Alec GuinnessSir Alec Guinness, CH, CBE (April 2, 1914 - August 5, 2000) was a British actor who became one of the most versatile and best loved performers of his generation. Born in London, he first worked in advertising before making his debut at the Old Vic in 1936. He married the artist, playwright, and actress Merula Salaman in 1938, and they had a son, Matthew, in 1940. Alec Guinness served in the Royal Navy throughout World War II, serving first as a seaman in 1941 and being commissioned the following year and commanded a landing craft taking part in the invasion of Sicily and Elba and later ferrying supplies to the Yugoslav partisans. During the War he appeared in Terence Rattigan's West End Play for Bomber Command, Flare Path. He returned to the Old Vic in 1946. He was initially mainly associated with the Ealing comedies, and particularly for playing 12 different characters in Kind Hearts and Coronets. Other films from this period included The Lavender Hill Mob, The Ladykillers, and The Man in the White Suit. In 1952, director Ronald Neame cast Guinness in his first romantic lead role, opposite Petula Clark in The Card. In 1954 during the shooting of the film Father Brown, he converted to Roman Catholicism and became devout, attending church regularly for the rest of his life. Guinness was also a talented dramatic and character actor. His film appearances ranged from Lawrence of Arabia to The Bridge on the River Kwai, for which he won an Academy Award as best actor in 1957. He was nominated again in 1958 for his screenplay adapted from Joyce Cary's novel The Horse's Mouth. He also received an Academy Honorary Award for lifetime achievements in 1980. His part as Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars brought him worldwide recognition by a new generation (and reputedly lots of money), though he was never happy with being identified with the part. He would throw out any fan mail regarding Star Wars without reading it. From the 1970s, Guinness made regular television appearances, including the part of George Smiley in the serialisations of two novels by John le Carré: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Smiley's People. One of his last appearances was in the acclaimed BBC drama Eskimo Day. Sir Alec Guinness died of liver cancer on August 5, 2000, at Midhurst in West Sussex, and was interred near Petersfield, Hampshire, England. He was appointed CBE in 1955, was knighted in 1959, and became a Companion of Honour in 1994. He has a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1559 Vine Street. Guinness wrote three volumes of bestselling autobiography, beginning with Blessings in Disguise in 1985, followed by My Name Escapes Me in 1996 and A Positively Final Appearance in 1999. A 2003 biography of Guinness, by the author Piers Paul Read, revealed that the actor was bisexual, who before his marriage had had several homosexual relationships. It also revealed that the actor was arrested in Liverpool in 1948 for cottaging (soliciting for sex in a public toilet). When arrested the actor gave as his name Herbert Pocket, the character he had just played in David Lean's film version of Great Expectations and was prosecuted and fined under that name, but avoided public scandal because the police never realised the true identity of "Pocket" until decades later. NOTE: Other accounts give the date of the Liverpool arrest as 1946. Either date is several years after his 1938 marriage -- http://andrejkoymasky.com/liv/fam/biog2/guin1.html and http://myweb.lsbu.ac.uk/~stafflag/alecguinness.html (The Knitting Circle of South Bank University). The biography also states, on the basis of letters written by his wife, Merula, that Guinness was an emotionally abusive husband who regularly publicly humiliated both his wife and son. Merula planned to write a book about her relationship with Guinness but died before the book was written. Filmography, as actor, includes
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Merula planned to write a book about her relationship with Guinness but died before the book was written. He and fellow actor Patricia Arquette are the parents of a baby girl named Harlow Olivia Calliope. The biography also states, on the basis of letters written by his wife, Merula, that Guinness was an emotionally abusive husband who regularly publicly humiliated both his wife and son. Jane is divorced from Aysha Hauer, the daughter of actor Rutger Hauer. Either date is several years after his 1938 marriage -- http://andrejkoymasky.com/liv/fam/biog2/guin1.html and http://myweb.lsbu.ac.uk/~stafflag/alecguinness.html (The Knitting Circle of South Bank University). In addition to his screen work, Jane has appeared several times on stage, and received strong critical reviews as Tom in Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie, and as Chris in Arthur Miller's All My Sons. NOTE: Other accounts give the date of the Liverpool arrest as 1946. He trained with Navy Seals and gained more than twenty kilograms to play the starring role in The Punisher (2001). When arrested the actor gave as his name Herbert Pocket, the character he had just played in David Lean's film version of Great Expectations and was prosecuted and fined under that name, but avoided public scandal because the police never realised the true identity of "Pocket" until decades later. He played the role of baseball player Mickey Mantle in 61*, before securing leading roles in his subsequent films. It also revealed that the actor was arrested in Liverpool in 1948 for cottaging (soliciting for sex in a public toilet). He had supporting roles in several high profile films, including Boogie Nights (1997), The Thin Red Line (1998) and Magnolia (1999). A 2003 biography of Guinness, by the author Piers Paul Read, revealed that the actor was bisexual, who before his marriage had had several homosexual relationships. Born Thomas Elliott, he made his film debut in 1986, and played one of his earliest roles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992). Guinness wrote three volumes of bestselling autobiography, beginning with Blessings in Disguise in 1985, followed by My Name Escapes Me in 1996 and A Positively Final Appearance in 1999. Thomas Jane (born January 29, 1969 in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American actor. He has a Star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1559 Vine Street. Padamati
Sandhya Ragam (1986) – Tom From the 1970s, Guinness made regular television appearances, including the part of
George Smiley in the serialisations of two novels by John le Carré: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Smiley's People. Pennington He was nominated again in 1958
for his screenplay adapted from Joyce Cary's novel The Horse's
Mouth. The Last Time I Committed Suicide (1997)
– Neal Cassady In 1952, director Ronald Neame cast Guinness in his first romantic lead role, opposite
Petula Clark in The Card. The Velocity of
Gary (1998) – Gary During the War he appeared in Terence Rattigan's West End Play for Bomber Command, Flare Path. Deep Blue Sea (1999)
– Carter Blake Sir Alec Guinness, CH,
CBE (April 2, 1914 - August 5,
2000) was a British actor who became one of the most versatile and best loved performers of his generation. Under Suspicion (2000) – Det. Great Expectations
(1946). Jonni Nitro (2000) A Run for Your
Money (1949). Eden
(2001) – Dov The Man in the White Suit (1951). Stander (2003) – Andre Stander The Malta Story (1953). Father Brown (1954). The Stratford Adventure (1954). To Paris with Love (1955). The Prisoner (1955). The Ladykillers (1955). Rowlandson's England (1955). The Swan (1956). The Bridge on the River Kwai(1957). Barnacle Bill (1957). The Horse's Mouth (1958). The Scapegoat (1959). Our Man in Havana (1959). Tunes of Glory (1960). A Majority of One (1961). Defiant (1962). H.M.S. Lawrence of Arabia (1962). The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964). Doctor Zhivago (1965). But Not Serious (1965). Situation Hopeless.. Hotel Paradiso (1966). The Quiller Memorandum (1966). The Comedians (1967). Cromwell (1970). Scrooge (1970). Fratello sole, sorella luna (1972). Hitler: The Last Ten Days (1973). Murder by Death (1976). Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977). Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980). Raise the Titanic (1980). Lovesick (1983). Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983). A Passage to India (1984). A Handful of Dust (1988). Little Dorrit (1988). Kafka (1991). A Foreign Field (1993). Mute Witness (1994). |