Fellow actors and friends of the late Sir Alec Guinness (86), whose death was announced yesterday, have paid tribute to his immense skills as a character actor, describing him as "one of the most talented actors of his generation".
The star of more than 60 films, including The Bridge on the River Kwai, Kind Hearts and Coronets and Star Wars, died on Saturday in the cancer unit of King Edward VII Hospital in Midhurst, West Sussex.
One of his closest friends, the veteran actor, Sir John Mills, spoke of a man who combined humility and charm with his skills as an actor. "If you went to see Alec in the theatre giving one of his great performances, you couldn't get him to talk about it, he wanted to talk about something else," Sir John said.
"I was lucky enough to know him very well indeed, we were great friends. He was a very, very rare person."
Sir Alec was born Alec Guinness de Cuffe in London in 1914. He was the illegitimate son of Agnes Cuffe, who chose not to reveal his father's name.
At one time it was thought his father might have been a member of the Guinness brewing dynasty, but many observers believed his father was Andrew Geddes, a banker.
After a scholarship to the Fay Compton School of Acting in 1933, his first professional role was in the stage play Libel two years later.
He was married to the actress Merula Salaman in 1938 and although the second World War interrupted his career, it was a military role, playing the character of Col Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai, which won him an Oscar for Best Actor in 1957.
As an accomplished character actor, Sir Alec won praise for his portrayal of the Fuhrer Hitler: The Last Ten Days and as Fagin in the 1948 screen adaptation of the Dickens classic, Oliver Twist. His sheer versatility as an actor also saw him portray Le Carre's Smiley in the television production of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and later in Smiley's People.
A younger generation will remember Sir Alec for his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi, the sabre wielding Jedi Knight in the film Star Wars.
It was a role that brought him wealth - he negotiated a 2 per cent cut of the director's gross royalties - but he didn't enjoy the dialogue.
Writing about his efforts to encourage the director, George Lucas, to kill off his character, he said: "He agreed with me. What I didn't tell him was that I just couldn't go on speaking those bloody awful, banal lines. I'd had enough of the mumbo-jumbo." And some time later, Sir Alec admitted: "I shrivel up every time someone mentions Star Wars to me."
Speaking about the actor yesterday, George Lucas described him as a "great artist" and one of the greatest character actors: "He was one of the most talented and respected actors of his generation and brought an amazing range and versatility to his work.
"When I was casting the part of Obi-Wan Kenobi for Star Wars, I was looking for an actor who brought a certain authority to the role. Someone who was powerful, yet gentle, and that came across in Alec as a person and as an actor. The world has lost a great artist."
TV film critic Barry Norman said of Sir Alec: "He was the last of the line of the great actors and belongs there with Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson.
"There aren't any more like him around and he is really destined for legendary status in times to come. In fact it's hard to see where the next ones like him are coming from."
Displaying the humility and humour that became his trademark, Sir Alec was once asked what he would like his obituary to look like. He replied: "I think if my ghost could hover outside some London Underground station on a foggy November night just as the crowds were pouring down, I'd like to see the poster, `ACTOR DIES'."