The widow of Edinburgh's Sean Connery has donated $1 million to try and find a cure for the condition that struck the famous actor in his final days.
Lady Micheline Connery, 92, decided to make the donation to Edinburgh University scientists after seeing the impact is had on her husband as he passed away.
She told the Sunday Mirror : “Dementia is a devastating disease that not only takes the spirit from the sufferer, but poisons the ecosystem of the family as they experience a loved one slowly fade away.
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“Having seen the dreadful impact dementia had on Sean, particularly towards the end of his life, our family feels privileged to support the vital research being undertaken.”
She handed the huge sum to global charity Race Against Dementia – set up in 2014 by Sir Sean’s close pal, former racing driver Sir Jackie Stewart, after his wife Helen was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia.
Sir Sean died in his sleep with Lady Connery by his side at their home in the Bahamas. After an incredible life at the top of the Hollywood tree, his last two years were blighted by the disease, which left him unable to express himself.
Lady Connery, a Moroccan-French painter, met Sir Sean at a golf tournament in 1970. They wed five years later.
She said: “We hope this gift will contribute to treatments to cure and prevent dementia, and in the meantime support those suffering from or caring for a person living with dementia.”
The money will initially fund a pilot scheme at the University of Edinburgh, the city where Sir Sean was born.
Scientists there are collaborating with the Alzheimer Center in Amsterdam as part of Race Against Dementia’s International Discovery Hub.
Some 50 million people worldwide have the degenerative neurological condition, a figure forecast to treble in the next 30 years to 152 million.
University of Edinburgh professor Siddharthan Chandran said: “We’re so grateful to both RAD and the Connery family for supporting the research that brings together world-leading experts.
“This is a long journey, but it begins with catalytic investments – like this one – that are all about driving new approaches to tackling this most debilitating of conditions.”
Already Britain’s biggest killer, it is expected to kill one in three people born today, with another patient diagnosed every three seconds.
In their 2019 manifesto, the Conservatives pledged to double dementia funding, promising an extra £800million over the next decade. That has yet to happen.
Britain spends £11.9billion a year looking after an estimated 850,000 patients –dwarfing the £5bn the NHS spends on cancer and £2.5bn on chronic heart disease.
Three-time Formula One world champion Sir Jackie, 82, was close pals with Sir Sean for more than 50 years. He witnessed how the disease struck down the 007 star, as well as his own wife Lady Helen, who is now confined to a wheelchair and needs 24-hour care at home.
He is employing some of the world’s top young scientists in labs throughout the world, including in the UK, US, Australia, Holland, Germany and Sweden.
Sir Jackie said: “Sean was one of my best friends ever. I deeply appreciate the Connery family’s support.
“It will help RAD to accelerate finding a way to prevent or cure dementia – which, as both our families know only too well, is a devastating illness.”
The scientists benefiting from the donation will be based at Edinburgh’s UK Dementia Research Institute, just four miles from Sir Sean’s childhood home in the city’s working class Fountainbridge area- of the city.
After being cast as secret agent 007 in the first ever Bond film, Dr. No, in 1962, he went on to star in six more, including Diamonds Are Forever.
He donated his fee of more than $1million to set up the Scottish International Educational Trust.
It has helped more than 1,000 young Scots – including tennis star Andy Murray at the start of his career. Sir Sean’s stepson Stephane, who has an art gallery in New York, recently visited the University of Edinburgh to see the work being carried out.
He said: “My wife Tania and I were deeply impressed. Sean and Jackie’s joint commitments to philanthropy date back to 1970.
“On behalf of Sean, Lady Connery and the entire family, we’re honoured to contribute to the research to find an answer for this devastating and complex disease.”
