Alec Guinness
born: 02-04-1914
birth place: London, England.
died: 05-08-2000
After finishing school in 1932, Guinness began working as an apprentice copywriter in a London advertising agency.
His desire to act soon won him over and, in 1933 he auditioned for, and won, a modest scholarship to the Fay Compton Studio of Dramatic Art, debuting on stage in 1934 in 'Queer Cargo' and later in 'Hamlet'.
By the time World War II began and Guinness enlisted in the Royal Navy, he had appeared in over 20 major stage productions, and had worked with such acting heavyweights as Sir John Gielgud, Laurence Olivier, Peggy Ashcroft, and Edith Evans.
Guinness' film career began with his portrayal of Herbert Pocket in 'Great Expectations', followed by his role as Fagin in 'Oliver Twist'.
He earned a best actor Oscar and Golden Globe for 'The Bridge on the River Kwai', and received another Oscar nomination the next year, this time as a screenwriter, for the satirical film 'The Horse's Mouth'. Other Academy nominations have included 'The Lavender Hill Mob', 'Star Wars' and 'Little Dorrit'.
He reached a whole new generation of film audiences with his role as Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi in the blockbuster hit 'Star Wars', and reprised the role in the film's equally successful sequels, 'The Empire Strikes Back' and 'Return of the Jedi'.
Guinness reportedly hated working on 'Star Wars' so much that he claims Obi-Wan's death was his idea, as a means to limit his involvement in the film.
He was Awarded a CBE in 1955 and, four years later, he was knighted for his accomplishments in theatre and film. He also received an Honorary Academy Award for 'advancing the art of screen acting through a host of memorable and distinguished performances'.
Guinness played John Le Carré's master spy, George Smiley, in a pair of acclaimed 1980s TV mini-series, 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy' and 'Smiley's People'.
Guinness married the artist, playwright, and actress, Merula Salaman in 1938, and they had a son in 1940, Matthew Guinness, who later became an actor.
He sadly died from liver cancer in Sussex in 2000.
