STARS of stage and screen bade farewell to actor Sir Nigel Hawthorne at his funeral in a village church yesterday. Author Frederick Forsyth and actors Derek Fowlds and Charles Dance were among the celebrities who gathered to pay tribute to Sir Nigel, renowned for his roles in the BBC TV comedy Yes, Minister, and the film and theatre versions of The Madness of King George. Loretta Swit, who played in the TV series MASH, and actress Maureen Lipman also attended the service in St Mary's Church in Thundridge, Hertfordshire. The funeral for Sir Nigel, who died of a heart attack on Boxing Day at the age of 72..."......
http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/stars-say-farewell-to-sir-nigel-1.162431
http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/stars-say-farewell-to-sir-nigel-1.162431
Charles Dance
writes: My dear friend, confidant, and sometime mentor, Nigel
Hawthorne, has finally lost his long battle against a particularly virulent
cancer. But
boy, did he fight!
I
last spoke to him in November before leaving for Australia to play a part in a
film that was to have been played by him. It was the third time in the last six
months that I have stood in for him. Many times during the course of his
illness he continued to work. No one, save for Trevor and one or two of his
closest friends, were ever aware of the pain he was suffering. However, there
were occasions when he simply had to say: "No, sorry, I'm not
available" - but never: "No, I'm far too ill." Though that was
the truth.
I
first met him in 1980, when we played opposite each other in a production of
The Heiress, Ruth and Augustus Goetz's play based on Henry James's novel,
Washington Square. Nigel's Austin Sloper was one of those typical, understated
"layers deep" performances that sadly it took so many directors far
too long to realise was the hallmark of all his work.
He was a wonderfully gifted
actor, with a range that encompassed so much more than he was given the
opportunity to show. Thanks to the integrity of Alan Bennett and Nicholas
Hytner, he was able to demonstrate a mere, but substantial, fragment of that
range as George III, for which he was rightly nominated for an Academy Award.
The value of his friendship
and generosity to me and many others was incalculable. All who had the good
fortune to know and love him will miss him greatly.
