Sir Alec Guinness

Alec Guinness (born Alec Guinness de Cuffe) was born April 2, 1914 in London to Agnes de Cuffe and a father he never knew. He was 5' 11" tall. 

Young Guinness was discouraged by his headmaster at Pembroke Lodge (a boarding school), from attending school theatrical performances. While enrolled in Roborough School in Eastbourne, his role as the 'urgent messenger' in the schools' production of Macbeth rekindled his passion for acting.  His peers and teachers praised him on his small but powerful performance. 

 In 1932 Guinness finished his schooling then worked as an apprentice copywriter for an advertising agency in London.  In 1933 he applied to the Fay Compton Studio of Dramatic Arts which had granted him a scholarship, he was accepted but, he found the classes tedious and boring.  He left seven months later, with a major award presented by the judges, one of them John Gielgud. 

 In 1934 Guinness got three small bit parts in a production called Queer Cargo, and a walk-on part in Libel.  With little money and less food he braved the odds and called Gielgud, at the time very successful and ten years his senior.  Gielgud cast him as Osric and the Third Player in his production of Hamlet at the New Theatre.  This added to his credits and spawned other parts.

In 1938  he played Hamlet in a Tyrone Guthrie production at the Old Vic.  Between 1938 and 1941 he played 34 roles in 23 plays.  In 1941 he enlisted in the Royal Navy becoming a landing-craft operator.  After the war Guinness resumed his stage and newfound writing career portraying the role of Mitya in his own rendition of Dostoyevski's Brothers Karamazov. 

 Other roles included Sartre's Vicious Circle, the Dauphin in Shaw's Saint Joan and, in the title role of Shakespeare's Richard II.  Within the year after the war Guinness decided to try film....and what an impressive start.  The director David Lean cast him as Pocket in Dickens' Great Expectations.  He then played Fagin in Oliver Twist another Dickens classic.  In 1949 he made A Run for Your Money and Kind Hearts and Coronets (in which he played eight different characters), it was this performance that really brought him the most recognition and exploited his tremendous skill at playing a large variety of roles.  Other roles in 1949 include, a ruminative psychiatrist in T.S. Elliot's Cocktail Party (so successful he took it to Broadway).  There are a few performances that were small yet memorable: a bank clerk who masterminds the smuggling of gold bullion out of England in The Lavender Hill Mob 1951, a flirtatious skipper in the comedy The Captain's Paradise 1953 and as a sly sleuth in The Detective 1954. 

 One of the most appealing roles was as Colonel Nicholson in Bridge on the River Kwai, the second film he did for David Lean, for which he won an Oscar in 1958 ( he also starred in two other David Lean films: Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago).  In the same year he was Oscar nominated for his screenplay for The Horse's Mouth AND knighted by Queen Elizabeth.  

Guinness did not leave the stage altogether, in 1964 he played the title role in Dylan (about the last months of poet Dylan Thomas), so well was this role played that Guinness won nearly every stage award given for that year.  In 1977 Guinness was cast by George Lucas in Star Wars, another small yet memorable role, he was Oscar-nominated for the part of Obi-Wan Kenobi the following year.  The part of Kenobi made Guinness famous to a whole new generation.  

In 1980 he was awarded an honorary Oscar for acting.  He played Kenobi two more times in, The Empire Strikes Back 1980 and The Return of the Jedi 1983.  He made appearances in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Smiley's People on television, again small roles with a lasting impression.  

Sir Alec Guinness died of cancer at the King Edward VII Hospital in Midhurst, West Sussex on Saturday, August 5, 2000, after being in ill health for a number of years.  He was aged 86 and was survived by his wife (married June 20, 1938) actress/playwright Merula Salaman (who died just two months later) and his son Matthew (Born 1939), who is an actor.

