Sir Alec Guinness, CH, CBE (born Alec Guinness de Cuffe; 2 April 1914
â€" 5 August 2000) was an English actor. After an early career on the
stage, Guinness was featured in several of the Ealing Comedies,
including Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), in which he played nine
different characters, The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), for which he
received his first Academy Award nomination, and The Ladykillers
(1955). He collaborated six times with director David Lean: Herbert
Pocket in Great Expectations (1946), Fagin in Oliver Twist (1948),
Col. Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957, for which he won
the Academy Award for Best Actor and the BAFTA Award for Best Actor),
Prince Faisal in Lawrence of Arabia (1962), General Yevgraf Zhivago in
Doctor Zhivago (1965), and Professor Godbole in A Passage to India
(1984). He also portrayed Obi-Wan Kenobi in George Lucas's original
Star Wars trilogy; for the original 1977 film, he was nominated for
Best Supporting Actor at the 50th Academy Awards.Guinness began his
stage career in 1934. Two years later, at the age of 22, he played the
role of Osric in Hamlet in the West End and joined the Old Vic. He
continued to play Shakespearean roles throughout his career. He was
one of three British actors, along with Laurence Olivier and John
Gielgud, who made the transition from theatre to films after the
Second World War. Guinness served in the Royal Naval Reserve during
the war and commanded a landing craft during the invasion of Sicily
and Elba. During the war he was granted leave to appear in the stage
play Flare Path about RAF Bomber Command.Guinness won an Academy
Award, a BAFTA, a Golden Globe and a Tony Award. In 1959 he was
knighted by Elizabeth II for services to the arts. He received a star
on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960, the Academy Honorary Award for
lifetime achievement in 1980 and the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award in
1989. Guinness appeared in nine films that featured in the BFI's 100
greatest British films of the 20th century, which included five of
Lean's films.
â€" 5 August 2000) was an English actor. After an early career on the
stage, Guinness was featured in several of the Ealing Comedies,
including Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), in which he played nine
different characters, The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), for which he
received his first Academy Award nomination, and The Ladykillers
(1955). He collaborated six times with director David Lean: Herbert
Pocket in Great Expectations (1946), Fagin in Oliver Twist (1948),
Col. Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957, for which he won
the Academy Award for Best Actor and the BAFTA Award for Best Actor),
Prince Faisal in Lawrence of Arabia (1962), General Yevgraf Zhivago in
Doctor Zhivago (1965), and Professor Godbole in A Passage to India
(1984). He also portrayed Obi-Wan Kenobi in George Lucas's original
Star Wars trilogy; for the original 1977 film, he was nominated for
Best Supporting Actor at the 50th Academy Awards.Guinness began his
stage career in 1934. Two years later, at the age of 22, he played the
role of Osric in Hamlet in the West End and joined the Old Vic. He
continued to play Shakespearean roles throughout his career. He was
one of three British actors, along with Laurence Olivier and John
Gielgud, who made the transition from theatre to films after the
Second World War. Guinness served in the Royal Naval Reserve during
the war and commanded a landing craft during the invasion of Sicily
and Elba. During the war he was granted leave to appear in the stage
play Flare Path about RAF Bomber Command.Guinness won an Academy
Award, a BAFTA, a Golden Globe and a Tony Award. In 1959 he was
knighted by Elizabeth II for services to the arts. He received a star
on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960, the Academy Honorary Award for
lifetime achievement in 1980 and the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award in
1989. Guinness appeared in nine films that featured in the BFI's 100
greatest British films of the 20th century, which included five of
Lean's films.
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