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Theatre, Film, and Television Biographies
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Joan Greenwood to James Handy
Alec Guinness Biography (1914-2000)
Born Alec Guinness de Cuffe, on April 2, 1914, in London, England; son of Andrew (a banker) and Agnes (Cuffe) Guinness; married Merula Salaman (an actress), June 20, 1938; children: Matthew (an actor). Career: Actor, director, and writer. Advertising copywriter, Arks Publicity, 1933-34. Military service: Royal Navy, lieutenant commander, 1941-45. Member: BritishActors' Equity Association, Screen Actors Guild, Atheneum (London), GarrickClub. Awards, Honors: National Board of Review Award, best actor, 1950, for Kind Hearts and Coronets; Academy Award nomination, best actor,1952, for The Lavender Hill Mob; Decorated Commander, Order of the British Empire, 1955; BAFTA Film Award nomination, British Academy Awards, bestBritish actor, 1956, for The Prisoner; Academy Award, best actor, NewYork Film Critics' Award, best actor, and National Board of Review Award, best actor, BAFTA Award, best British film actor, all 1957, and Golden Globe Award, best actor, 1958, for The Bridge on the River Kwai; Volpi Cup, Venice Film Festival, best actor, and Academy Award nomination, best adaptation,both 1958, BAFTA Film Award nomination, best British screenplay, 1960, for The Horse's Mouth; London Evening Standard Award, 1960, for Ross; created Knight Bachelor, 1959; BAFTA Film Award nomination, best British actor, 1961, for Tunes of Glory; Antoinette Perry Award, best dramatic actor, Delia Austrian Medal for Distinguished Performance, Drama Leagueof New York, Page One Award, Newspaper Guild of New York, and Variety--New York Drama Critics' Poll Award, best performance by a male lead in a straight play, all 1964, for Dylan; Academy Award nomination, best supporting actor, 1977, and Golden Globe Award nomination, best supporting actor,1978, for Star Wars; BAFTA Award, best television actor, 1979, for Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; Special Academy Award for Contributions toFilm, 1979; Honorary Award, Academy Awards, 1980, for advancing the art of screen acting through a host of memorable and distinguished performances; BAFTAAward, best television actor, 1982, for Smiley's People; ShakespearePrize, 1985; Ehron Baer Award for Lifetime Achievement, Berlin Film Festival,1988; Fellowship Award, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, 1988; Academy Award nomination, best supporting actor, Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award, best supporting actor, both 1988, Golden Globe Award nomination, best supporting actor, 1989, for Little Dorrit; Olivier Award nomination, 1989, for A Walk in the Woods; named Companion of Honor, 1994;Life Achievement Award, European Film Awards, 1996. Honorary degrees: Doctorate of Fine Arts, Boston College, 1962; Doctorate of Literature, Oxford University, 1978; Doctorate of Literature, Cambridge University, 1991. Addresses: Agent: London Management, 235-241 Regent St., London W1A 2JT, England.
- Nationality
- English
- Gender
- Male
- Occupation
- Actor, director, writer
- Birth Details
- April 2, 1914
- London, England
- Death Details
- August 5, 2000
- Midhurst, England
Famous Works
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CREDITS
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Stage Appearances
- (Stage debut) Libel!, Playhouse Theatre, London, 1934
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Queer Cargo, Piccadilly Theatre, London, 1934
- Osric and third player, Hamlet, New Theatre, London, 1934
- The Wolf, Noah, New Theatre, 1935
- Sampson and apothecary, Romeo and Juliet, New Theatre, 1935
- Workman and Yakov, The Seagull, New Theatre, 1936
- Boyet, Love's Labour's Lost, Old Vic Theatre Company, Old Vic Theatre London, 1936
- Le Beau and William, As You Like It, Old Vic Theatre Company, OldVic Theatre, 1936
- Old Thorney, The Witch of Edmonton, Old Vic Theatre Company, Old Vic Theatre, 1936
- Reynaldo and Osric, Hamlet, Old Vic Theatre Company, Old Vic Theatre, 1937
- Sir Andrew Aguecheek, Twelfth Night, Old Vic Theatre Company, OldVic Theatre, 1937
- Exeter, Henry V, Old Vic Theatre Company, Old Vic Theatre, 1937
- Aumerle and the groom, Richard III, John Gielgud Company, Queen'sTheatre, London, 1937
- Snake, The School for Scandal, John Gielgud Company, Queen's Theatre, 1937
- Osric, Reynaldo, and Player Queen, Hamlet, Kronborg Castle, Elsinore, Denmark, 1937
- Feodotik, The Three Sisters, John Gielgud Company, Queen's Theatre, 1938
- Lorenzo, The Merchant of Venice, John Gielgud Company, Queen's Theatre, 1938
- Arthur Gower, Trelawny of the Wells, Old Vic Company, Old Vic Theatre, 1938
- Title role, Hamlet, Old Vic Theatre Company, Old Vic Theatre, 1938
- Bob Acres, The Rivals, Old Vic Theatre Company, Old Vic Theatre, 1938
- Louis Debedat, The Doctor's Dilemma, Richmond, 1938
- Michael Ransom, The Ascent of F.6, Old Vic Theatre Company, Old Vic Theatre, 1939
- Romeo, Romeo and Juliet, Scottish Theatre Festival, Perth, Scotland, 1939
