5 Very Talented Actors Who Recently Retired

1. Sean Connery
One of the biggest names in Hollywood, Sean Connery will forever be remembered for his iconic portrayal of James Bond from 1962 to 1983.

The Scottish actor, however, enjoyed a career that went well beyond his 007 days.

Many of his movies in the 80s and 90s have since become classics in the action and adventure genres, such as 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,' 'The Hunt for Red October' and 'The Rock.'

While directors and film studios have repeatedly tried to entice Connery back to acting, he has turned down all offers because, in his own words, "retirement is just too much damned fun."

2. Bernard Fox
Bernard Fox had an enviably long career and was working in films and television shows from 1955 to 2004.

His most famous roles were in the television sitcoms 'Bewitched,' where he played Dr. Bombay and in 'Hogan's Heroes' as Colonel Crittendon.

In movies he was mostly known for playing supporting roles, such as Winston Havelock in 'The Mummy'.

One of his most notable accomplishments, however, was landing roles in two separate blockbuster Titanic movies, the first in 1958′s 'A Night to Remember' and again in 1997′s 'Titanic.'

The Welsh actor, now 86, retired in 2004 and currently lives with his wife in Los Angeles.

3. Connie Booth
Connie Booth's name may not be instantly recognizable, but the millions of fans of 'Fawlty Towers' will surely remember her for her portrayal of Polly Sherman, the dutiful waitress who constantly got entangled in her boss' comedic mishaps.

Booth was one of the co-writers of the hit show, along with her then-husband John Cleese, but has turned away from acting in recent years.

Instead of simply retiring, however, Booth studied psychotherapy at the University of London and is now a registered psychotherapist.

4. Sid Owen
At age 42, Sid Owen is definitely the youngest retiree on this list.

Most notable for playing the role of Ricky Butcher in 'EastEnders,' Owen announced his retirement from acting in 2012. He has not completely dropped out of the spotlight, however.

Along with Ola Jordan, he was a contestant on the tenth series of 'Strictly Come Dancing,' although they were the third pair to be eliminated from the show.

Owen is also using his retirement to focus on his charitable activities.

5. Geraldine McEwan
The star of 'Marple,' Geraldine McEwan played the eponymous character of the series using her quick wits and powers of observation to solve a series of murders in and around the small village of St. Mary Mead.

McEwan helped bring the Agatha Christie character to life until 2009 when she announced she was retiring from acting.

Since then she has occasionally broken retirement to do some voice roles, most notably in the Disney film 'The Secret World of Arrietty.'
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Real Madrid 3 Barcelona 4 match report: Messi hat-trick out-guns Ronaldo in seven-goal Clasico thriller

Lionel Messi, left, celebrates scoring the second of his three goals that helped Barcelona to a 4-3 victory over Cristiano Ronaldo's Real Madrid at the Bernabeu

Sunday 23 March 2014
There were 80,000 white flags held aloft at the Santiago Bernabeu last night as Real Madrid supporters greeted their team. What there was no sign of, in one of the greatest Clasico's in recent memory, was the white flag from Barcelona.

They came from behind twice to win a seven-goal thriller with a Lionel Messi hat-trick.

The win means they close the gap on Real Madrid to just one point and the three goals meant Messi passed two more major milestones.

He has now scored 21 goals in Clasico fixtures beating Alfredo Di Stefano's previous record of 18 and he has 235 goals in the league taking him past Hugo Sanchez as the competition's second highest all-time goalscorer.

Who knows how many Di Stefano would have scored in those lightweight rainbow coloured boots. What is clear is that Messi would have been a record breaker in any era. He has apparently been off form this season – he now has 20 goals in his last 18 games.

Madrid's intention was immediate as Cristiano Ronaldo attacked Dani Alves in their first move but their early attacking play was chaotic and they were leaving space behind that Barcelona soon took advantage of with Messi releasing Neymar, who shot straight at Diego Lopez.

