Sir Alec Guinness | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Portrait by Allan Warren, 1973 | |
| Born | Alec Guinness de Cuffe 2 April 1914 Maida Vale, London, England |
| Died | 5 August 2000 (aged 86) Midhurst, West Sussex, England |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1934–1996 |
| Works | Full list |
| Spouse |
Merula Salaman (m. 1938) |
| Children | Matthew Guinness |
| Relatives | Nesta Guinness-Walker (great-grandson) |
Sir Alec Guinness CH CBE (born Alec Guinness de Cuffe; 2 April 1914 – 5 August 2000) was a British actor. In the British Film Institute listing of 1999 of the 100 most important British films of the 20th century, he was the single most noted actor, represented across nine films — six in starring roles and three in supporting roles — including five directed by David Lean and four from Ealing Studios. He won an Academy Award, a BAFTA, a Golden Globe and a Tony Award. In 1959, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to the arts. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960, the Academy Honorary Award for lifetime achievement in 1980 and the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award in 1989.
Guinness began his stage career in 1934. Two years later, at the age of 22, he played the role of Osric in Hamlet in the West End and joined the Old Vic. He continued to play Shakespearean roles throughout his career. He was one of the greatest British actors who, along with Laurence Olivier and John Gielgud, made the transition from theatre to films after the Second World War. Guinness served in the Royal Naval Reserve during the war and commanded a landing craft during the invasion of Sicily and Elba.
Guinness made a name for himself in six Ealing Comedies, starting in 1949 with both A Run for Your Money and Kind Hearts and Coronets — in which he played nine different characters — going on to lead roles in 1951 with The Man in the White Suit and The Lavender Hill Mob — which he received his first Academy Award nomination — then in 1955 with The Ladykillers, and culminating in 1957 with Barnacle Bill.
He collaborated six times with director David Lean: Herbert Pocket in Great Expectations (1946); Fagin in Oliver Twist (1948); Col. Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), for which he won both the Academy Award for Best Actor and the BAFTA Award for Best Actor; Prince Faisal in Lawrence of Arabia (1962); General Yevgraf Zhivago in Doctor Zhivago (1965); and Professor Godbole in A Passage to India (1984).
In 1970, he played Jacob Marley's ghost in Ronald Neame's Scrooge. He also portrayed Obi-Wan Kenobi in George Lucas's original Star Wars trilogy which brought him further recognition; for the original 1977 film, he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 50th Academy Awards.
His later life was closely associated with his definitive depiction of the leading role of George Smiley in the two BBC television series of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Smiley's People by John le Carré.