Sir Alec Guiness Biography

Alec Guinness de Cuffe, which was his mother's maiden name, was born on 2 April 1914 in Maida Vale. The father section on his birth certificate was left blank showing his parents were not married. Scottish banker Andrew Geddes paid for Alec's private school education but the identity of his father was never revealed.

After finishing school in 1932, Guinness began working as an apprentice copywriter in a London advertising agency.

His desire to act soon won him over and, in 1933, he auditioned for, and won, a modest scholarship to the Fay Compton Studio of Dramatic Art, debuting on stage in 1934 in 'Queer Cargo' and later in 'Hamlet'.

By the time World War II began and Guinness enlisted in the Royal Navy, he had appeared in over 20 major stage productions, and worked with such acting heavyweights as Sir John Gielgud, Laurence Olivier, Peggy Ashcroft, and Edith Evans.

Guinness' film career began with his portrayal of Herbert Pocket in 'Great Expectations' (1946), followed by his memorable role as Fagin in 'Oliver Twist' in 1948.

His performance in the 1949 film 'Kind Hearts and Coronets' stands out in particular as he played a total of eight characters including women.

This was followed by his portrayal of Benjamin Disraeli in the 1950 film 'The Mudlark'. Roles in 'The Lavender Hill Mob' (1951), 'The Ladykillers' (1955) and 'The Swan' in 1956 all helped catapult Guinness to stardom.

He earned a best actor Oscar and Golden Globe for 'The Bridge on the River Kwai' in 1957, and received another Oscar nomination the next year, this time as a screenwriter, for the satirical film 'The Horse's Mouth'. Other Academy nominations have included 'The Lavender Hill Mob', 'Star Wars' and 'Little Dorrit' (1988).

During the 1960s, Guinness cemented his acting credentials starring in 'Lawrence of Arabia' in 1962, 'The Fall of the Roman Empire' (1964), 'Doctor Zhivago' (1965) and 'The Comedians' in 1967.

Guinness continued acting in the 1970s appearing in 'Cromwell' and 'Scrooge' in 1970, 'Hitler: The Last Ten Days' (1973) and 'Caesar and Cleopatra' in 1976.

He reached a whole new generation of film audiences with his role as Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi in the blockbuster hit 'Star Wars'(1977), and reprised the role in the film's equally successful sequels, 'The Empire Strikes Back' (1980) and 'Return of the Jedi' in 1983.

Guinness reportedly hated working on 'Star Wars' so much that he claims Obi-Wan's death was his idea, as a means to limit his involvement in the film.

He was awarded a CBE in 1955 and, four years later, he was knighted for his accomplishments in theatre and film. He also received an Honorary Academy Award for 'advancing the art of screen acting through a host of memorable and distinguished performances'.

Guinness played John Le Carre's master spy, George Smiley, in a pair of acclaimed 1980s TV mini-series, 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy' and 'Smiley's People' in 1982.

His final role was in the TV movie 'Eskimo Day' in 1996. The final part of his autobiography, which already comprised 'Blessings in Disguise' (1985) and 'My Name Escapes Me' (1996), was published in 1999 entitled 'A Positively Final Appearance'. His official biography was written by Piers Paul Read in 2003.

Guinness married the artist, playwright, and actress, Merula Salaman in 1938, and they had a son in 1940, Matthew Guinness, who later became an actor.

He sadly died from liver cancer in Sussex on 5 August 2000 after receiving treatment for glaucoma at hospital and being diagnosed with prostate cancer. He was 86-years-old.

Guinness was interred at Petersfield, Hampshire, and his widow died two months after him from cancer. She was buried alongside her husband of 62 years.