Sean Connery is suing a country club for allegedly using his “worldwide celebrity” to fatten its reputation and refusing to pay money owed him after he ended his membership.
Connery, who starred as James Bond in films including “Dr. No” in 1962 and “Diamonds Are Forever” in 1971, is seeking more than $500,000 for breach of contract and more than $500,000 for “unjust enrichment” from the Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in Superior Court.
The lawsuit claims the golf club was aware of the actor’s lucrative status as an “internationally renowned celebrity and famously avid golfer” when it invited him to join in 1990 at a special initiation fee of $35,000.
His celebrity boosted the club’s value and attracted new members, the lawsuit states.
In 2004, Connery terminated his membership. But according to the lawsuit, his contract allowed him to collect 80 percent of the “going rate” of membership — more than $500,000 — which the club has refused to pay.
Club membership manager Karen Jacobs declined to comment Tuesday on the lawsuit.
“The lawsuit was not our first choice,” Connery’s lawyer, Louis “Skip” Miller, said Tuesday. “But they won’t honor their obligations, so we had no choice but to file.”
Connery, 75, won an Oscar in 1988 for his role in “The Untouchables.” He has been recovering from surgery for a kidney tumor.