A few years before landing his breakthrough role as James Bond in 1962’s Dr. No, Sean Connery shared the screen with Lana Turner in the 1958 melodrama Another Time, Another Place. Unbeknownst to Connery, Turner was in a relationship with a guy named Johnny Stompanato, who was a bodyguard and enforcer for notorious mobster Mickey Cohen. He was also reportedly pretty abusive toward Turner. Out of the blue, as Connery and Turner were working on the film in England, Stompanato showed up to the set.
Turner nervously introduced the two, and Stompanato responded by trying to hand Connery his coat. “I don’t want your coat,” Connery told him, to which Stompanato replied, “Just look after it.” “Look after your own coat, for Christ’s sake,” Connery barked back at him. Shortly after that initial encounter, Connery got word that Stompanato had been threatening Turner and was refusing to allow her to go on filming, even though they’d already completed half of the movie.
Before ‘Dr. No,’ Sean Connery Had a Dangerous Run-In With Lana Turner’s Mobster Boyfriend
As Connery explained during a 2008 interview with Scotland on Sunday, he went down to Turner’s dressing room to see what the problem was, and that’s when things escalated. An argument ensued, and at one point, Stompanato grabbed hold of Connery and headbutted him. Connery retaliated with a punch to the ear, which evidently brought the altercation to a swift end. Despite reports to the contrary, Connery said Stompanato never pulled a gun on him, and Stompanato was deported once police heard of the incident.
Stompanato ended up getting stabbed to death by Turner’s 14-year-old daughter, Cheryl Crane, a month before Another Time, Another Place was released. Crane testified that she’d done so to protect her mother from Stompanato; it was later deemed a justifiable homicide. Because of Connery’s earlier scuffle with Stompanato, Cohen suspected Connery had something to do with his death and warned him to get out of town.
By Connery’s own admission, he didn’t need to be told twice and proceeded to go into hiding until everything blew over.
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