Acclaimed British actor and director Richard Attenborough has died following a prolonged illness, BBC reports. He was 90 years old.
Richard Samuel Attenborough was born in Cambridge on August 29th, 1923. He is the older brother of renowned documentary maker David Attenborough.
Throughout his six decade career, Attenborough appeared in movies such as Brighton Rock, The Great Escape, Elizabeth, Miracle on 34th Street and Jurassic Park. In 1983, he went on to win two Academy Awards as producer and director of the film Ghandi.
It was a project that took Attenborough two decades to realise, and it quickly became his biggest success. Ghandi won eight Oscars, including best director and best actor for Ben Kingsley, five Golden Globes and five British Academy of Film and Television Art (BAFTA) awards.
He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1967, and was knighted in 1976.
The director and his family endured a terrible tragedy in 2004 when his elder daughter Jane Holland, her daughter Lucy and her mother-in-law, also named Jane, died in the Boxing Day tsunami.
Lord Attenborough had been living in a nursing home with his wife Sheila Shim, who he married in 1945, and had been confined to a wheelchair since falling down stairs six years ago. His son told the BBC that Lord Attenborough died at lunchtime on Sunday in the UK. His family is expected to make a full statement on Monday.
Tributes have begun to flow for the British legend. Prime Minister David Cameron said Attenborough was “one of the greats of cinema”. “His acting in ‘Brighton Rock’ was brilliant, his directing of ‘Gandhi” was stunning,’ he wrote on Twitter.
“Richard Attenborough was the kindest man I have ever had the privilege of working with. A Prince. RIP ‘Pa’ – and thank you.” wrote actor Mia Farrow.
