Posted on 04/23/2005 10:59:30 PM PDT by ScaniaBoy
Sir John Mills, the actor who epitomised the glory years of British cinema, died last night at the age of 97.
Sir John, who starred in more than 100 films and worked into his 90s, died at his home in Denham, Buckinghamshire. He was knighted in 1976 and had been married to Lady Mills for 64 years. He had been in failing health for some time.
Sir John's career, which began as a chorus boy at the London Hippodrome in 1929, spanned more than 70 years and included leading roles in five films by the director David Lean: In Which We Serve, Great Expectations, This Happy Breed, Hobson's Choice and Ryan's Daughter.
Others included starring roles in Ice Cold In Alex, Scott of the Antarctic and the Oscar-winning Ghandi in which he co-starred with his old friend and long-time collaborator Lord Attenborough.
Friends and co-stars last night paid tribute to Sir John. Lady Lean, the director's widow, said: "They don't make them like that any more." Ronald Harwood, the writer who collaborated with him on a stage adaptation of The Good Companions when the actor was in his 60s, said: "He was the Peter Pan of the film industry. There was something almost childlike about him.
"He wanted approval and the respect of his colleagues and would push himself in so many directions to get it."
Sir John is survived by his widow, his two daughters Hayley and Juliet, who followed him into the acting profession, and his son, Jonathan, a film producer.
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I remember having a serious crush on his daughter Hayley. Her father being the epitome of an English Officer did bother me a bit.
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