Lord Richard Attenborough dies, aged 90

Lord Richard Attenborough has died at the age of 90.

The renowned actor and film producer/director, who was the older brother of naturalist David Attenborough, passed away at lunchtime yesterday, his son confirmed to the BBC.

In an illustrious screen career, spanning six decades, he appeared in pictures including Brighton Rock (pictured), The Great Escape, 10 Rillington Place, Miracle on 34th Street and Jurassic Park.

As a producer/director, he is perhaps best known for presiding over historical epic Gandhi, in the early 1980s, which won him two Academy awards.

Paying tribute to Attenborough, Sir Ben Kingsley who played the title role in the movie, said he would “miss him dearly”.

“Richard Attenborough trusted me with the crucial and central task of bringing to life a dream it took him 20 years to bring to fruition.

 

“When he gave me the part of Gandhi it was with great grace and joy. He placed in me an absolute trust and in turn I placed an absolute trust in him and grew to love him.” – Sir Ben Kingsley

In his later life, Lord Attenborough resided in a nursing home with his wife Sheila Sim, whom he married in 1945, and, according to the BBC, had been confined to a wheelchair following a stair fall six years ago.

The couple suffered tragedy in 2004 when their daughter Jane and granddaughter, Lucy, were killed in the South Asian tsunami on boxing day.

Richard Attenborough 1923-2014