Neil Niren Connery (16 December 1938 – 9 May 2021)
was a Scottish actor and the younger brother of actor
Sean Connery
Sir Sean Connery (born Thomas Connery; 25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond on film, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. Origina ...
.
Personal
Connery was born in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, Scotland, on 16 December 1938. The Connery family is of partial Irish origin. His father, Joseph Connery, was a lorry driver; and his mother, Euphemia (Effie) McLean, worked as a cleaner. Connery had a modest upbringing in a deprived area of Edinburgh.
He was married to Eleanor, with whom he had two daughters.
Six months after his older brother Sean died, Connery died on 9 May 2021, aged 82, from a short illness.
Career
Connery's film debut was in ''
O.K. Connery
''O.K. Connery'', released in America as ''Operation Kid Brother'', is a 1967 Italian Eurospy comedy film shot in Technicolor and Techniscope and directed by Alberto De Martino. The Spy-Fi plot involves the brother of the British spy James Bond, ...
'' (1967), a
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
–inspired film. The film was retitled ''Operation Kid Brother'' in the United States and is also known as ''Operation Double 007''. It became known for having a number of the original James Bond series actors appearing as similar characters. ''OK Connery'' was featured on ''
Mystery Science Theater 3000
''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. ...
'' (1998) under its
alternative title
An alternative title is a media sales device most prominently used in film distribution. Books and films are commonly released under a different title when they are screened or sold in a different country. This can vary from small change to the t ...
, ''Operation Double 007''.
In 1969, Connery appeared in the science fiction film ''
The Body Stealers
''The Body Stealers'', also known as ''Thin Air'', is a 1969 British science fiction film directed by Gerry Levy, about the disappearance of British armed forces paratroopers in mid-air whilst on a routine jump. Two investigators try to figure o ...
'', also known as ''Thin Air'', where he played Jim Radford, an investigator trying to figure out why
paratrooper
A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during World ...
s are disappearing in mid-air.
In 1980, Connery appeared as a
guest star
In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other ...
in the British TV Series ''
Only When I Laugh''. He played the Neil Niren MD – CT character, in the 7th episode (
"Last Tango") from the second season.
For most of his life, Connery worked as a
plasterer
A plasterer is a tradesman or tradesperson who works with plaster, such as forming a layer of plaster on an interior wall or plaster decorative moldings on ceilings or walls. The process of creating plasterwork, called plastering, has been u ...
, until an accident in 1983 ended his career.
Filmography
*''
O.K. Connery
''O.K. Connery'', released in America as ''Operation Kid Brother'', is a 1967 Italian Eurospy comedy film shot in Technicolor and Techniscope and directed by Alberto De Martino. The Spy-Fi plot involves the brother of the British spy James Bond, ...
'' (1967) as Dr. Neil Connery (film debut)
*''
The Body Stealers
''The Body Stealers'', also known as ''Thin Air'', is a 1969 British science fiction film directed by Gerry Levy, about the disappearance of British armed forces paratroopers in mid-air whilst on a routine jump. Two investigators try to figure o ...
'' (1969) as Jim Radford
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Connery, Neil
1938 births
2021 deaths
Scottish male film actors
Scottish people of Irish descent
Male actors from Edinburgh