Sir
Alec Guinness, CH, CBE (April 2, 1914–August 5,
2000) was an English actor who became one of the most
versatile and best-loved performers of his generation.
Born
in London, he first worked writing copy for advertising
before making his debut at the Old Vic in 1936. He
married the artist, playwright, and actress Merula
Salaman in 1938, and they had a son, Matthew, in 1940.
Alec
Guinness served in the Royal Navy throughout World
War II, serving first as a seaman in 1941 and being
commissioned the following year. He commanded a landing
craft taking part in the invasion of Sicily and Elba
and later ferried supplies to the Yugoslav partisans.
During the War he appeared in Terence Rattigan's West
End Play for Bomber Command, Flare Path. He returned
to the Old Vic in 1946.
He
was initially mainly associated with the Ealing comedies,
and particularly for playing eight different characters
in Kind Hearts and Coronets. Other films from this
period included The Lavender Hill Mob, The Ladykillers,
and The Man in the White Suit. In 1952, director Ronald
Neame cast Guinness in his first romantic lead role,
opposite Petula Clark in The Card.
In
1954, during the shooting of the film Father Brown,
he converted to Roman Catholicism and became devout,
attending church regularly for the rest of his life.
Guinness
was also a talented dramatic and character actor.
His film appearances ranged from Lawrence of Arabia
to The Bridge on the River Kwai, for which he won
an Academy Award as best actor in 1957. He was nominated
again in 1958 for his screenplay adapted from Joyce
Cary's novel The Horse's Mouth. He also received an
Academy Honorary Award for lifetime achievements in
1980. From the 1970s, Guinness made regular television
appearances, including the part of George Smiley in
the serialisations of two novels by John le Carré:
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Smiley's People.
One of his last appearances was in the acclaimed BBC
drama Eskimo Day.
His role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the immensely successful
original Star Wars trilogy brought him worldwide recognition
to a new generation. However, he was never happy with
being identified with the part. He would throw out
any fan mail regarding Star Wars without reading it.
He
was appointed CBE in 1955, was knighted in 1959, and
became a Companion of Honour in 1994. He has a star
on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1559 Vine Street.
Guinness
wrote three volumes of bestselling autobiography,
beginning with Blessings in Disguise in 1985, followed
by My Name Escapes Me in 1996, and A Positively Final
Appearance in 1999.
Guinness
died of liver cancer on August 5, 2000, at Midhurst
in West Sussex, and was interred near Petersfield,
Hampshire, England.
Revelations in biography
A 2003 biography of Guinness, by the author Piers
Paul Read, revealed that the actor was bisexual, and
before his marriage had had several homosexual relationships.
It also revealed that the actor was arrested in Liverpool
in 1948 for cottaging (soliciting for sex in a public
toilet). When arrested, the actor gave as his name
Herbert Pocket, the character he had just played in
David Lean's film version of Great Expectations and
was prosecuted and fined under that name. He avoided
public scandal because the police did not realize
the true identity of "Pocket" until decades
later.
Other
accounts give the date of the Liverpool arrest as
1946. Either date is several years after his 1938
marriage.
The
biography also states, on the basis of letters written
by his wife, Merula, that Guinness was an emotionally
abusive husband who regularly publicly humiliated
both his wife and son. Merula planned to write a book
about her relationship with Guinness but died before
the book was written.
source from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
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