Tom Courtenay’s deathbed kiss for co-star Finney
THEY were two of the great, trail-blazing film stars of the 1960s. And Tom Courtenay’s friendship with Albert Finney survived right to the end.
In a touching tribute yesterday after Finney’s death, Tom recalled their final meeting some four weeks ago at London’s Royal Marsden Hospital.
Finney’s wife Penny had warned Courtenay beforehand: ‘This is it, because they are not giving him any more treatment.’
The 81-year-old said: ‘I went up and saw him in his room to say goodbye and he knew it was to say goodbye too. So it wasn’t easy.
‘He couldn’t move very well but his voice was still powerful. He was tired but he was with it. I kissed him on the forehead. We didn’t know what to say, not much to say really. The last thing he said to me was “Have a good time in India,”’ referring to a holiday Courtenay had planned.
Although aware of each other’s careers, the pair only became friends in the early 1980s. Courtenay said: ‘He was a huge part of my life but we didn’t become friends until we worked together on the film of The Dresser and then it was love, no question, on both sides.
‘He used to find me funny, not that I was trying to be – he just thought I was a bit odd, I think. He was such a massive figure. I was terribly in awe of him at the time.’
The pair joined forces many times over the years, including in 1998 drama A Rather English Marriage with Joanna Lumley.
‘Years later, when we were friends and having dinner, I’d say “Do you know, I used to be in awe of him?” and he loved to say, “He still is.” We are very different but something worked, something about the two of us that people seemed to enjoy.’
Tom agreed that his friend was a ‘born flirt’ with a colourful love life, but said it was his work as an actor that would endure.
He added: ‘He didn’t need any tricks. He just came on with a bit of sunshine and people looked at him.’
Finney, 82, died from a chest infection on Thursday.
‘He was a massive figure. I was in awe’