Messi was drifting deep and not being picked up and when he played in Andres Iniesta, the Spain midfielder blasted Barcelona in front, grateful to have been allowed so much room by Madrid right back Dani Carvajal.
Sergio Busquets appears to tread on Pepe as Barcelona won despite Karim Benzema scoring twice
Messi could have doubled the lead when sent clear by Cesc Fabregas but Madrid were beginning to impose themselves and Karim Benzema should have equalized but somehow blazed Angel Di Maria's cross over. There would be more gifts from the Argentine and he would not be so wasteful again.
Benzema has not always been the Bernabeu's favourite but Ronaldo urged the crowd to get behind the Frenchman and not on his back and the patience was rewarded.

Di Maria carved Barcelona open down the Madrid left and Benzema headed past Victor Valdes, who got a hand to the ball but in his last ever Clasico failed to keep it out.

Di Maria crossed again from the left moments later and when his centre sailed over Javier Mascherano's head Benzema controlled it and volleyed it home. The trick was nearly repeated for a third time but this time Pique cleared off the line after Di Maria's cross was again sent goalwards by Benzema.

Madrid were on top but Messi made sure they did not go down the tunnel at half-time on top. With brute force and close control in equal measure he cleared a path through Madrid's defence swapping passes with Neymar before shooting past Lopez. It was his 19th goal in a Clasico – no one, not even Alfredo Di Stefano who scored 18 goals in his 35 Barcelona-Madrid matches, has ever scored as many.

Fabregas than clashed with Pepe, who in the subsequent mêlée was pushed into the Barcelona midfielder.

Both players were booked but this was proving to be one of the best Clasicos in recent years and no battle of the Bernabeu.

A storming run from Gareth Bale undid Barcelona at the restart but he looked on in disbelief as Benzema failed to score from his assist. It mattered less moments later as Ronaldo went over Alves' outstretched leg and the referee pointed to the spot. The man himself got to his feet and sent it past Valdes to put Real Madrid back in front at 3-2.

Valdes then blocked Bale's shot as Madrid looked to finish off Barcelona.
But again Barcelona and Messi were not finished and the Argentine threaded the ball though to Neymar inside the penalty area. The Brazilian got the slightest touch from Ramos and spun to the ground. The referee pointed to the spot and gave Ramos the 19th red card of his career. Messi dispatched the penalty – goal No 20 in Clasicos and the strike that took him past Sanchez as the all-time second leading goal-scorer in the history of the Spanish League.

There was still time for Alves's shot to bounce back off Lopez as Barcleona appeared to run out of options but Xabi Alonso tripped Iniesta in the penalty area and Messi, fittingly, had the last word.

Goals. Real Madrid: Benzema 20, 24, Ronaldo pen 55

Barcelona: Iniesta 7, Messi 42, pen 65, pen 84
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Spot the difference: Fast Nigerian rising music star Cynthia Morgan

We all are aiming one thing "Change" if we all have the resource we will also take a good care of ourself.

I know what y'all are thinking about her but that's not what I mean.

I mean that she looks like a totally different person now. Way cuter.
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FG directive to return applicants’ money - Immigration Service

The Nigerian Immigration Service collected N1,000 application fee from almost 700,000 applicants who participated in the recently disastrous employment test that claimed more than 15 lives.

There were reports recently that the federal government had directed the NIS to refund the money but according to new reports, no such directive has been given by the government despite the fact that the recruitment exercise was cancelled.

The Public Relations Officer of the NIS and a rep of the Minister of Interior said that they are yet to receive any directive to refund the money.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress have called on the Federal Government to refund the money to the applicants. They should return it. It's the decent thing to do.
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Hollywood Homeland actor James Rebhorn dies at 65

Rebhorn's extensive filmography included The Talented Mr Ripley and Independence Day.

US actor James Rebhorn, known for roles in TV series Homeland and film Scent of a Woman, has died at the age of 65.

Rebhorn, who had skin cancer, died at his home in South Orange, New Jersey, his agent Dianne Busch said.