 

 

Film
Making of The Bridge on the River Kwai, The~2000 (V) (archive footage) - Himself

Foreign Field, A~1993 - Amos

Grace Kelly: The American Princess~1991 (V) (archive footage) (uncredited) - Himself (relays the tomahawk story)

Grace Kelly: The American Princess~1991(V) (thanks)

Kafka~1991 - The Chief Clerk

Handful of Dust, A~1988 - Mr. Todd

Little Dorrit~1988 - William Dorrit (see Actor Connections - Film)

Passage to India, A~1984 - Professor Godbole

Lovesick~1983 - Ghost of Sigmund Freud

Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi~1983 - Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ben)

Raise the Titanic~1980 - John Bigalow

Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back~1980 - Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ben)

To See Such Fun~1977 - Himself

Star Wars~1977 - Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ben)  (Guinness's favorite film- because, "it made me a millionaire!")

Murder by Death~1976 - Jamesir Bensonmum

Brother Sun, Sister Moon~1973 - Pope Innocent III

Hitler: The Last Ten Days~1973 - Adolf Hitler (see Actor Connections - Film)

Scrooge~1970 - Jacob Marley's Ghost (see Actor Connections - Film)

Cromwell~1970 - King Charles I (see Actor Connections - Film)

Comedians in Africa, The~1967 (uncredited) - Himself

Comedians, The~1967 - Major Jones

Quiller Memorandum, The~1966 - Pol

Hotel Paradiso~1966 - Benedict Boniface

Pasternak~1965 (uncredited) - Himself

Situation Hopeless...But Not Serious~1965 - Wilhelm Frick

Doctor Zhivago~1965 - General Yevgraf Zhivago

Fall of the Roman Empire, The~1964 - Marcus Aurelius

Lawrence of Arabia~1962 - Prince Faisal (see Actor Connections - Film)

H.M.S. Defiant~1962 - Captain Crawford

Majority of One, A~1961 - Koichi Asano

Tunes of Glory~1960 - Major Jock Sinclair

Our Man in Havana~1960 - Jim Wormold

Scapegoat, The~1959 - John Barratt/Jacques De Gue

Horse's Mouth, The~1958 - Gulley Jimson (see Actor Connections - Film)

Barnacle Bill~1957 - William Horatio Ambrose/six ancestors

Bridge on the River Kwai, The~1957 - Colonel Nicholson

Swan, The~1956 - Prince Albert

Ladykillers, The~1955 - Professor Marcus

Prisoner, The~1955 - The Cardinal

Rowlandson's England~1955 - Narrator

To Paris with Love~1955 - Colonel Sir Edgar Fraser

Stratford Adventure, The~1954 - Himself

Father Brown<The Detective>~1954 - Father Brown

Malta Story, The~1953 - Flight Lieutenant Peter Ross

Square Mile, The~1953 (voice) - Narrator

Captain's Paradise, The~1953 - Captain Henry St. James

Card, The~1952 - Edward Henry 'Denry' Machin

Lavender Hill Mob, The~1951 - Holland

Man in the White Suit, The~1951 - Sidney Stratton

Last Holiday~1950 - George Bird

Mudlark, The~1950 - Benjamin Disraeli

  Kind Hearts and Coronets~1949 - The Duke/The Banker/The Parson/The General, The Admiral/ Young Ascoyne/Young Henry/Lady Agatha d'Ascoyne

Run for Your Money, A~1949 - Whimple

Oliver Twist~1948 - Fagin

Great Expectations~1946 - Herbert Pocket

Evensong~1934 (uncredited) - Extra (W.W.I  soldier in concert audience)

 

Writer - Screenplay
Horse's Mouth, The~1958

Yahoo~1976 (co-authored)

 

TV
Eskimo Day~1996 - James

Mute Witness~1994 - (as Mystery Guest Star) - The Reaper 1996

Tales From Hollywood~1992  - Heinrich Mann

Monsignor Quixote~1985  - Father Quixote

Edwin~1984  - Sir Fennimore Turscott

Smiley's People~1982  series - George Smiley

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy~1980 mini series - George Smiley (see Actor Connections - TV)

Little Lord Fauntleroy~1980  - Earl of Dorincourt

Great Performances~1972  Smiley in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy 1979

