British Film Legend Dirk Bogarde Dies at 78
May 11, 1999 - 0:0
LONDON Dirk Bogarde, the British matinee idol who went on to win international acclaim with classic roles in films like Death in Venice, died of a heart attack on Saturday at the age of 78, his family said. Bogarde was also a prolific writer with seven volumes of autobiography and seven novels all becoming best-sellers. He suffered the heart attack at his London home.
He was extremely happy and looking forward to events like his 80th birthday and many plans for the future, said his nephew, Brock Van den Bogaerde. Queen Elizabeth, who knighted Bogarde in 1992, said she was saddened by the news of his death. Dual Oscar winner Glenda Jackson called Bogarde our first home-grown film star. Director Michael Winner called him the Leonardo Dicaprio of his day.
Bogarde had 60 films to his credit but still only joined the profession by chance and was never enamoured of Hollywood. Going to the wrong room for a British broadcasting corporation audition, the young Bogarde accidentally got a part in a stage play that proved so successful he was hailed as a star overnight. He became one of the few British actors to achieve truly international standing with notable films such as The Victim, The Servant and Death in Venice. But he once confessed he did not like acting very much I never have.
It made me money. He moved to Europe in the late 1960s, when he saw his career path lay in the sort of films being produced in Italy, France and Germany, rather than England or America. He lived in France some 20 years, thus fulfilling a childhood ambition. Only when his close friend and manager Tony Forwood became seriously ill in 1986 and had to be near a hospital did Bogarde give up his French domicile.
Bogarde also forged a successful second career as an author. Starring in more than 30 films between 1947 and 1961, he spanned the whole range from comedy to war and crime movies. Then followed a brief and unhappy spell at Hollywood in the 60s, the basis for his novel West of Sunset, a biting satire on the society he hated so much.
He shot a couple of movies there, including a biopic of composer Franz Liszt, practising the piano until his fingers bled to perform the part. His talent and ambition began to extend beyond solid routine craftsmanship as he performed more demanding roles, claiming: I'm art house, not box office. Internationally, bogarde established his reputation as a leading interpretative actor after starting to work independently in the early 1960s, in a long-standing cooperation with director Joseph Losey. After a busy life of almost uninterrupted filming he took up residence in a 15th century farmhouse in southern France, turning to farming and writing.
(Reuter)
He was extremely happy and looking forward to events like his 80th birthday and many plans for the future, said his nephew, Brock Van den Bogaerde. Queen Elizabeth, who knighted Bogarde in 1992, said she was saddened by the news of his death. Dual Oscar winner Glenda Jackson called Bogarde our first home-grown film star. Director Michael Winner called him the Leonardo Dicaprio of his day.
Bogarde had 60 films to his credit but still only joined the profession by chance and was never enamoured of Hollywood. Going to the wrong room for a British broadcasting corporation audition, the young Bogarde accidentally got a part in a stage play that proved so successful he was hailed as a star overnight. He became one of the few British actors to achieve truly international standing with notable films such as The Victim, The Servant and Death in Venice. But he once confessed he did not like acting very much I never have.
It made me money. He moved to Europe in the late 1960s, when he saw his career path lay in the sort of films being produced in Italy, France and Germany, rather than England or America. He lived in France some 20 years, thus fulfilling a childhood ambition. Only when his close friend and manager Tony Forwood became seriously ill in 1986 and had to be near a hospital did Bogarde give up his French domicile.
Bogarde also forged a successful second career as an author. Starring in more than 30 films between 1947 and 1961, he spanned the whole range from comedy to war and crime movies. Then followed a brief and unhappy spell at Hollywood in the 60s, the basis for his novel West of Sunset, a biting satire on the society he hated so much.
He shot a couple of movies there, including a biopic of composer Franz Liszt, practising the piano until his fingers bled to perform the part. His talent and ambition began to extend beyond solid routine craftsmanship as he performed more demanding roles, claiming: I'm art house, not box office. Internationally, bogarde established his reputation as a leading interpretative actor after starting to work independently in the early 1960s, in a long-standing cooperation with director Joseph Losey. After a busy life of almost uninterrupted filming he took up residence in a 15th century farmhouse in southern France, turning to farming and writing.
(Reuter)