- Herbert Pockett, Great Expectations, Rudolf Steiner Hall, London,1939
- Richard Meilhac, Cousin Muriel, Globe Theatre, London, 1940
- Ferdinand, The Tempest, Old Vic Theatre, 1940
- Lieutenant Teddy Graham, Flare Path, Henry Miller's Theatre, New York City, 1942
- Mitya Karamazov, The Brothers Karamazov, Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, London, 1946
- Garcin, Vicious Circle, Arts Theatre, London, 1946
- Fool, King Lear, Old Vic Theatre Company, New Theatre, 1946
- Eric Birling, An Inspector Calls, Old Vic Theatre Company, New Theatre, 1947
- Comte de Guiche, Cyrano de Bergerac, Old Vic Theatre Company, NewTheatre, 1947
- Abel Drugger, The Alchemist, Old Vic Theatre Company, New Theatre,1947
- Title role, Richard III, Old Vic Theatre Company, New Theatre, 1947
- The Dauphin, Saint Joan, Old Vic Theatre, New Theatre, 1947
- Hlestakov, The Government Inspector, Old Vic Theatre Company, NewTheatre, 1948
- Menenius Agrippa, Coriolanus, Old Vic Theatre Company, New Theatre, 1948
- Dr. James Y. Simpson, The Human Touch, Savoy Theatre, London, 1949
- Unidentified guest, The Cocktail Party, Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh,Scotland, 1949then Henry Miller's Theatre, New York City, 1950
- Title role, Hamlet, New Theatre, 1951
- The Scientist, Under the Sycamore Tree, Aldwych Theatre, London, 1952
- Title role, Richard III, Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Stratford, Ontario, Canada, 1953
- King, All's Well That Ends Well, Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Stratford, Ontario, Canada, 1953
- Title role, The Prisoner, Globe Theatre, 1954
- Boniface, Hotel Paradiso, Winter Garden Theatre, New York City, 1956
- Title role, Ross, Haymarket Theatre, London, 1960
- Berenger the First, Exit the King, Edinburgh Festival, then RoyalCourt Theatre, London, both 1963
- Title role, Dylan, Plymouth Theatre, New York City, 1964
- Von Berg, Incident at Vichy, Phoenix Theatre, London, 1966
- Title role, Macbeth, Royal Court Theatre, London, 1966
- Mrs. Artminster, Wise Child, Wyndham's Theatre, London, 1968
- Harcourt-Reilly, The Cocktail Party, Chichester Festival, Chichester, England, then Wyndham's Theatre, both 1968
- John, Time Out of Mind, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford, England,1970
- Father, Voyage 'round My Father, Haymarket Theatre, 1971
- Arthur Wicksteed, Habeas Corpus, Lyric Theatre, London, 1973
- Dudley, Family and a Fortune, Apollo Theatre, London, 1975
- Jonathan Swift, Yahoo, Queen's Theatre, London, 1976
- Hilary, The Old Country, Queen's Theatre, 1977
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The Merchant of Venice, Chichester Festival, 1984
- Andrey Botvinnik, A Walk in the Woods, Comedy Theatre, London, 1989
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Major Tours
- Title role, Hamlet, European and Egyptian cities, 1938
- Bob Acres, The Rivals, European and Egyptian cities, 1938
- Chorus, Henry V, European and Egyptian cities, 1938
- Emile Flordon, Libel!, European and Egyptian cities, 1938
- Charleston, Thunder Rock, British cities, 1940
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Stage Work
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Director
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Twelfth Night, Old Vic Theatre Company, New Theatre, 1948
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Hamlet, New Theatre, 1951
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The Cocktail Party, Chichester Festival, then Wyndham's Theatre, both 1968
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Film Appearances
- (Film debut) Herbert Pocket, Great Expectations, Universal, 1946
- The Duke, the Parson, the Banker, the General, the Admiral, Young AscoyneD'Ascoyne, Young Henry, and Lady Agatha, Kind Hearts and Coronets, General Film Distributors, 1949
- George Bird, Last Holiday, Stratford, 1950
- Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, The Mudlark, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1950
- Whimple, A Run for Your Money, Universal, 1950
- Henry Holland, The Lavender Hill Mob, Universal, 1951
- Fagin, Oliver Twist, Rank/United Artists, 1951
- Sidney Stratton, The Man in the White Suit, Rank/Universal, 1952
- Edward Henry "Denry" Machin, The Promoter (also known as The Card), Universal, 1952
- Captain Henry St. James, The Captain's Paradise, British Lion, 1953
- Narrator, The Square Mile, 1953
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Stratford Adventure (documentary), 1954
- Flight Lieutenant Pete Ross, Malta Story, United Artists, 1954
- Narrator, Rowlandson's England, 1955
- Father Brown, The Detective (also known as Father Brown), Columbia, 1955
- Title role, The Prisoner, Columbia, 1955
- Colonel Sir Edgar Fraser, To Paris With Love, Continental Distributing, 1956
- Professor Marcus, The Lady Killers, Continental Distributing, 1956
- Prince Albert, The Swan, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1956
- Colonel Nicholson, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Columbia, 1957
- Captain Ambrose, All at Sea (also known as Barnacle Bill),Metro- Goldwyn- Mayer, 1958
