[msb-alumni] Oscar-winning director dies at 90 Attenborough known for 'Gandhi'
- From: Steve <pipeguy920@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <msb-alumni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2014 15:35:39 -0400
BlankOscar-winning director dies at 90 Attenborough known for 'Gandhi' By
Gregory Katz Associated Press LONDON Acclaimed actor and Oscar-winning
director Richard Attenborough, whose film career on both sides of the camera
spanned 60 years, has died. He was
90. The actor's son, Michael Attenborough, told the BBC that his father died
Sunday. He had been in poor health for some time. Ben Kingsley, who shot to
global fame for his performance as Mahatma Gandhi, recalled Attenborough's
passionate 20-year struggle
to bring Gandhi's story to the big screen. The film won eight Oscars,
including best picture, best director for Attenborough and best actor for
Kingsley. "He placed in me an absolute trust and in turn I placed an
absolute trust in him and grew to love
him," said Kingsley. "I along with millions of others whom he touched
through his life and work will miss him dearly. With his abundant snow-white
hair and beard, Attenborough was one of the most familiar faces on the
British arts scene universally known
as "Dickie. He appeared in many major Hollywood films, directed a series of
movies and was known for his extensive work as a goodwill ambassador for
UNICEF and other humanitarian causes. As a director, Attenborough made
several successful movies, from
"Oh What a Lovely War" in 1969 to "Chaplin" and "Shadowlands" in the 1990s.
The generation that was introduced to Attenborough as an avuncular veteran
actor in the 1990s when he played the failed theme park developer in
"Jurassic Park" and Kris Kringle
in a remake of "Miracle on 34th Street" may not have appreciated his
dramatic range. In 1947, Attenborough gave one of the best performances of
his career as the teenage thug Pinkie in "Brighton Rock," the film version
of Graham Greene's novel. Attenborough's
baby face and air of menace combined to make it one of his most memorable
roles. By the mid-1970s, Attenborough had become a director who only
occasionally acted. Attenborough was often thought to be at his best when
trying to coax the finest work from
actors. "Gandhi" made a star of its little-known leading man, Kingsley, and
Denzel Washington won an Oscar nomination for 1987's "Cry Freedom." .
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