Alec Guinness facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alec Guinness
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Portrait by Allan Warren, 1973
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| Born |
Alec Guinness de Cuffe
2 April 1914 Maida Vale, London, England
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| Died | 5 August 2000 (aged 86) Midhurst, West Sussex, England
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| Burial place | Petersfield Cemetery |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1934–1996 |
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Works
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On stage and screen |
| Spouse(s) |
Merula Salaman
(m. 1938) |
| Children | Matthew Guinness |
| Relatives | Nesta Guinness-Walker (great-grandson) |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service/ |
 Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1941–1943 |
| Rank | Lieutenant |
| Battles/wars | |
Sir Alec Guinness (born Alec Guinness de Cuffe; 2 April 1914 – 5 August 2000) was a famous English actor. He was known for playing many different characters in movies and on stage.
After starting his career in theatre, Guinness became famous for his roles in several "Ealing comedies." These were funny British films. He also worked many times with director David Lean, starring in some of his most famous movies.
Later in his career, he became known worldwide for playing Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original Star Wars movies. He won an Academy Award (Oscar) and a BAFTA Award for his acting. In 1959, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his contributions to the arts. This meant he could use the title "Sir."
Contents
Early Life
Alec Guinness was born in Maida Vale, London, England. His mother's name was Agnes Cuff. The identity of his father was never officially confirmed.
Alec believed his father was a Scottish banker named Andrew Geddes. Mr. Geddes helped pay for Alec's schooling. He would sometimes visit Alec and his mother, pretending to be an uncle.
Early Career in Theatre
Guinness started his acting career on his 20th birthday in 1934. He was a student at the Fay Compton Studio of Dramatic Art. His first job was in a play called Libel.
In 1936, at age 22, he played a role in Hamlet in London's West End. He then joined the famous Old Vic theatre company. He played many roles from Shakespeare's plays throughout his career.
Guinness worked with many actors at the Old Vic who became his friends. These included John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier. In 1939, he adapted Charles Dickens's book Great Expectations for the stage. It was a big success. A young film editor named David Lean saw the play. Lean later asked Guinness to play the same role in his 1946 film version.
Second World War Service
During the Second World War, Guinness served in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve. He started as a seaman in 1941. He later became a temporary lieutenant.
He commanded a landing craft during the Allied invasion of Sicily. This was a major military operation. He also helped transport supplies and agents to the Yugoslav partisans. These were resistance fighters in the eastern Mediterranean.
While serving, he was allowed to act in a play called Flare Path on Broadway. This play was about the RAF Bomber Command.
Postwar Stage Career
After the war, Guinness returned to the Old Vic theatre. He performed in many classic plays from 1946 to 1948. He played roles in The Alchemist and King Lear. He also starred as Richard II in a Shakespeare play.
In 1951, he directed and starred in Hamlet in London. In 1953, he helped open the first season of the Stratford Festival in Canada. He spoke the first lines of Shakespeare's Richard III there.
Guinness won a Tony Award for his performance as the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas in the play Dylan. His final stage performance was in 1989 in a play called A Walk in the Woods. He played 77 different parts in the theatre during his career.
Film Career
Alec Guinness first spoke in a film in Great Expectations (1946). He became very well known for his roles in the Ealing Comedies. In Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), he played nine different characters!
Other famous films from this time include The Lavender Hill Mob (1951) and The Ladykillers (1955). These are considered some of the best British films ever made. In 1952, he played his first romantic lead role in The Card.
Working with David Lean
Guinness received great praise for his work with director David Lean. Their films together are highly respected. After appearing in Lean's Great Expectations and Oliver Twist, Guinness got a starring role in The Bridge on the River Kwai.
For his role as Colonel Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai, Guinness won both an Academy Award for Best Actor and a BAFTA Award for Best Actor. He continued to work with Lean in other major films. He played Prince Faisal in Lawrence of Arabia. He was also Yevgraf in Doctor Zhivago and Professor Godbole in A Passage to India.
These films are considered some of the greatest British films of the 20th century.
Star Wars
Guinness's role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original Star Wars movies made him famous to a whole new generation. The first Star Wars film came out in 1977. For this role, he was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe.
In his private letters, Guinness called Star Wars "fairy-tale rubbish." However, he liked the film's message of good versus evil. He also agreed to the role when the studio offered him double his initial salary. He asked not to do any publicity for the film.
He also received a small percentage of the film's earnings. This made him very wealthy later in his life. He wrote in his diary that Star Wars was "a pretty staggering film as spectacle and technically brilliant."
Guinness later became tired of being known mostly for Star Wars. He said he "shrivelled up" every time the film was mentioned. He even suggested that his character, Obi-Wan, be killed off in the movie. He felt the dialogue was difficult to say.
Even though he had mixed feelings about the fame, director George Lucas and other cast members praised his kindness and professionalism. Lucas said Guinness inspired everyone to work harder. Guinness himself said the money from Star Wars allowed him to live comfortably and choose his acting roles freely. He appeared as a force ghost in the sequels, The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983).
In 2003, Obi-Wan Kenobi, as played by Guinness, was chosen as the 37th greatest hero in cinema history. His voice was even used in later Star Wars films like Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019).
Television Appearances
Guinness was not eager to act on television. However, he accepted the role of George Smiley in the TV series Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979). He liked the author, John le Carré.
He played George Smiley again in Smiley's People (1982). He won the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor twice for this role. One of his last TV appearances was in the BBC drama Eskimo Day (1996).
Awards and Honours
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Alec Guinness won an Academy Award for Best Actor and a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in 1957 for The Bridge on the River Kwai. He was also nominated for an Oscar in 1952 for The Lavender Hill Mob. In 1958, he was nominated for an Oscar for writing the screenplay for The Horse's Mouth.
He received an Academy Honorary Award in 1980 for his lifetime achievements in acting. In 1988, he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Little Dorrit. He also received the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award in 1989.
For his theatre work, he won an Evening Standard Award and a Tony Award. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.
Guinness was made a CBE in 1955. He was knighted by Elizabeth II in 1959, becoming "Sir Alec Guinness." In 1994, he was made a Companion of Honour for his services to drama. In 2014, he was honored on a UK postage stamp.
Personal Life
Guinness married Merula Silvia Salaman, an artist and actress, in 1938. They had a son, Matthew Guinness, in 1940, who also became an actor. Their great-grandson, Nesta Guinness-Walker, is a professional footballer.
In 1956, Guinness converted to the Roman Catholic Church. His wife also converted a year later.
Death
Sir Alec Guinness passed away on 5 August 2000, at a hospital in Midhurst, West Sussex. He had been diagnosed with cancer. His wife, Merula, passed away shortly after him in October 2000. He was buried in Petersfield Cemetery in Hampshire.
See Also
In Spanish: Alec Guinness para niños
- Alec Guinness on stage and screen
Images for kids
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Portrait by Allan Warren, 1973
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Guinness was born here, which is commemorated with a blue plaque.
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Alec Guinness at the Old Vic theatre, London in 1938.
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Drawing by Nicholas Volpe after Guinness won an Oscar in 1957 for his role in The Bridge on the River Kwai
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Guinness with Rita Tushingham in Doctor Zhivago (1965)
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Plaque installed by the British Film Institute in the City of Westminster, London in recognition of Guinness's contribution to British cinema
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A blue plaque commemorates his birthplace in Maida Vale, London
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The graves of Alec and Merula in Petersfield, Hampshire
