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Albert Finney, 'Tom Jones' and 'Erin Brockovich' Actor, Dies at 82

09 February, 2019, 00:39 | Author: Courtney Perry
  • Albert Finney

The Oscar-winning film bagged Finney nominations for Best Actor at the Oscars, BAFTAs and Golden Globes. He was last seen as the caretaker of James Bond's family estate in 2012's Skyfall. Encouraged by his headmaster at Salford Grammar school, Finney got a place at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, where he found himself in the same class as Peter O'Toole and Alan Bates.

Comedian and novelist David Walliams remembered him simply as "the attractive Albert Finney".

Instead, he teamed up with Richardson again for the 1963 film version of Henry Fielding's classic comic novel Tom Jones.

He was a regular at London's Old Vic theatre, which said Friday: "His performances in plays by Shakespeare, Chekhov and other iconic playwrights throughout the 60s, 70s and 80s stand apart as some of the greatest in our 200-year history".

Finney "passed away peacefully after a short illness with those closest to him by his side", his family said in a statement to The Associated Press.

Albert made his movie debut with a small part in The Entertainer in 1960.

He was nominated four times for a best actor Oscar and once in the best supporting actor category. Finney also earned his first Best Actor nomination for his efforts and the smash hit turned him into a Hollywood leading man.


Admirers of musicals may know him as the moneyed Daddy Warbucks from 1982's Annie; fans of the Coen Brothers will immediately recognize him as the Prohibition-era Irish gangster Leo O'Bannon from 1990's Miller's Crossing.

He said of his death: "Very sad to hear about Albert Finney".

Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, the co-producers of Eon Productions, led tributes to the late actor, best known for roles in Tom Jones, Erin Brockovich and Annie.

He played alcoholic ex-diplomat Geoffrey Firmin in Under the Volcano, which brought him his fourth Oscar nomination, and would go on to earn another nod in 2001 for Erin Brockovich. However, he never attended the ceremony itself, calling it "a waste of time".

He went on to star in director Tim Burton's "Big Fish" and portrayed Britain's wartime leader, Winston Churchill, in "The Gathering Storm".

Finney was married three times, first to British actress Jane Wenham, then to French actress Anouk Aimee.

Finney's funeral will be held in private.

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