James Bond has left the room. The extraordinarily talented Sir Sean Connery passed away in his sleep on Saturday, October 31 in Nassau, Bahamas. It's ironic that the Scottish-born actor died on Halloween, also know as All Saint's Eve, which is a time to remember the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the dearly departed. And remembered he will be!

Born in Edinburgh in 1930 to a modest Scottish family, with a truck driver father and mother who worked as a laundress, Connery got the acting bug in his mid-twenties. He started with supporting roles in British TV and film--but his big break came when, at age 32, he played the role of the British Secret Service agent James Bond in the 1962 "Dr. No." The theme music will be forever embedded in my memory bank. It was the first in the 007 film franchise, based on the novel by Ian Fleming. 

The actor's class and finesse, with his charisma and sex appeal, made him an international star. People magazine gave Connery the title of 'the sexiest man alive' in 1989. He was 59 years old at the time but had an undeniable appeal that you can't manufacture. Actors who succeed on the level that Connery did just have 'it.' 

Connery also portrayed James Bond in "From Russia With Love" in 1963, "Goldfinger" in 1964, "Thunderball" in 1965, and "You Only Live Twice" in 1967. After a 4-year hiatus from the series, Connery returned to play the womanizing, cool, calm, and collected "Bond, James Bond" in "Diamonds Are Forever" in 1971 and "Never Say Never Again" in 1983. 

In subsequent years, Sir Sean had a plethora of acting roles I thoroughly enjoyed, from playing Harrison Ford's estranged father in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" in 1989 to the mutinous Captain of a Soviet submarine in "The Hunt for Red October" in 1990 and King Arthur in "First Knight", released in 1995. 

Notably, Connery played opposite the stunning and much younger Catherine Zeta Jones in "Entrapment" in 1999 and really held his own as her love interest. The Welsh actress wrote a lovely tribute that she will "cherish every moment" she spent with him. 

Yes, many of us feel the same way. Sir Sean Connery provided 5 decades of entertainment to savor- and he did so with dry humor and intelligence. He won the Oscar for Best Supporting Role in "The Untouchables" in 1987, alongside Robert DeNiro and Kevin Kostner. 

It's hard to describe the impact Connery had on me. He embellishes a time when manners and class meant something. Although skilled actors like Roger Moore, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig played Bond later on, for me, there is only one true James Bond who is indelibly stamped on my brain.

Sir Connery leaves behind his wife of 45 years Micheline Roquebrune, son Jason, three other grown children from a previous marriage, and his brother Neil.