Sean Connery Confesses: "I bleached coffins"

One of the Stark family’s interesting connections is to the ultimate James Bond himself, Sir Sean Connery. It dates back to Haddington, Scotland through my father’s side, where my grandfather Ronald Stark and his Uncle ran a variety of businesses including wagon manufacturing, a joinery and a funeral service.

I dug up some old photos thanks to my Dad for fun and posted below. My favorite quote from Sean Connery:

“[Mr. Stark] had an uncanny ability to visually size-up clients for their coffins.”

And then some savvy “marketing” exposed:

“Mr. Connery also revealed that during his time as a coffin-polisher, he had regularly bleached mahogany coffins to make them look like oak.”

Even James Bond had to work his way up the ladder. First, it was a License to Shine.

While we’re on the topic, and with the new Bond movie arriving later this year, I thought I’d provide my take on the best Bond movies, and a ranking of the actors who played 007.

Top 10 James Bond Movies Of All-Time:

Sean Connery polished coffins in Scotland for my grandfather Ronald Stark

1. Goldfinger (1964)
2. From Russia With Love (1963)
3. You Only Live Twice (1967)
4. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
5. Casino Royale (2006)
6. Dr. No (1962)
7. Thunderball (1965)
8. Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
9. For Your Eyes Only (1981)
10. GoldenEye (1995)

Ranking The Actors Who Played 007:

1. Sean Connery
2. Daniel Craig (so far, so good)
3. Roger Moore
4. Pierce Brosnan
5. Timothy Dalton
6. George Lazenby

38 St. Martin's Gate - 2nd Floor - Sean Connery - Lost Haddington

Caravan48

Ronald Stark and Son - Haddington

Ronald Stark & Son Ltd. - Sean Connery

Stark Wagon - Ronald Stark and Son - 1956

Undertaker - Ronald Stark & Sun - Sean Connery

Clinton Stark
Clinton shoots videos for Stark Insider. San Francisco Bay Area arts, Ingmar Bergman and French New Wave, and chasing the perfect home espresso shot 25 seconds at a time (and failing). Peloton: ClintTheMint. Camera: Video Gear