Who was Alec Guinness and what was his cause of death?
ALEC Guinness is regarded one of Britain’s greatest actors of all time.
The Oscar-winning performer starred in dozens of movies before his death in 2000 at age 86.
Who was Alec Guinness?
Guinness was in 1994, in Maida Vale, London.
He got his start in theatre, winning a Tony for his performance in the Broadway play Dylan.
He then starred in a stage version of Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, playing the role of Herbert Pocket.
Film director David Lean was in the audience and decided to cast Alec in his first movie.
Alec would go on to make several more films with Lean and even won an award for Best Actor playing in the Oscar-winning The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957).
The two would also collaborate on Oliver Twist (1948), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Doctor Zhivago (1965), and A Passage to India (1984).
Venturing into TV, Alec earned Emmy bids for Startime (Best Single Performance in 1960) and Smiley’s People (Best Movie/Mini Actor in 1983).
He originated the role of secret agent George Smiley in the BBC adaptation of Le Carre’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979), for which he won a Bafta.
Why didn’t Alec Guinness like Star Wars?
Alec wanted to be known as a classical actor rather than Obi-Wan Kenobi, but the success of Star Wars forever associated him as the old Jedi Master.
During an interview on Parkinson, Alec criticized the dialogue but also complimented the movie on what it had achieved.
He described it as having “A marvellous healthy innocence. Great pace, wonderful to look at, full of guts, nothing unpleasant.”
Was Alec Guinness married?
Guinness married his wife Merula Silvia Salaman in 1938.
The pair met during a production of Noah in which she played a tiger and Guinness played the part of a wolf.
She retired from the stage soon after they married and remained Guinness’ steadfast companion for over sixty years.
Did Alec Guinness have any children?
Alec and Silvia had a son in 1940, Matthew Guinness, who later became an actor.
He portrayed the part of the Farmer in the 1976 film Nuts in May and had a small role in 1986’s Lady Jane.
He has also worked extensively in theatre.
What was Alec Guiness’ cause of death?
Guinness died on August 5, 2000, at King Edward VII’s Hospital in Midhurst, West Sussex.
He had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in February 2000, and with liver cancer just two days before his death.
His wife, who died on October 18, 2000, also had liver cancer.