third character in the 007 film series, co-starring with him was actress Luciana Paluzzi, who played the evil SPECTER agent Fiona Volpe.

Paluzzi enjoyed working with Connery, whom she described as “a gentleman… like a diamond… (with) rough edges. But with my feet firmly on the ground… I am very sacrificial as an actor.”

Around the same time, Connery attended a party promoting the film King Ratwhich took place at the renowned Whiskey a Go-Go in Hollywood. There he met the renowned actress BarBara Luna.

To this day, Luna has enormous talent and dedication to her craft, which was so appreciated by Connery, who shared several bonds with the actress. Even if they didn’t know it at the time.

They both appeared in stage productions, including: South Pacific though at different times and places, and like Luna remains today, Sean was athletic and enjoyed playing golf. However, none of these topics were discussed during their meeting that evening at the Whiskey a Go-Go.

Their conversation began late in the evening when Luna’s boyfriend walked across the room to greet his friends. Then she noticed Connery standing alone in the corner of the crowded room. She wasn’t sure if he preferred being alone, “or maybe he was just shy,” she thought. “Is it possible?”

Nevertheless, she gathered her courage and approached Connery, who was at the height of his Bond mania. She introduced herself and asked him to dance. To which he replied, “Well, I would be delighted.”

Luna “swallowed”, took his hand and led the actor to the floor, where they danced in a free form, which was quite a new and gaining popularity style at the time.

When they started dancing, he told her, “I’m not very good at it. I’ll try not to embarrass you.”

Luna laughed and said, “Well, Mr. Connery, that’s not true. But even if it were, it doesn’t matter.”

Connery then smiled and insisted, “Sean. Call me Sean.

Luna said that Connery’s greatest advantage is his charm. That made him “special,” she said. It was “a quality that 1940s actors like Cary Grant, Gary Cooper, Lawrence Olivier had… that I don’t see in many of our actors and actresses today. His charm was mixed with intelligence, humor and strength… plus he could be physical and very handsome, and his wonderful voice made him so likeable. How could he not be the most attractive Bond?”

“Some actors appreciate recognition for playing just one role,” Luna noted. “Others prefer not to be associated in this way. I think there are two types of actors. One that feels physical and one that is more complicated, like John Wayne vs. Lawrence Olivier or Van Diesel vs. Christian Bale.”

For others, however, “acting is about being versatile, playing different characters, discovering different parts of yourself. A character can teach actors/actresses a lot about themselves,” said Luna, who refused to “give up the word actress.”

“To sum up,” Luna said, “…I think actors/actresses just like to be remembered,” while she recalled Connery’s on-screen charisma:

“Besides being elegant, tall, dark, handsome, sexy, charming, dignified, and yet tough, dangerous and very charismatic, his characters were always truly believable.”

“Need I say more?”

Note: This article is an edited excerpt from Herbie J. Pilato’s acclaimed biography. Connery, Sean Connery: before, during and after his most famous role. Click here to order a copy signed by the author. Copies signed by the author CONNERY, SEAN CONNERY are available directly from the author via (email protected).