Alec Guinness Remembered

  

British actor and Oscar-winner Sir Alec Guinness, who is best known for playing Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars, died late on Saturday, 5th August in London. He was 86. "Sir Alec Guinness passed away at the King Edward VII Hospital in West Sussex on Saturday night, 5th August" a hospital spokesman said. The cause of death was not released.

During his 66-year career, Guinness played a vast variety of characters with subtlety and intelligence. He won an Oscar for his role in the movie The Bridge on the River Kwai and international fame in such blockbusters as Lawrence of Arabia and Star Wars. He also won a special Oscar in 1979 for advancing the art of screen acting.

Alec Guinness had a long film partnership with director David Lean, beginning in 1946 with the character Herbert Pocket in Great Expectations through Oliver Twist, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Dr. Zhivago and finally A Passage to India in 1984. His role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars introduced him to a new generation of filmgoers and made him financially secure. "I might never have been heard of again if it hadn't been for Star Wars", he said.

Tralee man, Seamus O'Mahony from Monavalley, remembers him as "the last of the greats". Seamus, who worked in the Shakespeare Hotel in London during the 1950's remembered one particular evening in November 1958 when Alec Guinness entered the bar. "He ordered a bottle of Guinness and a large brandy. The price was just 3 shillings and 6 pence (old money) and Alec tendered a five-pound note! 'Keep the change', he said - and I did. And that was at a time when a fiver was worth much more than it is today!"

Seamus also remembered that the Shakespeare Hotel at the time was managed by a Gerry O'Neill of South Kerry and some lads from Kerry who also worked in the hotel during the period 1953 to 1966 were Tommy Kenny (Caherslee), Frank Tiernan (who won an All-Ireland Junior medal with London in 1966) and Mossie O'Connor (Caherslee).

Another Tralee man, who is sad to learn of the death of Alec Guinness, is Paddy Duggan from "The Casket" in Ashe Street. Alec Guinness was "one of the true greats of the silver screen and he will be greatly missed", according to Paddy. To anyone under the age of 30, his most famous role was in the 1977 film Star Wars, even though the classic movie fan will remember his star roles in The Bridge on The River Kwai in 1957 and Oliver Twist in 1948. Even though it was immensely popular, he himself hated Star Wars. He got a percentage of the profits from that film and he made more money from that than he did from his performance. He still hated it!

Alec Guinness was seldom recognized in public. In one of the stories he told about himself, he checked his hat and coat at a restaurant and asked for a claim ticket. "It will not be necessary," the attendant smiled. Pleased at being recognized, Guinness later retrieved his garments, put his hand in the coat pocket and found a slip of paper on which was written "Bald with glasses." He refused to be fazed, however, and continued his acting career regardless!! It can't be a concidence that an anagram of his name is "genuine class."