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Alec Guinness (1914–2000)

Actor | Soundtrack | Writer

Alec Guinness de Cuffe was born on April 2, 1914 in Marylebone, London, England. While working in advertising, he studied at the Fay Compton Studio of Dramatic Art, debuting on stage in 1934 and played classic theater with the Old Vic from 1936. In 1941, he entered the Royal Navy as a seaman and was commissioned the next year... See full bio »

Born:

Alec Guinness de Cuffe
in Marylebone, London, England, UK

Died:

(age 86) in Midhurst, Sussex, England, UK
Still of Alec Guinness in Doctor Zhivago Still of Alec Guinness and James Mason in The Fall of the Roman Empire Still of Alec Guinness in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope Still of Alec Guinness in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi
52 photos | 47 videos | 466 news articles »

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A Passage to India
Fri. Feb. 3 11:30 PM on TCM
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Won Oscar. Another 29 wins & 12 nominations See more awards »

Known For


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Filmography

Hide HideActor (62 titles)
1996 Interview Day (TV movie)
James
 
1994 Mute Witness
The Reaper (as Mystery Guest Star)
 
1993 Screen One (TV series)
Amos
– A Foreign Field (1993) … Amos
 
1992 Performance (TV series)
Heinrich Mann
– Tales from Hollywood (1992) … Heinrich Mann
 
1991 Kafka
The Chief Clerk
 
1988 A Handful of Dust
Mr. Todd
 
1988 Little Dorrit
William Dorrit
 
1987 Great Performances (TV series)
Father Quixote
– Monsignor Quixote (1987) … Father Quixote
 
1984 A Passage to India
Godbole
 
1984 Edwin (TV movie)
Sir Fennimore Truscott
 
1983 Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi
Ben 'Obi-Wan' Kenobi
 
1983 Lovesick
Sigmund Freud
 
1982 Smiley's People (TV mini-series)
George Smiley
– Episode #1.6 (1982) … George Smiley
– Episode #1.5 (1982) … George Smiley
– Episode #1.4 (1982) … George Smiley
– Episode #1.3 (1982) … George Smiley
– Episode #1.2 (1982) … George Smiley
See all 6 episodes »
 
1980 The Morecambe & Wise Show (TV series)
Himself / Psychiatrist
– 1980 Christmas Show (1980) … Psychiatrist / Himself (as Sir Alec Guinness)
 
1980 Little Lord Fauntleroy
Earl of Dorincourt
 
1980 Raise the Titanic
John Bigalow
 
1980 Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
Ben 'Obi-wan' Kenobi
 
1979 Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (TV mini-series)
George Smiley
– Flushing Out the Mole (1979) … George Smiley
– Smiley Sets a Trap (1979) … George Smiley
– Tinker Tailor (1979) … George Smiley
– How It All Fits Together (1979) … George Smiley
– Smiley Tracks the Mole (1979) … George Smiley
See all 7 episodes »
 
