Matinee Classics - Alec Guinness Biography & Filmography

Alec Guinness ACTOR

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ALEC GUINNESS BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Sir Alec Guinness, an English actor, was born on April 2, 1914. He is best known for the versatility that he displayed in his sixty six years of acting, for he played in many roles on television and in film. His tall figure and ordinary appearance lent themselves well for a wide range of characters, and his subtle facial expressions were perfect for nearly every role. His is most likely one of the best known twentieth century British actors in America.

Guinness was interested in acting from his youth, but discouraged from attending his boarding school’s theatrical performances by his headmaster. Nevertheless, he still continued to appear in his school plays and received much praise, leading him to further explore his passion. After finishing his education, Guinness began working as a copywriter for an advertising agency in London. During his employment, he took up theater performing. In 1934, he debuted on the stage, and three years later he was given a permanent membership in John Gielgud’s London company. In 1942, Guinness made his first visit to the New York stage and reappeared in later years.

While the actor made an uncredited extra part in “Evensong” (1934), he did not transfer his stage acting to the screen until 1946, when he appeared in “Great Expectations”. However, it wasn’t until two years later that he had his first memorable onscreen role as Fagin in “Oliver Twist” (1948). By 1949, Guinness had become a moderately renowned actor and thus he performed in a series of Ealing Studios comedies. Most notably of these performances are his eight disguises in “Kind Hearts and Coronets” (1949), as well as “The Lavender Hill Mob” (1951), in which he received an Oscar nomination, “The Man in the White Suit” (1951), and “The Lady Killers” (1955). His next prominent role was in “The Bridge on the River Kwai” (1957) as a British POW. This part earned the actor both an Oscar and a Golden Globe, and it remains one of his most acclaimed pieces. He later worked with the movie’s director, David Lean, in additional films like the legendary “Doctor Zhivago” (1965) and “A Passage to India” (1984). Other noteworthy pictures that Guinness acted in during this decade include “The Swan” (1956) and “The Horse’s Mouth” (1958), a film that he helped write which actually produced for him an Academy Award nomination.

1959 bestowed upon Guinness probably one of his most prestigious recognitions, a knighting by Queen Elizabeth for his stage and screen success. Following, in 1960, he once again gave a great performance in his portrayal as another officer in “Tunes of Glory”. Additional exceptional acting was demonstrated by Guinness in “The Fall of the Roman Empire” (1964) and “The Quiller Memorandum” (1966). He also depicted Jacob Marley’s Ghost in “Scrooge” (1970), Charles I of England in “Cromwell” (1970), and the lead villain (which he claims was his best film appearance) in “Hitler: The Last Ten Days” (1973) superbly and convincingly.

Into the 1970's, Guinness began to appear more regularly on television, although he had made a few prior appearances and a TV movie, “Baker’s Dozen” in 1955. He continued to make himself present in shows until 1993, but never had a regular spot in a full running series. The actor furthermore performed in a total of five made for TV movies, not limited to “The Gift of Friendship” (1974), “Tales from Hollywood” (1992), and his final acting job ever, “Interview Day” (1996).

While Guinness had accumulated a lot of popularity throughout the ‘60's and ‘70's with movies like David Lean’s “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962) and Mel Brooks’ “Murder by Death” (1976), it was not until 1977 that he started playing his most remembered and familiar character. Director George Lucas begged him to depict Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi in his film, “Star Wars” (1977), although it is now titled “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope”. With much reluctance, the actor agreed. He ended up receiving worldwide recognition for the role, and was even nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe. Plus he won a couple other minor awards for the part. The actor went on to appear in two more Star Wars films: “Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back” (1980) and “Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi” (1983), although he wasn’t the biggest fan of being associated with his character.

In 1985, the actor published an autobiography titled “Blessings in Disguise”, and later published two additional works called “My Name Escapes Me: The Diary of a Retiring Actor” (1997) and “A Positively Final Appearance” (1999). Moreover, through the 1990's Guinness only acted in two additional pictures: “Kafka” (1991) and “Mute Witness” (1994). However, he did appear in one TV series, “Screen One” (1993), and two television movies.

In 1996, the actor retired from acting. Four years later, in January of 2000, Guinness was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Sadly, six months later he was also given the diagnosis of liver cancer which was at too late of stage to be operated on. On August 5, 2000 he passed away. However, he died with honor, for in 1980 he was bequeathed with the Honorary Award for his distinguished acting performances by the Academy Awards and in 1980 he was accepted into the Academy Fellowship from the British BAFTA Awards. He also gathered numerous other lifetime and special achievement awards. Furthermore, the actor has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his accomplishments in the motion picture industry.

Filmography

1996 Interview Day

1994 Mute Witness

1993 Screen One

1992 Tales from Hollywood

1991 Kafka

1988 A Handful of Dust

1988 Little Dorrit

1987 Great Performances

1984 A Passage to India

1984 Edwin

1983 Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi