JANUARY 22, 1940 – JANUARY 25, 2017 ‘He touched all our lives with magic’
JOHN HURT: Superstar with talent to die for
TRIBUTES poured in for film legend Sir John Hurt who has died aged 77.
The Bafta-winning star, known for his roles in Alien, Harry Potter and The Elephant Man, died after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.
Sir John had continued to work despite health problems and starred in a number of films set for release this year.
He is currently on the big screen as Father Richard McSorley in Jackie, the Oscar-nominated biopic of President John F Kennedy’s wife.
His widow Anwen ReesMyers led the tributes and said it would be a “strange world without him”.
She said: “John was the most sublime of actors and the most gentlemanly of gentlemen with the greatest of hearts and the most generosity of spirit.
“He touched all our lives with joy and magic and it will be a strange world without him.”
Actor Stephen Fry praised Sir John for being “great on the stage, small screen and big”.
He was born on January 22, 1940, in Chesterfield, Derbys, and became one of Britain’s best-known and most versatile actors.
During his career he was in more than 120 films as well as numerous stage and television roles.
At the Baftas, Sir John won Best Actor in 1976 and 1981 for The Naked Civil Servant and The Elephant Man, inset.
He also appeared as wandmaker Mr Ollivander in the Harry Potter films.
Off-screen, the four-timeswed actor was known for his boozy antics.
He once admitted drinking seven bottles of wine a day and was reported to ISOBEL DICKINSON have been thrown out of strip club Spearmint Rhino for “boorish behaviour”.
His friend, producer Don Boyd, said he would often hold court in pubs with his pals Peter O’Toole and Oliver Reed.
Don said: “There were times when he was a boring drunk – prickly and contentious.”
But Sir John – knighted for services to drama in 2015 – said his successful career proved his hedonism was under control.
He said: “I’ve lived publicly and never hidden behind closed doors.
“Therefore, if I have gone over the top sometimes, it has been visible. But it was not a way of life.
“Otherwise I wouldn’t have the CV I have got, would I?” His first marriage to actress Annette Robertson in the 60s lasted two years.
In 1968 he started a relationship with the “love of his life” Marie-Lise Volpeliere-Pierrot but she was killed in a riding accident. He later wed US actress Donna Peacock but they divorced four years later.
He had two sons with third wife Jo Dalton but divorced in 1995.
In 2005, he wed Anwen, a former actress and classical pianist.
After his cancer diagnosis in 2015 he said: “I can’t say I worry about mortality, but it’s impossible to get to my age and not have a little contemplation of it.
“We’re all just passing time, and occupy our chair very briefly.”
His film That Good Night, in which he plays a terminally ill writer, is set for release this year. NOBODY died on screen as magnificently as John Hurt.
The actor famed for his gravelly voice and weathered face starred in some glorious films in six decades on the big screen – but rarely made it to the end credits.
His death in The Elephant Man is one of the most heartbreaking scenes in cinema while his explosive demise in Alien is easily the most spectacular.
Even the rabbit he voiced in Watership Down dies after being shot by a farmer and savaged by a cat. Directors knew that his vulnerability and dignity made him the perfect victim. They always wanted to hurt Hurt.
“I think I’ve got the record,” he once said. “It got to a point where my children wouldn’t ask me if I died, but by ANDY LEA Daily Star Sunday Film Critic rather, ‘how do you die’?”
He never had the looks for a Hollywood leading man, but developed a line in nuanced villains and scene-stealing supporting roles. Films like Midnight Express, Scandal, Tinker Tailor, V for Vendetta and The Proposition showed this versatile actor had a knack for picking scripts that would impress critics and audiences alike.