Obituary

Tributes

A life in pictures

Filmography

Kenny Baker's Obituary

I once had the great pleasure to hear a delightful story about Sir Alec told to me and other dinner companions by Vincent Price. Sir Alec had spoken with Mr Price about a film he was asked to take a role in. Sir Alec told Mr Price he had been approached to do a film with a very young filmmaker and to reduce his normal fee to do the role. Mr Price and Sir Alec discussed the issue at some length and Mr Price said he suggested that Alec go ahead and do the film at the reduced fee, but ask for a percentage of the profits. That way, no one would lose, particularly Sir Alec's reputation. In the end, according to Mr Price that is what Sir Alec did, and the movie was "Star Wars". I paraphrase greatly, but it was a wonderful story and a jolly good chuckle.

Chloe Watson, USA

What a great loss! He was a workingman's actor. Somebody, that you could easily relate to. I saw him in a pub near Kew Bridge once, I think he lived nearby, and I said hello. He was almost embarrassed that I recognised him.

Dave Loader, USA

I worked at the Royal Court Theatre in the Sixties and saw Sir Alec perform "Exit The King" night after night. He was marvellous, except on the last night when his timing was out and he was relieved to be finishing. Did anyone else see the performance?

Maggie Gray, Britain

I'll miss this magic actor: the "Quiet Man" in a volatile industry. Such a talent! My memories of him centre on his Ealing comedies but his talents extended far beyond those gems. Thanks for the memories Sir Alec. My condolences to his widow and son.

Pete, Australia

I gasped when I read the news of Sir Alec's death. He, like many of his acting generation was knighted in recognition for his contribution to the arts but for many of us he was a King of his art. I still cannot believe it - it's so very, very sad.

Gordon Pullar, UK All my life I have recounted the stories told to me by my father who was Alec Guinness's dresser in the late forties and early fifties. He said he was a man who cared. A kind man - he will be missed.

Gordon Pullar, UK

He will always be Obi-Wan Kenobi to me. I know he wouldn't like to hear this but it's thanks to "Star Wars" he was known to the youth. Rest in Peace Sir Alec Guinness.

Willems Jacky, Belgium

He was so good; they named a drink after him!

Simon Millard, UK

I notice in his obituary that he also had a distinguished military career. No wonder his acting career was such an example to me in providing a role model but the part that is most significant is:

Asked what motivated him, Guinness once said: "It's practically all due to lack of food and plenty of disappointments - they can be real incentives". That is something I am enduring myself so I feel he is even more of a role model than I thought. A truly great man in every respect.

Martyn Thomas, GB/ USA

Even though I am a member of the younger generation, my favourite film of Sir Alec's was the little known "Malta Story", a love story between a British pilot and a Maltese girl during the Second World War. He was the archetypal "English gentleman" and will be remembered as such.

Fiorella , England/ Malta

I'm only 13, yet from the movies I have seen Sir Alec appear in, I knew he was one of the true great actors of his generation. R.I.P

Greg McEwen, Scotland

Alec, the force will always be with you.

Marcus, Sweden

Keith Homan, USA After enjoying his early film roles, my wife and I had the opportunity to see his stage role at the Royal Court in Liverpool. The play was Terence Rattigan's "Ross". His performance was spellbinding and was the ultimate theatrical experience. We will remember him for ever.

Keith Homan, USA

"The Lady Killers" says it all

Mo, UK

I was first introduced to Sir Alec in "Star Wars" when I was five. I found him a fascinating person based on his interpretation of Obi-Wan Kenobi. I know that Sir Alec despised what the movie eventually became. For me, "Star Wars" was a wonderful introduction to him as an actor. My father, a great fan of the Ealing Comedies, would lure me to the TV on many a Saturday night to watch a movie starring "Obi-Wan Kenobi." I greatly enjoyed the versatility and distinct style he presented to each character. Now, as a 28-year-old, I am so sad that Sir Alec is gone. We have lost probably the best actor of England. Thank you, Sir Alec, for your performances and being a bridge between my father and me.

Ellen C. Gavaghan, USA

A consummate actor. His astonishing career will be looked upon as a standard in stage and screen for generations to come. Thankfully, he has left us his recently published diaries, which give us a hint at the depth of the man behind the actor. The world is a lesser place for his absence.

