In 1993, Sean Connery made his first ever appearance
on the long-running 'Late Show with David Letterman' on CBS in
the USA.
Asked by the host how things were going, Conney said: "I'm
doing well, but I'm really here to quell these rumours about
my death." In the pre-internet era, the former 007 star
had to take to national television to prove he was still alive
and kicking.
The racing driver James Hunt died in Marbella
on 15th June 1993, close to where Connery had a house, and it
was picked up erroneously
in the press as 'James Bond' had died. Coincidentally, it was
the same day that the former Governor of Texas, John Connally,
died. Japanese news reporters got the names of John Connally
and Sean Connery mixed up, and combined with the Hunt/Bond gaffes
and the fact that Connery had recently undergone treatment for
throat cancer, it quickly spread back to Europe as a completely
false story. The rest, as they say, is history.
