Alec Guinness - ©Theda Bara

The name I bring to you in this post is that of the excellent British actor Alec Guinness, famous in film and theater. He is considered one of the most talented and versatile actors of his generation, having been Knighted (Sir.) in 1959 by Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) in recognition of his services to the arts.

Alec Guinness won the Academy Award for Best Actor 1958 for his performance as “Colonel Nicholson” in “The Bridge on the River Kwai” (1957). He also received an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement (1980). The actor was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor (1951) for his role as “Dutch Holland” in “The Lavender Hill Mob” and for Best Supporting Actor (1978) for his role as “Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi”, in the original trilogy “Star Wars”: “Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope”, but lost both times. Regarding “Star Wars”, the actor never hid the fact that he had little regard for the role, thinking it was a silly franchise.

In addition to the two Oscars, Alec Guinness won two BAFTA Awards for Best Actor (Television): “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” (1980) and “Smiley’s People” (1983), both playing the spy “George Smiley”; a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama: “The Bridge on the River Kwai” (1957) and a Tony Award.

Alec Guinness has a star on the Los Angeles Walk of Fame, located at 1559 Vine Street, in the Motion Picture category.

Alec Guinness de Cuffe, born April 2, 1914, Maida Vale, London, United Kingdom, died August 5, 2000, in Midhurst, United Kingdom, at the age of 86.

Alec Guinness married only once, to British actress Merula Salaman (October 16, 1914 – October 18, 2000), dying two days after his 86th birthday. Her husband had died two months earlier. The couple lived together from 1938 to 2000, a total of 62 years. They had one son, British actor and director Matthew Guinness, born in 1940, now 85.