Bob Schutte, USA

As a kid growing up in Australia, Saturday afternoon at the pictures introduced me to the genius of Sir Alec.

Peter J McKimmin, Ph.D, USA

Sir Alec was probably the most versatile actor of his time. He was most inflexible and frustrating in his Oscar-winning role as the Colonel in the "Bridge on the River Kwai" ; he was most powerfully strong in a quiet manner in "Star Wars"; he was most vicious in one of his last films "Mute Witness". We'll miss his ability to "soak" himself into every role he played, making it look effortless. Goodbye, Sir Alec!

Raphael Lim, Singapore

Another great light has gone out here on earth, only to shine brighter in the sky. I consider myself lucky to have lived in an age when these great actors graced us with their ability and talents. I wonder if my children will be able to say the same. Thank you Sir Alec for filling my life with the wonder and joy of great stories brought to life through your gift.

Lisa Williams, Germany

I am too young to have been familiar with a large part of his career, but I knew a great actor when I saw it. He will be missed.

Michael Bradford, United States

Neil, North Wales I have undoubtedly seen many of Alec's films, the names of most I cannot remember. The two that do stick out though are 'The Man in the White Suit' which I thought was superb and also his performance in 'Raise the Titanic' brought a fleeting glimmer of sunshine to what was a rather average film. He will be sorely missed.

Neil, North Wales

I saw Sir Alec in a Passage to India, and I was instantly hooked. A great actor and a terrific person. So sad to see such a great legend pass away quietly.

Balasubramanyam, India

Don't forget his wonderful recordings of T.S. Eliot's poetry.

Don Cox, UK

Simon Butler, UK I do not particularly care much for movies or theatre but the honourable gentleman most certainly portrayed quite a classical figure. He lent sophistication to a movie industry which is corrupted by Hollywood movie magnates who pander to baser human instincts. Sir Guinness was the last of the best.

Tahir Nawab, USA

My childhood was filled with the David Lean films and the unforgettable acting of Sir Alec. One of the greatest actors of our times.

Dhruba Ghosh, India

Irreplaceable. Tragic that most people shall only remember him for his role in Star Wars.

Greg McEwen, Scotland

Peter C. Kohler, USA Sir Alec assumed a large role in my childhood and can be "blamed" for making me a hopeless Anglophile. In the early 1960s there was a cinema in Washington, D.C. that showed nothing but British films and I grew up with those delightful Ealing Studio films when most American boys were watching Disney treacle. My favourite Guinness film is The Last Holiday, a typically bittersweet story of a clerk who, after he told is dying, spends his meagre savings at a posh hotel. It was one of those quirky little films that only the British could make and only Sir Alec could sink his teeth into. How much he will be missed by so many.

Peter C. Kohler, USA

Even more so than with the other "greats" - Olivier, Richardson and Gielgud - when watching Alec Guinness I would forget that I was watching an actor and become simply absorbed in the character. To me, he was the greatest of them all.

David K, England

Sir Alec Guinness is a name that first caught my eye when I was 10 years old, in Kind Hearts and Coronets. Since then he has remained the only actor whose work I will actively seek. He showed the true English Gentleman, the master villain, and the genius. Yet in my mind, his greatest role was as a retard, alongside Leo McKern, in the BBC's "A Foreign Field". There is a corner of a foreign field that is forever England. Sir Alec, it is where we will think of you.

John Lester, Reading, England

While not a great film, who else could have played Marcus Aurelius in Fall of the Roman Empire? As much as I like him, compare the style of Richard Harris in this role in the recent Gladiator with Sir Alec Guinness in Fall of the Roman Empire. He brought the philosopher king to life for me.

Rich, USA

Peter, United Kingdom Sir Alec was the greatest actor of the twentieth century who will I feel be best remembered for his performances in Cromwell as King Charles I as well as Star Wars. I was fortunate enough to receive an autograph from him prior to his passing away, which said " Sorry I keep no signed photographs as too expensive to hand out". Alec Guinness. None the less a delightful British actor who will be greatly missed!!

