Years ago I recall seeing this magazine on the newsstands with what was then a surprising image/interview of actor Cary Grant.

The image was surprising to see because it had been years since Mr. Grant retired from acting and to suddenly see him re-appear and have this “silver fox” look was stunning.  To many, like me, he was frozen in time thanks to the magic of cinema and might be recalled by the way he looked in the mid-1960’s, in his last movie role before retiring…

Or perhaps in his prime, one of the more handsome Hollywood lead actors ever…

Shortly after this GQ article came the sad news of Mr. Grant’s passing, and I distinctly recall reading another magazine offering a tribute to the legendary actor.  While I can’t remember the exact details of the entire article, one line at the start of it really hit me.

It went something lIke this: “The actor you thought would live forever has passed away.”

I could understand the sentiment and the shock of seeing someone I had seen so many times before on the silver screen in their “prime” suddenly looking so old…so frail.

These sentiments came back really strong when images of another favorite actor of mine, who interestingly enough is tangentially tied in to Mr. Grant, was caught out and about shopping with his wife…

There are plenty of others pictures out there to show (it appears paparazzi followed this individual and his wife around for a while), but suffice it to say that if I wasn’t aware of who this is, I likely never would have guessed.

The above picture is of Sean Connery and his wife Michelle Roquebrune out shopping.

As I said above, Cary Grant and Mr. Connery share a tangential relationship.  Though they were never in a film together (to the best of my memory!) the Cary Grant film North By Northwest (directed by Alfred Hitchcock) was a big inspiration for the James Bond films.  In fact, when the producers of the Bond films were working on developing the property, they wanted Cary Grant to play the secret agent but he ultimately declined because he didn’t want to tie himself to more than one film, thus paving the way for Sean Connery (who effected a Cary Grant-like suave style).

Interestingly enough, like Cary Grant, Mr. Connery also retired from making films and has stuck to this promise, thus also “freezing” himself in time, making us remember him like this…

The image above is from League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Mr. Connery’s last movie role before retiring.  Of course, we also may remember Mr. Connery like this…

I truly hope Mr. Connery is enjoying his retirement.  I presented the above image not to shock but rather to show, as if anyone needs to be reminded, that the passage of time affects us all.