Richard Samuel Attenborough, CBE, FRSA was an English actor, filmmaker, and entrepreneur. He is best remembered for his roles in Brighton Rock, I’m All Right Jack, The Great Escape, The Sand Pebbles, Doctor Dolittle, 10 Rillington Place, Jurassic Park and Miracle on 34th Street. As a director, he won two Academy Awards for Gandhi in 1983: Best Picture and Best Director. He also won four BAFTA Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, and the 1983 BAFTA Fellowship for lifetime achievement. He died in 2011 at the age of 92.
About Richard Attenborough in brief
Richard Samuel Attenborough, CBE, FRSA was an English actor, filmmaker, and entrepreneur. He was the president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. As an actor, he is best remembered for his roles in Brighton Rock, I’m All Right Jack, The Great Escape, The Sand Pebbles, Doctor Dolittle, 10 Rillington Place, Jurassic Park and Miracle on 34th Street. As a director, he won two Academy Awards for Gandhi in 1983: Best Picture and Best Director. He also won four BAFTA Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, and the 1983 BAFTA Fellowship for lifetime achievement. He is survived by his wife Sheila Sim and his two daughters, Irene Bejach and Helga, who were adopted by the family after their parents were killed in World War II. The family also took in two German Jewish refugee girls, Helga and Irene, who lived with them in College House. The sisters moved to the United States in the 1950s and lived with an uncle, where they married and took American citizenship; Irene died in 1992 andhelga in 2005. He died in 2011 at the age of 92. He had been married to actress Sheila Sim from 1945 until his death. The couple had two children, a son, David, and a daughter-in-law, Sophie, who died in 2012. The son was the older brother of broadcaster Sir David Attenboro and motor executive John Attinborough.
He joined the Royal Air Force during the Second World War and served in the film unit, going on several bombing raids over Europe and filming the action from the rear gunner’s position. In 1949, exhibitors voted him the sixth most popular British actor at the box office. He starred in the West End production of Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap, which went on to become the world’s longest running stage production. He and his wife were among the original cast members of the moving St Martin’s Theatre, which ran continuously for nearly seven decades until it was shut down by the Ambassadors Theatre, St Martin in 1974. He later sold some of his shares in the theatre to open a short-lived restaurant called ‘The Little Elephant’ and later disposed of the remainder in order to keep the business afloat. In his autobiography, he wrote: ‘It wisest decision I’ve ever made… but foolishly I sold my share to open some of my share of the restaurant to open up the Little Elephant.’ He was also the founder of the charity The Children’s Trust, which was set up to raise money for sick children in need of care in the UK and the U.S. The Trust has since raised more than £1.5million. He has been awarded the CBE and the OBE for his services to the arts. His son, Sir David, was the first British man to be knighted for services to broadcasting.
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