1977 Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi
 
1976 Murder by Death
Bensonmum
 
1976 Caesar and Cleopatra (TV movie)
Julius Caesar
 
1974 The Gift of Friendship (TV movie)
Jocelyn Broome
 
1973 Hitler: The Last Ten Days
Adolf Hitler
 
1972 Brother Sun, Sister Moon
Pope Innocent III
 
1970 Scrooge
Jacob Marley's Ghost
 
1970 Cromwell
King Charles I
 
1969 ITV Saturday Night Theatre (TV series)
Malvolio
– Twelfth Night (1969) … Malvolio
 
1967 The Comedians
Major H. O. Jones
 
1966 The Quiller Memorandum
Pol
 
1966 Hotel Paradiso
Benedict Boniface
 
1965 Doctor Zhivago
Yevgraf
 
1965 Situation Hopeless... But Not Serious
Wilhelm Frick
 
1964 The Fall of the Roman Empire
Marcus Aurelius
 
1962 Lawrence of Arabia
Prince Feisal
 
1962 Damn the Defiant!
Captain Crawford
 
1961 A Majority of One
Koichi Asano
 
1960 Tunes of Glory
Maj. Jock Sinclair, D.S.O., M.M.
 
1959 Our Man in Havana
Jim Wormold
 
1959 Startime (TV series)
Jebal Deeks
– The Wicked Scheme of Jebal Deeks (1959) … Jebal Deeks
 
1959 The Scapegoat
John Barratt/Jacques De Gue
 
1958 The Horse's Mouth
Gulley Jimson
 
1957 All at Sea
Captain William Horatio Ambrose
 
1957 The Bridge on the River Kwai
Col. Nicholson
 
1956 The Swan
Prince Albert
 
1955 The Ladykillers
Professor Marcus
 
1955 Baker's Dozen (TV movie)
The Major
 
1955 The Prisoner
The Cardinal
 
1955 To Paris with Love
Col. Sir Edgar Fraser
 
1954 The Detective
Father Brown
 
1953 Malta Story
Flight Lt. Peter Ross
 
1953 The Captain's Paradise
Captain Henry St. James
 
1953 The Square Mile (short)
Narrator (voice)
 
1952 The Promoter
Edward Henry 'Denry' Machin
 
1951 The Man in the White Suit
Sidney Stratton
 
1951 The Lavender Hill Mob
Henry Holland
 
1950 The Mudlark
Benjamin Disraeli
 
1950 Last Holiday
George Bird
 
1949 A Run for Your Money
Whimple
 
1949 Kind Hearts and Coronets
The Duke/The Banker/The Parson/The General/The Admiral/Young Ascoyne/Young Henry/Lady Agatha
 
1948 Oliver Twist
Fagin
 
1946 Great Expectations
Herbert Pocket
 
1934 Evensong
Extra (W.W.I. soldier in concert audience) (uncredited)
 
Show ShowSoundtrack (2 titles)
1970 Scrooge (performer: "See the Phantoms")
 
1957 The Bridge on the River Kwai ("Colonel Bogey March" 1914 - uncredited)
 
Show ShowWriter (1 title)
1958 The Horse's Mouth (screenplay)
 
Show ShowThanks (1 title)
1987 Grace Kelly: The American Princess (video documentary) (thanks)
 
Show ShowSelf (16 titles)
1994 Q.E.D. (TV series documentary)
Himself - Narrator
– Plastic Fantastic (1994) … Himself - Narrator
 
1986 Late Night with David Letterman (TV series)
Himself
– Episode dated 26 September 1986 (1986) … Himself
 
1986 Apostrophes (TV series)
Himself
– Episode dated 10 January 1986 (1986) … Himself
 
1985 The South Bank Show (TV series documentary)
Himself
– Sir Alec Guinness (1985) … Himself
– David Lean: A Life in Film (1985) … Himself
 
1980 The 52nd Annual Academy Awards (TV special)
Himself - Honorary Award Recipient
 
1977 Parkinson (TV series)
Himself
– Episode #7.16 (1977) … Himself
 
1977 The Making of 'Star Wars' (TV documentary)
Himself
 
1970 Solo (TV series)
Himself - Reader
– Little Gidding (1970) … Himself - Reader
– A Selection from E.E. Cummings (1970) … Himself - Reader
 
1969 Thirty-Minute Theatre (TV series)
Himself
– Conversation at Night (1969) … Himself
 
1967 The Comedians in Africa (documentary short)
Himself (uncredited)
 
1965 Pasternak (documentary short)
Himself
 
1964 The Ed Sullivan Show (TV series)
Himself
– Episode #17.35 (1964) … Himself
 
1963 Farewell to the Vic (TV documentary)
Himself
 
1957 The Steve Allen Plymouth Show (TV series)
Himself - Set of "The Bridge on the River Kwai"
– Episode #3.7 (1957) … Himself - Set of "The Bridge on the River Kwai"
 
1955 Rowlandson's England (documentary short)
Narrator
 
1954 The Stratford Adventure (documentary short)
Himself
 
Show ShowArchive Footage (35 titles)
2010 The Light Bulb Conspiracy (documentary)
Sidney Stratton
 
