DAY ELEVEN November 13, 2005
Sir Sean Connery to Receive 34th AFI Life Achievement Award
by Rochelle L. Levy
Sir Sean Connery has been selected by AFI's Board of Trustees to receive the 34th AFI Life Achievement Award--the highest honor for a career in film--to be presented at a gala tribute in Los Angeles on June 8, 2006.
"Sir Sean Connery is an international film icon," said Sir Howard Stringer, chair of the AFI Board of Trustees. "Though best remembered for creating one of the great film heroes of all time, his talents transcend typecasting, and his body of work not only stands the test of time, but illuminates a career more extraordinary than James Bond himself. Sir Sean is an artist of the highest order, and AFI is honored to present him with its 34th Life Achievement Award."
Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Connery made his American feature debut in TARZAN'S GREATEST ADVENTURE and DARBY O' GILL AND THE LITTLE PEOPLE, both in 1959. After being cast as Agent 007 in DR. NO in 1962, Connery inaugurated one of the longest-running series in film history, starring as Bond in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (1963), GOLDFINGER (1964), THUNDERBALL (1965), YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (1967), DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (1971) and NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN (1983). Additional credits include Alfred Hitchcock's MARNIE (1964), MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS (1974), A BRIDGE TOO FAR (1977), INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE (1989), THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER (1990), JUST CAUSE (1995), THE ROCK (1996) and THE AVENGERS (1998), among many others.
More recently, Connery produced ENTRAPMENT (1999), starring opposite Catherine Zeta-Jones; produced and starred in FINDING FORRESTER (2000); and starred in THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN (2003).
In 1987, Connery received the Best Supporting Actor Oscar and the Golden Globe for his performance in THE UNTOUCHABLES. In 1995, he received the Cecil B. DeMille Award for "Outstanding Contribution to the Entertainment Field" given by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association at its annual Golden Globe Awards. In 1997, he was honored with a Gala Tribute by the Film Society of Lincoln Center for his lifetime career, and, in April 1998, BAFTA honored him with their highest award, The British Academy Fellowship. In 1999, Connery was a Kennedy Center Honors recipient, while in 2000, he was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the Queen's New Year's Honours List.
USA Network will broadcast the 34th AFI Life Achievement Award tribute in June 2006.
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