Harrison Ford was only twelve years younger than Sean Connery when the latter played his dad onscreen, which he did in 1989’s threequel Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. But it was inventive casting, remaking the former James Bond as a bookish, bumbling but deeply loving father to the world’s most athletic archaeologist. After Connery passed away on Saturday, tributes poured in. But Ford, who is certainly not on or anywhere near social media, took a few days to respond. And it was worth the wait.
“He was my father … not in life … but in Indy 3,” Ford said in a statement, which was obtained by Deadline. He continued:
“You don’t know pleasure until someone pays you to take Sean Connery for a ride in the sidecar of a Russian motorcycle bouncing along a bumpy, twisty mountain trail and getting to watch him squirm. God we had fun — if he’s in heaven, I hope they have golf courses. Rest in peace dear friend.”
Ford was alluding to one of the more action-packed parts of the picture, in which Connery’s Henry Jones Sr. and his son — whom we later learn is really a “Junior,” having stolen his nickname from their dog — give chase to the fearsome Nazis. Henry Sr. is nonplussed at his untraditional archeological methods, but you can’t argue with success!
Connery reportedly died peacefully in his sleep in his home in the Bahamas. He retired, at least from onscreen appearances, after 2003’s The League of Gentlemen, though he made two more voice-only appearances in the years after. He made Last Crusade not long after winning the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for 1987’s The Untouchables.
(Via Deadline)
