Nobody Does It Better

Sir Sean Connery is one of my favorite actors of all time. From his time playing super spy James Bond through 7 films, to his Oscar winning performance as "Malone", in 1987's The Untouchables, he rarely disappoints. Heck, I would argue that he has made even some mediocre films watchable, like Entrapment, The Presidio, and The Avengers. Fortunately, the great films of his career, far outweigh the number of crappy ones

The American Film Institute saw fit to honor "The Extraordinary Gentleman" with its annual lifetime achievement award Thursday night at a ceremony in Los Angeles.

The Associated Press offers a few highlights of the evening:

Directors Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, and actors Harrison Ford, Andy Garcia and Mike Myers were among the stars who cheered on the legendary actor... at the ceremony at the Kodak Theatre.

Myers wore a tuxedo jacket and a kilt to honor the Scottish actor.

"Men want to be him, women want him, and in my case I both want to be him and want him," Myers joked.

"He's extremely professional, very talented and has an amazingly strong presence on the screen," Lucas said from the red carpet.

Connery thanked the audience for "one hell of an evening."

"I got my big break when I was five years old, and it's taken more than 70 years to realize it," he said. "At five I learned to read, and I would not be standing here without the books, plays and scripts."

Connery was launched to stardom in the 1960s and 1970s, playing agent 007, or "Bond, James Bond," as he introduced himself to foes.

He also starred in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," "The Hunt for Red October"...

He is the 34th recipient of the award, the Institute's highest honor for a career in film.

In March, Connery underwent successful surgery to remove a benign tumor in his kidney and was given a clean bill of health.

The AFI's salute to Sean Connery will air on USA Network June 21.