Acclaimed actor and Oscar-winning director Richard Attenborough, whose film career on both sides of the camera spanned 60 years, has died. He was 90.
The actor’s son, Michael Attenborough told the BBC that his father died on Sunday. He had been in poor health for some time.
Attenborough is perhaps best-known for his work on the 1982 film “Gandhi,” which won eight Academy Awards, including best picture and best director.
He appeared in a many major Hollywood films, directed a series of movies and was known for his extensive work as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF and other humanitarian causes.
Attenborough began his career as a clasically-trained English actor and went on to star in such films as “The Great Escape,” “Jurassic Park” and a remake of “Miracle on 34th Street.” He was knighted in 1976.
British Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted Sunday: “His acting in ‘Brighton Rock’ was brilliant, his directing of ‘Gandhi’ was stunning – Richard Attenborough was one of the greats of cinema.”
The cause of death was not immediately clear.
Attenborough was married to actress Sheila Sim in which their marriage lasted seventy years and had three children.
Attenborough later years were marked by a horrendous personal tragedy when he lost his daughter Jane and granddaughter in the tsunami that hit Thailand the day after Christmas in 2004.
The heart-broken Attenborough said he was never able to celebrate the Christmas holidays after that.
He had been in frail health since a fall at his house in 2008, and spent his last years in a nursing home with his wife.