By Mary Claire Kendall
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| Sir Alec Guinness in 1973 by Allan Warren. Source: Wikipedia |
Sir Alec Guinness ,
born 100 years ago today, on April 2, 1914, in Marylebone, England, was a star’s
star. While Spencer Tracy, born just
three days later in 1900, was ranked his fellow stars’ favorite, Guinness had dramatic gifts rivalling Tracy for which he received numerous professional
awards and fervent audience love.
He
began his theatrical career in the 1930s, playing in numerous stage classics,
as well as an uncredited role as a WWI soldier attending a concert in the film Evensong
(1934). All of this early work was fitting
preparation for his film career, spanning 60 years, formally beginning in 1946 when
he played Herbert Pocket in Great Expectations.
He was off to the races, making film after film—Oliver Twist (1948), in which
he played Fagin; Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), playing multiple D’Ascoyne
Family roles (The Duke, The Banker, The Parson, The General, The Admiral); The
Lavender Hill Mob (1951), in which he played Holland; The Man in the White Suit
(1951), Jim Wormold; and The Ladykillers, Professor Marcus (1955), among other
British films and roles.
Hollywood
finally snagged him for the role of Prince Albert in The Swan (1955), This laid the groundwork for his selection as Colonel Nicholson in The Bridge on the RiverKwai (1957), directed by David Lean, for which he won the Best Actor Oscar, one of many Oscar nominations he received.
Numerous box office hits followed, including other Lean masterpieces—Lawrence
of Arabia (1962), in which he played King Feisal; Doctor Zhivago (1965), Yevgraf;
and Passage to India (1984), Godbole. Other roles included Scrooge (1970) in
which he played Jacob Marley’s Ghost; and of course, his stellar performances
as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars films, among others. His last film was Mute
Witness (1994), in which, fittingly, he played The Reaper (a Mystery Guest Star).
There
was, of course, more to the man than his acting—a taste of which is conveyed in
his poignant faith journey, the dramatic turning point occurring during the filming
of Father Brown (1954) when a small French child mistook Guinness for a priest.
That little encounter inspired him to return to his Anglican faith. Soon
thereafter, his son Matthew, then just 11, tragically contracted polio and was
paralyzed from the waist down. A grief-stricken Guinness began stopping by a
little Catholic Church every day, praying to God that if He would let his son
recover, he would not stand in the way should he wish to convert to Catholicism,
which was his son’s desire. Matthew did recover, subsequently converting to
Catholicism at age 15.
Several
years later, seeing how happy his son was, Guinness decided to become a
Catholic himself and was formally received into the Church on March 24,
1956. A year later, his wife quietly followed suit while he was away in Sri
Lanka filming The Bridge on the River Kwai. She only told him after the
fact to his great delight.
Every
morning, Guinness recited a verse from Psalm 143, “Cause
me to hear your loving kindness in the morning.”
He died
on August 5, 2000, this time winning a greater much greater prize—Heaven.
Mary Claire Kendall is currently writing a book about legends of Hollywood, focused on stories of recovery, for publication in 2015.
Mary Claire Kendall is currently writing a book about legends of Hollywood, focused on stories of recovery, for publication in 2015.
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