Peter, United Kingdom

I still get a thrill watching Kind Hearts and Coronets, as my Gran would have said, they broke the mould when God made that Man.

Ann Taylor, Scotland

The first time I saw Sir Alec on screen was in the movie he most hated! Twenty-five years later and I'm still in awe of the man and everything he's done before and since. My only regret is that I never met him in person. A credit to himself, he will be missed. May the force be with you Sir Alec!

Trevor Hunt, UK I think that Sir Alec will be remembered as perhaps the finest screen actor Britain ever produced. His versatility was unparalleled, equally resonant in sharp comic roles and detailed character studies. Cinemagoers were awed by his Fagin, loved his Stratton (Man In The White Suit) and Holland (Lavender Hill Mob), and were full of admiration for his Oscar-winning Nicholson. But perhaps best of all, and far less well-remembered, was his moving portrayal of the blustering Jock, the kilted martinet, in "Tunes Of Glory". He and Charles Laughton will forever be the two giants of British screen acting, and Sir Alec's quiet modesty was an education in itself.

Trevor Hunt, UK

A perfect gentleman! I wonder how many of today's actors will be held with the same regard when they die? Sir Alec will always be one of my all time favourites and I shall miss him.

Jan Cordani, USA

Truly the greatest character actor of the modern age. So many 'great' actors only ever really play themselves but Sir Alec genuinely was a man of many parts.

Frank Wells, UK

Although I am under 30, I think my generation find the Ealing films great. I personally enjoy the Lady Killers and the Lavender Hill Mob - superb British films, starring a superb British actor.

Nick Francis, UK

Stefán, Iceland What a terrible loss!! Sir Alec Guinness was without a doubt one of the best actors of the 20th Century. His appearances in movies like Kind Hearts and Coronets, Star Wars, Lavender Hill Mob, The Man in the White Suit, A Passage to India and his Academy Award winning role in The Bridge on the River Kwai will make him one of the best actors of the century.

He was one of a kind and will be remembered by our generation and those to come for his unforgettable career. He will live with us forever, his movies will make him a eternal movie-legend.

Stefán, Iceland

The world's finest actor. He will be missed.

Guenther Koegebehn, Germany

A sad day. The world has lost another giant of the English acting world. Who can replace Guinness, Olivier, Gielgud, Richardson? Sometimes it seems we live in an age of pygmies or only semi-giants in the acting world. There will never be such a time again as when we saw, laughed with, cried with, and listened to such a giant as Sir Alec Guinness.

Mark W Rhodes, USA What a sad loss, Who can ever forget the youthful Alec Guinness bounding up the stairs in Dickens' Great Expectations, and the so British and so stubborn officer in the Bridge Over the River Kwai. Who would not want to buy him another drink in the hotel at the end of the Lavender Hill Mob Movie?

His adaption and of Fagin and the friendly Indian in Passage to India¿and then in Star Wars, Wan Kenobi, an eternal being, but of course George Smiley will live forever. Sir Alec was a great actor. But he has left us much, his work is a piece of our time for all future generations to see.

Mark W Rhodes, USA

Only yesterday I watched David Lean's Oliver Twist for the first time. Sir Alec's performance was incredible, far removed from his role in Great Expectations. His passing is very sad news indeed. He was, simply put, a Quality Actor.

Philip Gottschalk, England

Goodbye Obi-Wan Kenobi. A fine man, a great actor and already very much missed!

Kathleen Riley, Australia "Now cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet prince, And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!" Sir Alec was the most unique actor of his generation and his death is a profoundly sad loss. His genius lay in the purity and honesty of his acting which was entirely unhindered by ego.

Kathleen Riley, Australia

My favourite was the pipe-major promoted from the ranks in 'Tunes of Glory' - the best film about the British Army ever made and a wonderful evocation of the traditions of the Highland Regiments. Sir Alec's sympathy and understanding of the part was incredible.

Jason Chess, UK

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. A brilliant performance. Lets hope the beeb will show this again soon.

Sergey, Russia I think that he was probably the most intelligent actor in UK. You can feel it watching his eyes. There was something in them that showed wisdom and compassion. You'd like to have him as a tutor for life.