Caesar and Cleopatra~1976  - Julius Caesar

E.E. Cummings~1970  -Scrooge~1970 - Jacob Marley's Ghost

Conversation at Night~1969  -

Twelfth Night~1969  - Malvolio

The Ed Sullivan Show<The Toast of the Town~1948  - Himself/Interviewee 1964

Startime~1959  - in  Wicked Scheme of Jebal Deeks, The 11/10/1959

 

Audio Books

The Waste Land

The Waste Land

Four Quartets and Other Poems - T.S. Elliot, Alec Guinness (narrator)

Classics for Children - The Boston Pops with Arthur Fiedler~1952-1961 - Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf - Narrator

 

Classics for Children the Boston Pops with Arthur Fielder~1952-1961  Album Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf (Narrated by Sir Alec Guinness)

 

Theater

Yahoo~1976 

Jonathan Swift~1976

Cocktail Party, The~1964 - Reilly (New York)

Dylan~1964 - Dylan Thomas (New York)

Exit the King~1963 - (Lyceum Theatre, London, UK; Edinburgh, Scotland, UK)

As You Like It~1956 - 

Love's Labour's Lost~1956 - 

Witch of Edmonton, The~1956 - 

The Prisoner~1953 - The Cardinal (London)

Hotel Paradise~1953 (London)

Richard III~1953 - Richard III (Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario, Canada) (see Actor Connections - Theatre)

All's Well That Ends Well~1953 - The King ( Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario, Canada)

Under the Sycamore Tree~1952 - 

Under the Sycamore Tree~1952 -

Hamlet~ 1951 ( an unsuccessful and controversial production of Hamlet in which he starred and also directed)

Hamlet~1951 (an unsuccessful and controversial production of Hamlet in which he starred and also directed)

Cocktail Party~1950 - (New York)

Coriolanus~1948 - Menenius (Old Vic, London, UK)

Brothers Karamazov~ 1946  - Mitya (his own adaptation) 

King Lear~ 1946  - The Fool 

Vicious Circle~ 1946 

An Inspector Calls~ 1946 

Cyrano de Bergerac~ 1946 - (Old Vic Theatre, London, UK)

The Alchemist~ 1946  

The Government Inspector~ 1946  

Coriolanus~ 1946 

Merchant of Venice~1946 - 

Richard II~1946 - Richard II 

School for Scandal~1946 - 

Three Sisters~1946 - 

Twelfth Night~1946 - Andrew Aguecheek 

The Human Touch~ 1946 

Flare Path~ 1942-3 (Broadway, NY, NY)

Cousin Muriel~1940 - (Old Vic, London, UK)

Rivals, The~1940   

Tempest, The~1940 - (Old Vic, London, UK)

Thunder Rock~1940 - (tour)

Trelawney of the Wells~1940  (European and Egyptian tours)

Henry V~1940

Great Expectations~1939 - Herbert Pocket (Initially set for the Shaftesbury Theatre in London but by the time the play was ready the theatre had been bombed out by the war; Scottish Theatre Festival)

Romeo and Juliet~ 1939  - Romeo (Scottish Theatre Festival, )

Hamlet~ 1938 - Understudy to Olivier's Hamlet ( Old Vic, London UK; European and Egyptian tours)

Three Sisters~1938

Noah~1937 - 

The Seagull~ 1937

Love's Labours Lost~1936 ( Old Vic, London UK)

As You Like It~1936 ( Old Vic, London UK)

The Witch of Edmonton~1936 ( Old Vic, London UK)

Queer Cargo~1934

Libel~1934 - Walk-on part

Hamlet~1934 - Osric and the Third Player (cast by Gielgud) (New Theatre, Fay Compton, UK)

Merchant of Venice~ - Shylock

John Gielgud's Repertory Company: Noah 

Romeo and Juliet~ - Romeo

School for Scandal~ 

Cousin Muriel~ 

Richard III~ - Gloucester

The Tempest~ 

Thunder Rock~ (toured with)
Under the Sycamore Tree~
Macbeth~1920's - Urgent Messenger (his first)