His career spanned five decades and saw him appear in TV shows including The Good Wife and 30 Rock, and films such as My Cousin Vinny, Carlito's Way and Basic Instinct.

Diagnosed with melanoma in 1992, he continued working until last month.

His agent told The Hollywood Reporter: "He fought it all this time.

"He died Friday afternoon at his home in New Jersey, where he had been receiving hospice care for a week and a half."

He had more than 100 screen credits, one of the most recent being for Homeland, in which he played Frank Mathison, the father of Claire Danes' CIA officer Carrie Mathison.

'Amazing actor'

His films included The Talented Mr Ripley, in which he played a shipping magnate, Meet the Parents and The Game.

Rebhorn often played authority figures, including the headmaster in 1992's Scent of a Woman and the US secretary of state in the 1996 blockbuster Independence Day.

The Philadelphia-born actor also worked on stage, with theatre roles including Broadway productions of 12 Angry Men and Our Town.

Tributes have been paid to the prolific character actor.

Actor Jason Alexander, who played George Costanza in the long-running US sitcom Seinfeld, tweeted: "RIP James Rebhorn, a lovely man and a terrific actor."

Rebhorn played the role of a district attorney in the show's last-ever episode.

Actor Tom Arnold wrote on Twitter: "RIP. This actor was amazing. You didn't know him but trust me, you knew him."

Actress Frances Fisher wrote: "Shocked and saddened to hear of James Rebhorn's passing. Jim was a consummate actor with whom I had the pleasure to work when we were young."

Rebhorn is survived by his wife Rebecca Linn and two daughters.
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Hollywood disaster movie sparks $2m fines – because trailer was too realistic

Watchdog says advert included messages, noises and alerts that should only ever be used in the event of national emergency

The trailer for Olympus Has Fallen included images of the White House being attacked

A US disaster movie trailer has resulted in fines of almost $2m after it included the actual series of noises used by the government in cases of national emergency.

Some complainants reported "jumping out of the bath and rushing to the TV screen" after hearing an advert for the 2013 film Olympus Has Fallen, which included official warning signals and the words "this is not a drill".

The Federal Communications Commission found that three media companies had "apparently wilfully and repeatedly violated" its rules regarding the proper use of the national Emergency Alert System (EAS).

Many of those in the US would be familiar with – and some even trained to respond to – the series of three buzzes followed by a longer tone which make up the EAS code, used to warn the nation of impending disaster.

The trailer, which also showed scenes where the White House is partially destroyed in a terrorist attack, was shown on TV channels Comedy Central, ESPN and SyFy in March last year.

The FCC review said this week that Olympus Has Fallen, which starred Gerard Butler and Morgan Freeman, breached its rules and caused "the transmission of false distress signals".

Viacom now faces $1.1m (£658,000) in penalties for airing the ad 108 times on seven of its channels; NBC Universal faces a charge of $530,000 for showing the trailer 38 times on seven of its cable networks; and ESPN faces a penalty of $280,000 for showing the promo 13 times on three of its networks.

At the time of the investigation, Viacom and NBC Universal argued that because they do not participate in the actual EAS programme in event of real disaster, they should not be liable. The FCC disagreed.

It could be argued that the companies should have seen the fines coming – when the trailer was first put on YouTube 11 months ago, one user apparently commented: "I can personally guarantee that before TV stations air the movie and if the EAS tones are in it, stations will either substitute [in] other tones or simply blank them out entirely.

Listen to the actual EAS disaster code:
"There's no way they're going to risk a $10,000 dollar FCC fine by broadcasting them in a non-emergency, non-authorised situation like a trailer or a movie.

"Each instance will cost them $10,000. Stations are just not going to do it. I'm in TV, and I know the rules."
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Spot the difference: Fast Nigerian rising music star Cynthia Morgan

We all are aiming one thing "Change" if we all have the resource we will also take a good care of ourself.

I know what y'all are thinking about her but that's not what I mean.

I mean that she looks like a totally different person now. Way cuter.
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