InTouchRadio.Net: ITR - Dam Bustors Actor Richard Todd Dies Aged 90 - Pamelia Dixon

Michael Dixon - Founder ITR-UK

Reported by Pamelia Dixon - ITR-Windsor-UK

Sky News:

Dam Busters Actor

Richard Todd Dies

Aged 90

12:23pm UK,

Friday December 04, 2009
Anna Pollitt, Sky News Online

Richard Todd, best known for his role in the classic war film The Dam Busters, has died aged 90.

Richard Todd in the 1950 Hitchcock film 'Stage Fright'

Richard Todd in the 1950 Hitchcock film 'Stage Fright'.

The Dublin-born star had been suffering from cancer and died in his sleep at home in Grantham, near Lincolnshire, his spokeswoman said.

The actor and real-life war hero appeared in 23 films from 1949-1968, with his most famous role being Wing Commander Guy Gibson in The Dam Busters in 1955.

While serving in the Second World War Todd gained the rank of captain and was one of the first British soldiers to parachute into Normandy on D-Day.

After the war, he appeared on stage in London and on Broadway before being nominated for an Oscar in 1949 for his role in The Hasty Heart opposite future US President Ronald Reagan.

James Bond author Ian Fleming picked Todd as his first choice to play 007 - but the actor turned down the role because of other commitments and it went to Sir Sean Connery instead.

Todd played Wing Commander Guy Gibson in The Dam Busters

Michael Winner, who directed Todd in the 1978 film The Big Sleep, described him as "the best example of classic British screen acting".

"He was a very fine actor but his style of acting went out of fashion, which was a pity because his contribution to British movies was enormous," he said.

"He was also a very, very nice person.

"He was a good friend and wonderful to work with, utterly professional, very quiet, just got on with it.

"He was just a splendid person and a very, very good actor."

Todd continued acting on television well into his eighties.

The twice-married actor was deeply affected by the deaths of two of his four sons, who both committed suicide.

:: Sky Movies Classics has a double-bill tribute to Richard Todd on Saturday from 3.20pm with The Longest Day and The Virgin Queen (in which he co-stars with Bette Davis as Sir Walter Raleigh).

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