2006-2010 20 to 1 (TV series documentary)
 
2010 The South Bank Show (TV series documentary)
 
2008 Casting a Classic (video short)
Godbole
 
2008 5 Second Movies (TV series short)
 
2007 Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga (Video Game)
Obi-Wan Kenobi (uncredited)
 
2007 British Film Forever (TV mini-series documentary)
 
2007 On the Lot (TV series)
 
2007 Hitler: The Comedy Years (TV documentary)
Adolf Hitler (uncredited)
 
2006 Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (Video Game)
Obi-Wan Kenobi (voice) (uncredited)
 
2006 Boffo! Tinseltown's Bombs and Blockbusters (documentary)
Col. Nicholson (uncredited)
 
2005 Science of Star Wars (TV mini-series documentary)
 
2004 The Characters of 'Star Wars' (video documentary short)
Himself
 
2004 Star Wars: Battlefront (Video Game)
Ben Obi-Wan
 
2004 When Star Wars Ruled the World (TV documentary)
Obi-Wan Kenobi
 
2004 Empire of Dreams: The Story of the 'Star Wars' Trilogy (TV documentary)
Himself
 
2003 Arena (TV series documentary)
 
2003 The Making of 'Lawrence of Arabia' (video documentary)
Himself
 
1997-2002 Heroes of Comedy (TV series documentary)
 
2001 R2-D2: Beneath the Dome (TV special short)
Himself (uncredited)
 
2001 Legends (TV series documentary)
 
2001 The 73rd Annual Academy Awards (TV special)
Himself (Memorial Tribute)
 
2001 The Orange British Academy Film Awards (TV special)
Himself (Memorial Tribute)
 
2000 Biography (TV series documentary)
 
2000 The Making of 'The Bridge on the River Kwai' (video documentary short)
Himself
 
1995 'Doctor Zhivago': The Making of a Russian Epic (TV special documentary)
Himself
 
1989 The 61st Annual Academy Awards (TV special)
William Dorrit
 
1987 Grace Kelly: The American Princess (video documentary)
Himself (tells the tomahawk story) (uncredited)
 
1985 The Golden Gong (TV documentary)
 
1983 Star Wars (Video Game)
Obi-Wan Kenobi (voice)
 
1978 The Star Wars Holiday Special (TV movie)
Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi (uncredited)
 
1977 To See Such Fun (documentary)
Himself
 
1967 Lionpower from MGM (short)
Major H. O. Jones (uncredited)
 
1958 The Geisha Boy
Himself (as Col. Nicholson) (uncredited)
 
1956 MGM Parade (TV series)
 

Related Videos

The Quiller Memorandum -- Two British agents are murdered by a mysterious Neo-Nazi organization in West Berlin. The British secret service sends Agent Quiller to investigate. Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith -- Star Wars: The Complete Saga - Deleted Scenes Sizzle Reel The Bridge on the River Kwai -- After settling his differences with a Japanese PoW camp commander, a British colonel co-operates to oversee his men's construction of a railway bridge for their captors - while oblivious to a plan by the Allies to destroy it.
See all 47 »
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Personal Details

Other Works:

Stage: Appeared (as "The Visitor" in "Converstions at Night" See more »

Publicity Listings:

13 Print Biographies  | 17 Articles  | 15 Magazine Cover Photos  | See more »

Alternate Names:

Alec Guiness | Sir Alec Guinness | Mystery Guest Star

Height:

5' 10" (1.78 m)
Edit

Did You Know?

Personal Quote:

An actor is an interpreter of other men's words, often a soul which wishes to reveal itself to the world but dare not, a craftsman, a bag of tricks, a vanity bag, a cool observer of mankind, a child and at his best a kind of unfrocked priest who, for an hour or two, can call on heaven and hell to mesmerize a group of innocents. See more »

Trivia:

His name is an anagram of "genuine class". See more »

Trademark:

Often played noble and fiercely proud leaders and authority figures See more »

Star Sign:

Aries