SIR Jackie Stewart has revealed that he sent his best friend Sir Sean Connery to the Mayo clinic in a bid to extend the 007 actor’s life.
And the Scots racing champ revealed that the treatment Sir Sean received at the renowned clinic in America, a popular haunt of celebrities who require special medical care, ‘probably‘ kept him alive for an extra few months.
Sir Jackie first met Sir Sean in 1971 when the actor was setting up a charity - the Scottish International Education Trust - to help young Scots and became a lifelong friend of the actor who admired how he projected Scotland to the world as a racing driver.
The sports star spent time with Sir Sean before his death in 2020 in the Bahamas, where he lived with his wife Micheline and many of their family members.
And Jackie, who even joined the late James Bond actor on his sick bed to watch and rewatch him perform his favourite role as a soldier in North African prison in lesser known film Sidney Lumet’s The Hill from 1965, has now revealed that he played a huge role in Sir Sean’s final days.
In a chat with Justin Bell, the son of racing driver Derek Bell he revealed: “Sean Connery was a wonderful man. Oh, he was first of all, without doubt the best Bond. He was terrific. And he was a good man and he was unspoiled. And he was one of my best friends.”
Sir Jackie added: “I saw him not long before he died, in the Bahamas. I got him to the Mayo Clinic and we probably kept him for a few more months than he might have had.
“He was very quiet and not a pushy man at all, but yet he was just so completely good at what he did - and a good Scot.”
It is unknown what treatments Sir Sean underwent at the clinic which has its headquarters in Rochdale Minnesota but the clinic is renowned for its work in the field of cancer, cardiology and geriatrics as well as neurology and addiction.
Sir Sean had paid visits there over the years and previous celebrities using its services include King Hussein of Jordan, Ronald and Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, and Muhammad Ali whilst more recently the late Darius Campbell Danesh and fellow Scot Gerard Butler were spotted in the vicinity of the Rochdale campus.
A death certificate obtained by the publication TMZ claimed Sir Sean died from respiratory failure caused by pneumonia, old age, and atrial fibrillation (an irregular heartbeat, which has been found to increase the risk of lung issues).
Sir Sean was said by Jackie to be very unwell then with dementia, which he described as ‘a very cruel disease – I know this personally, as my wife has had it for several years. It was sad seeing him like that.’
The Scots racing driver also appeared to make a secret visit to see the actor’s widow Micheline in Edinburgh when she and the family made a trip to Scotland to scatter Sir Sean’s ashes earlier this year.
He was spotted on the royal mile by fans at the time and was said to have visited the Balmoral hotel where Micheline and her family resided during their visit.
During their journey it bid a final goodbye to Sir Sean, the mourners gathered at the Dalmeny Estate overlooking the River Forth neat South Queensferry shortly after arriving in Scotland in chartered luxury train the Royal Scotsman.
From Scotland With Love theshowbizlion.com
This article has subsequently been published in The Daily Record and other nationals
