Robert William Hoskins (26 October 1942 â€" 29 April 2014) was an
English actor. His work included lead roles in Pennies from Heaven
(1978), The Long Good Friday (1980), Mona Lisa (1986), Who Framed
Roger Rabbit (1988), Mermaids (1990), and Super Mario Bros. (1993),
and supporting performances in Brazil (1985), Hook (1991), Nixon
(1995), Enemy at the Gates (2001), Mrs Henderson Presents (2005), A
Christmas Carol (2009), Made in Dagenham (2010), and Snow White and
the Huntsman (2012). He also directed two feature films: The Raggedy
Rawney (1988) and Rainbow (1996).Hoskins received the Best Actor Award
at the Cannes Film Festival, the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a
Leading Role and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor â€" Motion
Picture Drama for his role in Mona Lisa. He was also nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Actor for the same role. In 2009, Hoskins won
an International Emmy Award for Best Actor for his appearance on the
BBC One drama The Street. Hoskins retired from acting in 2012 because
he had developed Parkinson's disease, and died from pneumonia on 29
April 2014, at age 71.Hoskins was born in Bury St Edmunds, West
Suffolk, on 26 October 1942 to Robert Hoskins, a bookkeeper and lorry
driver, and Elsie (née Hopkins) Hoskins, a cook and nursery school
teacher. His grandmother was Romani. From two weeks old he was brought
up in Finsbury Park, London. He attended Stroud Green Secondary School
where he was written off as stupid on account of his dyslexia. He left
school at 15 with a single O-Level and worked as a porter, lorry
driver, plumber and window cleaner. He started but did not complete a
3-year accountancy course. He spent half a year in Israel on a
kibbutz, and two years in Syria tending the camels of a Bedouin tribe.
English actor. His work included lead roles in Pennies from Heaven
(1978), The Long Good Friday (1980), Mona Lisa (1986), Who Framed
Roger Rabbit (1988), Mermaids (1990), and Super Mario Bros. (1993),
and supporting performances in Brazil (1985), Hook (1991), Nixon
(1995), Enemy at the Gates (2001), Mrs Henderson Presents (2005), A
Christmas Carol (2009), Made in Dagenham (2010), and Snow White and
the Huntsman (2012). He also directed two feature films: The Raggedy
Rawney (1988) and Rainbow (1996).Hoskins received the Best Actor Award
at the Cannes Film Festival, the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a
Leading Role and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor â€" Motion
Picture Drama for his role in Mona Lisa. He was also nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Actor for the same role. In 2009, Hoskins won
an International Emmy Award for Best Actor for his appearance on the
BBC One drama The Street. Hoskins retired from acting in 2012 because
he had developed Parkinson's disease, and died from pneumonia on 29
April 2014, at age 71.Hoskins was born in Bury St Edmunds, West
Suffolk, on 26 October 1942 to Robert Hoskins, a bookkeeper and lorry
driver, and Elsie (née Hopkins) Hoskins, a cook and nursery school
teacher. His grandmother was Romani. From two weeks old he was brought
up in Finsbury Park, London. He attended Stroud Green Secondary School
where he was written off as stupid on account of his dyslexia. He left
school at 15 with a single O-Level and worked as a porter, lorry
driver, plumber and window cleaner. He started but did not complete a
3-year accountancy course. He spent half a year in Israel on a
kibbutz, and two years in Syria tending the camels of a Bedouin tribe.
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