PBS: Alec Guinness: A Class Act: Preview
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Alec Guinness
Sir Alec Guinness was an English actor. In the BFI listing of the 100 most important British films of the 20th century, he was the single most noted actor, represented across nine films—six in starring roles and three in supporting roles—including five directed by David Lean and four from Ealing Studios. His accolades include an Academy Award, a BAFTA, a Golden Globe, a Tony Award and a Volpi Cup.…
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entertainment · English actor (1914–2000) · film actor · autobiographer · character actor · screenwriter · stage actor · television actor · actor · also Alec Guinness, Alec Guinness de Cuffe, Sir Alec Guinness, Guinness
Born 2 April 1914 · Died 5 August 2000 · Q103894
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2026· 1 entry
2025· 1 entry
FirstShowing.net: Alec Guinness' 'The Man in the White Suit' 4K Restoration New Trailer
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2014· 1 entry
Guinness was among the ten people commemorated on a UK postage stamp issued by the Royal Mail in their "Remarkable Lives" issue
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2013· 1 entry
The British Library acquired the personal archive of Guinness consisting of over 900 letters, manuscripts for plays, and 100 volumes of diaries from the late 1930s to his death
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2003· 1 entry
Obi-Wan Kenobi as portrayed by Guinness was selected as the 37th-greatest hero in cinema history by the American Film Institute
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2000· 1 entry
Died 2000-08-05.
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1996· 1 entry
Awarded European Film Academy Lifetime Achievement Award (1996).
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1994· 1 entry
Awarded Companion of Honour (1994).
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1991· 2 entries
Awarded honorary doctorate from the University of Cambridge (1991).
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Received an honorary doctorate from Cambridge University
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1989· 1 entry
Awarded BAFTA Fellowship (1989).
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1988· 1 entry
Awarded Society of London Theatre Special Award (1988).
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1985· 3 entries
Awarded Shakespeare Prize (1985).
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The Hamburg-based Alfred Toepfer Foundation awarded Guinness its annual Shakespeare Prize in recognition of his life's work
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Followed by My Name Escapes Me in 1996, and A Positively Final Appearance in 1999
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1983· 1 entry
Awarded British Academy Television Award for Best Actor for Smiley's People (1983).
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1980· 1 entry
Awarded British Academy Television Award for Best Actor for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1980).
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1979· 1 entry
Awarded Academy Honorary Award (1979).
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1977· 2 entries
Awarded Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977).
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With Star Wars, brought him worldwide recognition to a new generation, as well as Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations
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1970· 1 entry
Guinness played Jacob Marley's ghost in Ronald Neame's Scrooge
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1964· 1 entry
Awarded Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play (1964).
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1960· 1 entry
The Academy Honorary Award for lifetime achievement in 1980 and the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award in 1989
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1959· 2 entries
Awarded Knight Bachelor (1959).
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Was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to the arts
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1958· 1 entry
Awarded Academy Award for Best Actor for The Bridge on the River Kwai (1958).
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1957· 3 entries
Awarded National Board of Review Award for Best Actor for The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957).
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Won Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama for The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957).
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While he was in Ceylon filming The Bridge on the River Kwai, and she informed him only after the event
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1956· 1 entry
Guinness converted to the Catholic Church
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1955· 2 entries
Awarded Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1955).
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“s death one week before he was killed in a car accident in 1955. In interviews shortly after Dean”
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1954· 1 entry
While he was filming Father Brown in Burgundy, Guinness, who was in costume as a Catholic priest, was mistaken for a real priest by a local child
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1952· 1 entry
Director Ronald Neame cast Guinness in his first romantic lead role, opposite Petula Clark in The Card
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1951· 2 entries
With The Man in the White Suit and The Lavender Hill Mob (for which he received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor), then in 1955 with The Ladykillers, and culminating in 1957 with Barnacle Bill
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A poll of British exhibitors identified Guinness as the top box office attraction in British films and fifth in international films, based on box office returns
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1950· 3 entries
Awarded National Board of Review Award for Best Actor for Kind Hearts and Coronets (1950).
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And invited him to tea with "his cousin", later visiting Alec's family with photo albums and diaries to point out the similarities she perceived, believed either her uncle Ernest or his brother Walter ("a celebrated sedu
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Portrayed 19th-century British prime minister Benjamin Disraeli in The Mudlark, which included delivering an uninterrupted seven-minute speech in Parliament
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1949· 1 entry
With both A Run for Your Money and Kind Hearts and Coronets (in which he played eight different characters)
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1946· 1 entry
And stayed until 1948, playing Abel Drugger in Ben Jonson's The Alchemist, the Fool in King Lear opposite Laurence Olivier in the title role, DeGuiche in Cyrano de Bergerac opposite Ralph Richardson in the title role, an
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1941· 1 entry
Before receiving a commission as a temporary Sub-lieutenant on 30 April 1942 and a promotion to Temporary Lieutenant the following year
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1940· 1 entry
Had a son, Matthew Guinness, who later became an actor
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1939· 2 entries
Took over for Michael Redgrave as Charleston in a road-show production of Robert Ardrey's Thunder Rock
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Adapted Charles Dickens's novel Great Expectations for the stage, playing Herbert Pocket
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1937· 2 entries
Played Aumerle in Richard II and Lorenzo in The Merchant of Venice under the direction of John Gielgud
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Both opposite Laurence Olivier, and Ferdinand in The Tempest, opposite Gielgud as Prospero
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1936· 2 entries
At the age of 22, playing the role of Osric in John Gielgud's successful production of Hamlet
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Guinness signed on with the Old Vic, where he was cast in a series of classic roles
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1914· 1 entry
Born 1914-04-02.
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1913· 1 entry
Which was attended by several members of the Guinness family including Edward Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh, and his sons Ernest and Walter
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