- Gully Jimson, The Horse's Mouth, United Artists, 1958
- Jacques De Gue and John Barrett, The Scapegoat, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1959
- Jim Wormold, Our Man in Havana, Columbia, 1960
- Lieutenant Colonel Jock Sinclair, Tunes of Glory, Lopert, 1960
- Koichi Asano, A Majority of One, Warner Bros., 1961
- Captain Crawford, Damn the Defiant! (also known as H.M.S. Defiant), Columbia, 1962
- Prince Feisal, Lawrence of Arabia, Columbia, 1962
- Marcus Aurelius, The Fall of the Roman Empire, Paramount, 1964
- General Yevgraf Zhivago, Doctor Zhivago, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1965
- Herr Frick, Situation Hopeless--But Not Serious, Paramount, 1965
- Benedict Boniface, Hotel Paradiso, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1966
- Pol, The Quiller Memorandum, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1966
- Major Jones, The Comedians, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1967
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The Comedians in Africa, 1967
- King Charles I, Cromwell, Columbia, 1970
- Jacob Marley's ghost, Scrooge, National General, 1970
- Pope Innocent III, Brother Sun, Sister Moon (also known as Fratello Sole, Sorella Luna), Paramount, 1973
- Adolf Hitler, Hitler: The Last Ten Days, Paramount, 1973
- Butler Jamesir Bensonmum, Murder by Death, Columbia, 1976
- Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars (also known as Star Wars EpisodeIV: A New Hope), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1977
- Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Empire Strikes Back (also known as StarWars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1980
- John Bigalow, Raise the Titanic, Associated Film Distribution, 1980
- Sigmund Freud, Love Sick, Warner Bros., 1983
- Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi, Return of the Jedi (also known as Star WarsEpisode VI: Return of the Jedi), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1983
- Professor Godbole, A Passage to India, Columbia, 1984
- Man in the white suit, Future Schlock, 1984
- William Dorrit, Little Dorrit, Sands Film/Cannnon, 1987
- Mr. Todd, A Handful of Dust, New Line Cinema, 1988
- The chief clerk, Kafka, Baltimore Pictures, 1991
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Television Appearances
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Miniseries
- George Smiley, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, BBC, 1979then broadcast in the U.S. on Great Performances, PBS, 1980
- George Smiley, Smiley's People, BBC, then syndicated, 1982
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Episodic
- "The Wicked Scheme of Jebel Deeks," Ford Startime, NBC, 1959
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The Ed Sullivan Show, CBS, 1964
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Specials
- Host, The Actor (documentary), ABC (British television), 1968
- Caesar, "Caesar and Cleopatra," Hallmark Hall of Fame, NBC, 1976
- Father Quixote, Monsignor Quixote, Thames, 1985then Great Performances, PBS, 1987
- "Grace Kelly--The American Princess," Crazy About the Movies, Cinemax, 1987
- Malvolio, Twelfth Night (also known as Shakespeare Festival: Twelfth Night), Arts and Entertainment, 1990
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David Lean: A Life in Film, Arts and Entertainment, 1991
- Heinrich Mann, "Tales from Hollywood," American Playhouse, PBS, 1992
- Amos, "A Foreign Field," Masterpiece Theatre, PBS, 1994
- James Poole, Interview Day (also known as Eskimo Day), PBS,1996
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Movies;
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Conversation at Night, 1969
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E.E. Cummings, 1970
- Earl of Dorincourt, Little Lord Fauntleroy, CBS, 1980
- Sir Fennimore Triscott, Edwin, 1984
- The reaper, Mute Witness, BBC, 1996
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RECORDINGS
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Taped Readings
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My Name Escapes Me: The Diary of a Retiring Actor, Penguin Audio,1997
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WRITINGS
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Plays
- (Adaptor) Great Expectations (from the novel by Charles Dickens),Rudolf Steiner Hall, London, 1939
- (Adaptor) The Brothers Karamazov (from the novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky), Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, London, 1946
- (Creator with Alan Strachan) Yahoo, Queen's Theatre, London, 1976
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Screenplays
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The Horse's Mouth, United Artists, 1958
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Books
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Blessing in Disguise (autobiography), Knopf, 1985
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My Name Escapes Me: The Diary of a Retiring Actor, Viking, 1997
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