The passing of an icon of cinema is marked today.
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When my son, Adam, was little Richard Attenborough’s voice could be heard in our house daily. While other kids his age would know Mr. Attenborough as Kris Kringle in Miracle on 34th Street, Adam only recognized him as John Hammond from Jurassic Park. He followed Hammond’s every move through the creation of dinosaurs and their dinosaur habitats. He sat it rapt attention as John Hammond introduced the scientists to the world he created with his trademark phrase, “Welcome, to Jurassic Park.” Today I broke the news to my son that this icon from his childhood has passed away.
Richard Attenborough has been in poor health for some time, according to his son, Michael Attenborough. In August 2008, Attenborough was fitted with a pacemaker. In December of the same year he fell in his home after a stroke and was in a coma for several days. After that, he was confined to a wheelchair. In 2012 Attenborough and his wife, Sheila Sim, both moved into a nursing home in London where they have lived together until today, August 24th 2014, when Richard passed away at lunch time.
Richard Attenborough, had been made a life peer as Baron Attenborough, of Richmond upon Thames in England in 1976. He added this to his already extensive accomplishments. He has received 2 Academy Awards for Gandhi, 4 Golden Globe Awards for Gandhi, The Sand Pebbles, and (1967) Doctor Dolittle. He had also been awarded the Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian award in 1983. He received the Martin Luther King, Jr. Nonviolence Peace Prize, and the Shakespeare Prize for his life’s work by the Alfred Toepfer Foundation in Hamburg. He also received an Honorary Doctorate of Drama and an Honorary Fellowship for his film making contributions.
Attenborough’s body of work has spanned sixty-five years. This inspired actor has touched the lives of those he worked with and those who had the honor of watching him perform. The director he became, because of his knowledge of the other side of the lens, led him to coax some break out performances from Ben Kingsley (Gandhi), Denzel Washington (Cry Freedom), and Debra Winger and Anthony Hopkins (Shadowlands). David Cameron said in a tweet; “His acting in ‘Brighton Rock’ was brilliant, his directing of ‘Gandhi’ was stunning- Richard Attenborough was one of the greats of cinema.”
Richard Attenborough is survived by his wife and their son and daughter. This giant of the cinema will be mourned around the world by people who have been touched by his work.
photo: Dan Kitwood April 9, 2008