Alec Guinness de Cuffe was born on April 2, 1914 in Marylebone, London, England, and was raised by his mother, Agnes Cuffe. 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. Beyond an extra part in Prima donna (1934), his film career began after World War II with his portrayal of Herbert Pocket in Les grandes espérances (1946). A string of films, mostly comedies, showed off his ability to look different in every role, eight of them, including a woman, in one movie alone, Noblesse oblige (1949). His best known recent work was as the Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi in La guerre des étoiles (1977) and its sequels. He earned a Best Actor Oscar and Golden Globe Award in Le pont de la rivière Kwaï (1957) and an Honorary Academy Award (1980) for "advancing the art of screen acting through a host of memorable and distinguished performances". Academy nominations have included De l'or en barres (1951) (actor); De la bouche du cheval (1958) (screenplay); La guerre des étoiles (1977) (supporting) and Little Dorrit (1987) (supporting). He was awarded Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire in the 1959 Queen's Honours List for his services to drama. Sir Alec Guinness died at age 86 of liver cancer on August 5, 2000.