Conversations at Night~ - The Visitor

The Importance of Being Ernest~ - Jack 

 

Theatre Writer

Great Expectations~1939  - adaptation (Scottish Theatre Festival) 

 

Radio

Kaleidescope

 

Books
Alec Guinness~2005 - Piers Paul Read (authorized)

Alec Guinness: A Celebration~2001 - John Russell Taylor

Guinness~1991 - Robert Tanitch

Alec Guinness: The Films - Kenneth Von Gunden

Alec Guinness: Master of Disguise - Garry O'Connor

Alec Guinness on Screen - Allan Hunter

Dear Alec: Guinness at 75 - Ronald Harwood

A Positively Final Appearance: A Journal 1996-98 (expressed a devotion to The Simpsons TV show)
Blessings in Disguise

My Name Escapes Me: The Diary of a Retiring Actor

 

Video Games

Star Wars~1983  (voice) - Obi-Wan Kenobi

 

Awards, Honors and Nominations
Academy Awards (Oscar):

Nom 1988 Actor in a Supporting Role - Little Dorrit

Rec'd 1979  Honorary Award for Acting

Nom 1977 Actor in a Supporting Role - Star Wars

Nom 1958 Writing/Screenplay - The Horse's Mouth

Rec'd 1957 Actor  - Bridge on the River Kwai

Rec'd 1957 Actor  - Bridge on the River Kwai

Nom 1958 Writing/Screenplay for The Horse's Mouth

Rec'd 1957 Actor  - Bridge on the River Kwai

Rec'd 1957 Actor  - Bridge on the River Kwai

Nom 1952 Actor for The Lavender Hill Mob

Rec'd 1957 Actor  - Bridge on the River Kwai

Nom 1952 Actor - The Lavender Hill Mob
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror Films (Saturn Award):

Rec'd 1978 Best Supporting Actor for Star Wars

Rec'd 1978 Best Supporting Actor for Star Wars
Berlin Film Festival:

Rec'd 1988 Honorary Golden Berlin Bear
British Academy Awards (BAFTA):

Nom 1956 Best British Actor for The Prisoner

Rec'd 1958 Best British Actor Bridge on the River Kwai

Rec'd 1958 Best British Actor for Bridge on the River Kwai

"BookNom 1960 Best British Screenplay for The Horse's Mouth Nom 1960 Best British Screenplay for The Horse's Mouth

Nom 1961 Best British Actor for Tunes of Glory

Nom 1961 Best British Actor Tunes of Glory
Golden Globes:

Nom 1989 -  Little Dorrit, Parts I and II

Nom 1978 - Star Wars

Rec'd 1958 - Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture for Bridge on the River Kwai 
Grammy Awards:

Nom 1964 Spoken Word for A Personal Choice (collection of selected favorite poems)

European Film Awards:

Rec'd 1996 Lifetime Achievement Award
Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists: 

Rec'd Silver Ribbon 1952 Best Actor Foreign Film for The Lavender Hill Mob
Laurel Awards:

Rec'd 3rd Place Golden Laurel Top Male Comedy Performance for The Horse's Mouth
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards (LAFCA):

Rec'd 1988 Best Supporting Actor for Little Dorrit 
Nation Board of Review (NBR Award): 

Rec'd 1957 Best Actor Bridge on the River Kwai

Rec'd 1950 Best Actor Kind Hearts and Coronets
New York Film Critics Awards (NYFCA):

Rec'd 1957 Best Actor for Bridge on the River Kwai
Venice Film Festival:

Rec'd 1958 Volpi Cup Best Actor for The Horse's Mouth
Emmy:

Nom 1983 Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Special for Smiley's People

Honors

1991 - Honorary LittD by Cambridge University

1977 - DLitt by Oxford University 

1955 - dubbed a Commander of the British Empire (OBE)

1959 - Knighted by Queen Elizabeth

 

Miscellany

 

2005 - Named 3rd best actor of all time at Sky.com (Sir Sean Connery was 1st)

 

2001 - 3rd on Orange Film's Survey of greatest British film actors

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