Britain's Nigel Hawthorne, who starred in the 1994 film The Madness of King Georgeand played the crafty Sir Humphrey in television's Yes, Prime Minister, died aged 72, his agent said today.
"He had been battling pancreatic cancer for nearly two years," his agent Ken McReddie said. "It was a heart attack, maybe brought on by the strain of it all."
He died at home around 9.30 a.m. today. "Hawthorne, who began acting in the 1950s and was knighted in 1999, was a brilliant actor and a wonderful friend," said McReddie, who was his agent for more than 30 years.
Hawthorne was nominated for an Oscar in 1996 for his title role in The Madness of King Georgeand had a long career in television, film and on stage.
In Britain and elsewhere, he may have been best known for his role as Sir Humphrey Appleby, a suave civil servant to a cabinet minister in the long-running satire Yes, Minister, later Yes, Prime Minister.
The programme was shown in more than 50 countries.
Born in the midlands city of Coventry on April 5th, 1929, Hawthorne was brought up in South Africa after his family emigrated. He only found fame and success as an actor when he was pushing 50.